Observation Sheet Questioning

Question Type
Do you feel your
questions were clearly
structured and readily
understood by the
students?

I used three different levels of questioning. Level 1 where

the answer was obvious to the students and they just had
to recall the answer. Level 2 questions which require the
students to make an inference to answer the question
and level 3 questions where the students are required
extra thought, opinions and personal feelings.

The balances were with the level of effort and knowledge

the student required to provide a sufficient answer. The
questions also required some basic answers as well as
comprehension answers.
The questions were balanced with different difficulty
levels.

Did you use a variety of

question types?

What balances was

there between the
various questions
types?

Consider both why and

when you made use of
the different question
types?

My questions were structured to allow the students to

think about the question and before answering. With a lot
of thought the questions were conveyed in an
appropriate way to suit the students and their learning
levels.
The questions were clear and concise and provided
ample opportunity for students to grow and develop with
their own thinking.

I used the different levels of questioning depending on

the activity that the students were completing. I always
started with level 1 questioning and eased in the more
difficult questions to challenge the minds of the students.
The questions were using for refreshing the minds of
students at the start of the sessions, checking for
understanding throughout the lesson and to test
them/summarise at the end of the lesson.

Distributing and Directing Questions

Did you recognise any
pattern in the
distribution of your
questions amongst the
students? Consider
reasons for this
pattern?

How have you directed

questions to the group?

Have you used wait

time?

Did you make eye

contact with the group
as you directed your
questions?

The patterns that I recognised were that when I/other

teachers in the class asked a question, the confident
students would be enthusiastic and immediately raised
their hands to answer whereas the quiet shy students
looked away and tried to not be noticed.
The patterns were occurring simply because of the
confidence, competency and capability of the students.

When asking questions I used a range of techniques.

Sometimes I would call upon students at random for
individual accountability. Other times the students with
raised hands would be called upon to answer. Other
times the students would share with a partner.
Another technique was drawing names out of a container
which the teacher had already prepared.
When asking level 2 or 3 questions that required extra
thought I gave the students thinking time or wait time
to ensure they had a chance to think about the question
without putting them on the spot which could cause
embarrassment.
The students were also allowed to think pair share as a
method of expanding their thoughts.
I used eye contact as a tool for when the students were
answering questions. It makes the student feel validated
and safe when answering questions and that their
contributions are valued and respected in the class.
It also shows that I as the teacher am attentively
listening and showing mutual respect.

Reactions to Students Responses

-

When a student gave a correct answer I complimented

their answer with comments such as great answer or
well done.

To deal with incorrect responses I commended the

students for taking a risk and having ago while also
validating them that their response is still valid.

How do you deal with

correct responses? Do
you qualify any praise
given?

How do you deal with

incorrect responses?

How do you deal with

students who stumble
and grope for an
answer?

What use do you make

of the students
responses to develop
the teaching point?
Have you redirected
any questions in order
to add to an initial
response?

I looked to other students to support the students and

add onto the answer they provided and guide them on
the right path without putting them down.

Student responses often validated and supported the

teachers statements and teaching points.
Redirecting questions to expand on the students learning
by allowing them to reword and regroup statements in a
context that is relevant and interest them.
This also helps the students comprehend what is being
asked of them.

Are you the only

evaluator of the
students answers?

Other teachers/education assistants and other preservice teachers in the class assisting with evaluating
students questions.
Other students or peer evaluated each others responses
to come to agreements and expand their knowledge.

Overall Comments
I feel as though overall the questioning aspect throughout the week ran very well. Students
were held to accountability and often responded well to questions when asked. The students
were all treated fairly and learnt from each other as well as myself as a pre-service teacher.

Observation Sheet Management

-

The students knew exactly what was required of them

and the tolerance I would have for misbehaviour due to
excess planning in the lesson plan so to an extent the
lesson plan did assist in managing the class.

The students reacted in a positive way to the lesson and

were very enthusiastic and eager to participate.

My mentor teacher had an emergency and was absent

from school for Wednesday Thursday and Friday which
was unexpected and made liaising and planning difficult
as it was hard to know the capabilities of the students.
The day that the lesson was planned for was raining and
the lesson was planned for outside which forced
improvisation for in class activities whilst staying on the
original topic.

Was your lesson plan

effective for managing
the class?
e.g. How did the
students react to your
lesson overall and to
your planned
activities?
Did anything
unexpected happen?
-

A wide variety of a game, theory and practical activities

were included.

I wasnt 100% satisfied with the timing as we were

unsure of whether or not we would be able to go outside
or not due to the weather so it made it difficult to stay on
a time schedule and we were moving in and out quite a
bit and modifying activities changed the timing of them.

I would have prepared more activities to allow for back

up in case there are any unforeseen circumstances. Also
chosen a day with a warm weather forecast.

I was aware of class procedures after observing the

teacher implement them in the classroom. The schools
disciplinary policy was straight forward and consistent
throughout the whole school. It was simple to catch on
and the students were aware of the policy and listened if
a pre-service teacher was enforcing it.
The students were very welcoming and like open books.
After chatting with them and showing an interest I was
able to get to know them in the short time I spent with
them.

Did you provide a

variety of activities?
Were you satisfied with
your timing,
particularly for the end
of the lesson?

Did you feel you were

able to change things if
needed?

Were you aware of

classroom procedures
and school disciplinary
policy? How much did
you know about your
students?

How did your mentor

teacher maintain a safe

learning environment?
What strategies did
your observe your
mentor teacher using
to maintain this?

My mentor teacher kept the room safe by moving tables

when needed to provide adequate space when needed,
schoolbags were left outside and students had a file to
avoid clutter. Chairs get stacked each afternoon which
reduces a tripping hazard.
To maintain a safe environment in the context of learning
by removing misbehaving students or reprimanding them
it provided a safe environment for the other students to
positively learn.

Maintaining a Positive Attitude in the Classroom

How did you

demonstrate to the
students that you
valued them, and
enjoyed learning?

e.g. Tone of voice, facial

expression, sense of
humour, introduction to
students and topic.

Which aspects of your

teaching style do you
feel helped you
maintain class
attention?

e.g. Variety of
activities, class or
group discussion, pace
of lesson, interest at
class level.

I greeted the students each morning at the door by their

name which made them feel welcome and as a valued
member of the class. It also demonstrated to them that I
was showing respect and taking the time to get to know
them.
When addressing the class I used a passive tone and
open body language to come across as a person with a
friendly nature.
By getting the know the students and their interests I
was able to converse with them about topics which made
them feel valued and showed them I cared about them
individually as a person.
I was always approachable in the class and made all the
students feel welcome.
I used my sense of humour to advantage when it was
appropriate in the class.

I used a variety of activities including indoor and

outdoor, theory and practical. This allowed to students to
have a mix of activities and stay interested.
By keeping the classes interesting the students were
able to stay focused and maintain attention.
I chose the subject Physical Education as I knew it was a
subject that most of the class would find interesting and
it proved successful in helping the students stay focused
and maintain attention as they were interested and
engaged in the subject and learning experiences.

By completing WALT, WILF and TIB at the start of both

sessions I conducted allowed the students to know
exactly what we were doing and what I would be looking
for and what was expected of them.

The class consisted of many different activities and they

were all short activities so by the time students were
losing focused we were ready to move onto something
different. This proved to work in favour for the attention
seeking students as they were interested and engaged
rather than bored and misbehaving.

Did the students know

what was expected of
them?

Were you able to

redirect energies of
attention seeking
students? Did the
students have enough
to do?

Dealing with Minor Misbehaviour

Were you aware of what
was happening in all
parts of the classroom?
Did you know what each
student was doing?

Did you take any action

when you observed
poor behaviour? Why?
Why not?

Did you use non-verbal

For the first few days I spent mostly observing so I could

familiarise myself with students and their learning
habits. This helped a lot throughout the week as I was
able to manage the class and be aware of the students
that were misbehaving.
The students behaviour patterns were easy to pick up on
so by the end of the week I got to know the students and
their habits.

When I witnessed poor behaviour I used techniques like

proximity and gestures to let the students know I was
aware of what was happening.
If the misbehaviour persisted I was able to implement
the schools disciplinary policy which was 1, 2, 3 magic.
So three warnings then sent to time out. My mentor
teacher trusted my judgement to give these warnings to
misbehaving students and the students respected my
authority in the class.
I used proximity to approach students who looked like
they were misbehaving.

cues? e.g. Contact,

pause, gesture,
movement toward
student/s concerned.

Overall Comments

I used contact by tapping students on the shoulder to

keep them focused.
Gestures were used a lot to portray different meanings to
the students. I signalled the students to quiet down by
gesturing with my finger on my lips.
I used the look and pause a few times when it was
necessary.

Management in the class was a challenge as there was a large amount of students and they
often played up. After observing the class and getting to know the students as well as
having support from my mentor teacher I think I maintained a safe class and managed the
students well.

Schools as text looking at the whole school

Describe the school in
terms of its demographics,
appearance and resources
(be general here and do
not name the school).

What were the roles and

responsibilities of the
teaching staff you
observed?

The school appeared clean. Students ate recess

and lunch inside the classroom to minimise litter
in the playground and there was no visible rubbish
around the school.
The school itself was very large and mixed with
brick buildings and demountables. The school
looked in well-kept condition and buildings looked
new.
Inside the classrooms were very welcoming and
colourful displaying the students work around
inside the class.
The classrooms contained many resources
including books, games, paper, storeroom,
whiteboard and smart board.

All the staff have a duty of care when they come

to students. If they saw something that was
dangerous, or had to potential to become unsafe
they were obliged to say something in order to
prevent any accidents and keep the students safe.
The staff all seemed very close knit and supported
each other. I observed in the staff room the
teachers sharing ideas working together.
Teaching staff had a rotating roster of yard duty to
watch the students during play time and ensure
they are safe.
In the classroom the role of the teacher was to
provide a safe working environment for the
students, keep the students engaged and provide
them with life skills and knowledge.

After discussion with your

mentor teacher describe
how policies and processes
off government,
administration and schools
have an effect on the work
of a teacher?

Students are treated as individuals which provides

the teacher with extra work to ensure each
students needs are tended to
Policies are in place to ensure health and safety of
students at school
Funding is schools is low which often leads to
teaching compromising educational programs

What did you observe nonteaching staff doing to support

teaching and learning in the
school?

The administration staff were very helpful with

assisting and ensuring the school ran smoothly.
On day one they were very helpful to direct the
pre-service teachers and were helping in
answering any questions we had.
I noticed the Principal and Deputy Principal/s
were very active within the school. The moved
around and were very involved in the
classrooms and with students.
My class was lucky enough to have a full time
Education Assistant who worked one on one
with a student but helped out wherever
possible. The EAs around the school were
extremely helpful in providing an extra pair of
hands in the classroom especially with the
below average skilled students.
I noticed that all staff were very supportive and
helpful with one another.

Students
You will have observed the
diverse nature of your
classes. How was this
diversity supported?

All the students wore the same uniform to

recognise equality in the school environment as
well as creating a sense of belonging to that
school.
In the classroom the students were seated at
tables with a mix of gender, culture, ethnicity,
race, and learning level to ensure that there was
diversity and that everyone was included.
The class had a very wide range of cultures
which is important as it shows that we are all
equal and welcome.
In the different learning areas different groups
were made and activities were catered to those
groups based on their grade level. (Below,
average or above) without segregating students
completely by using these learning groups
students are able to work with others on the
same level and work towards a goal at their own
pace based on their ability and competency.

Function of Schools
Did you observe the
connection of your schools
with the broader
community? How did this
happen?

What do you think the

function of school is?

On the first day of my primary school placement

the students were allowed to dress up as a book
character for book week. In the morning there was
a parade on the oval for all the dressed up
students. A lot of parents came to watch and
support their child/ the school. It was great to see
the parents so involved in their childs schooling
and activities.
There was an assembly item on day 5 of my
experience and again it was wonderful to see the
community of parents coming down to support
their child and the school. During the assembly a
member from a nearby high school spoke about
the transition from primary to high school and
scholarships. This particular member was
providing the local kids with all the relevant
information first.
Book week was on whilst I was at this school and
so many members off the community donated
books to be sold at the book fair. The community
seem very involved and supportive of the school
which was refreshing.
I think the function of a school is a welcoming safe
environment for students to attend and learn
knowledge and life skills. Schools should be seen
as a positive place for students to undertake a
journey of self-discovery and growth whilst gaining
the fundamental building blocks to prepare
themselves for the real world.
Schools are a safe environment for students to
feel welcome, protected, respected and valued.
Schools are a place for students and teachers to
build relationships.

Observation Sheet Questioning

Graduate Standards - AITSL
Professional Knowledge:
1. Know students and how
they learn
Professional Practice:
2. Plan and implement
effective teaching and learning
Question Type
Do you feel your questions
were clearly structured
and readily understood by
the students?

Did you use a variety of

question types?

What balances was there

between the various
questions types?

In the two lessons I taught I feel as though my questions

were structured as I put a lot of thought into the types of
questions I was going to ask and the degree of difficulty.
As the students in both classes were in the IEC (Intensive
English centre) I had to ask questions in a way in which
they would be able to understand as there was a
language barrier in some cases. I feel as though I put a
lot of thought into the questions in order to make sure
they were understood.
Most of the questions I asked were extremely simple
questions as the students were at a very low competency
in English therefore I directed fairly simple questions in
order to make sure they understood properly and were
able to answer the questions.
In the small group session I was able to ask questions
that required more thinking as I was working with a small
number of students and were able to guide them and
help them in answering.
The balances were with asking different types of
questions such as who, what, where and mainly how and
why questions. The questions were extremely basic and
were balanced throughout the sessions and spread out
rather than in on block. The basic questions in these

categories were suited to the level of the students.

Consider both why and
when you made use of the
different question types?

I used the different types of questions in the different

classroom contexts. When working with the small group I
was able to ask more difficult questions and work with
them one on one to conclude an answer but with the
large class the questions were quite simple as they found
it difficult to stay focused and understand.

Distributing and Directing Questions

-

When asking a question none of the students were eager

to answer many didnt understand the first time I asked
and I had to simplify the questions even further. When
the questions were simplified some of the students
would call out the answer in confidence as if something
had clicked. Many of the students came from difficult
backgrounds and as well as having difficulty
comprehending English this is why the students were
often not very eager to answer if they didnt fully
understand.

I used individual accountability by directing questions to

the students that I noticed were misbehaving or not
paying attention but mainly I just directed the questions
to the group as whole as many didnt understand and to
make them feel safe and comfortable and not singled
out.
The students would often use their own wait time before
answering the question as it gave them an opportunity
to think about and understand the question that had
been asked.

Did you recognise any

pattern in the distribution
of your questions amongst
the students? Consider
reasons for this pattern?

How have you directed

questions to the group?

Have you used wait

time?

Did you make eye contact

with the group as you
directed your questions?

I used eye contact when asking questions in both the

whole class lesson and the small group session. Using
eye contact made the students answers feel valid and
important and that I was interested in what they had to
say.

Reactions to Students Responses

How do you deal with

Students that answered questions correctly were given

verbal praise and compliments.

correct responses? Do you

qualify any praise given?

How do you deal with

incorrect responses? How
do you deal with students
who stumble and grope for
an answer?

The students that answered correctly were used as

examples for the class.

Incorrect responses were shaped and re directed on the

path to a correct answer. Other students often helped
others that didnt comprehend fully and answered
incorrectly.
The students who stumbled were given extra help in
concluding the questions being asked.

What use do you make of

the students responses to
develop the teaching
point? Have you
redirected any questions in
order to add to an initial
response?

Are you the only evaluator

of the students answers?

The students responses helped me understand the way

they were comprehending the questions which allowed
me to modify and simplify the original teaching point in a
way in which they would understand.
I redirected the students responses to relate back to the
original teaching points for the class I was teaching.

The mentor teacher and other pre-service teacher

assisted me in evaluating student responses and also the
students helped each other out in answering the
questions so they did a mini evaluation of the answer
before adding their own ideas.

Overall Comments
The questioning aspect was much more difficult at this particular high school as the
questions had to be so very basic and simplified otherwise the students just did not
understand what was being asked of them. The students still struggled with basic questions
and instructions and were answering questions at a year 4/5 level. This made the
questioning aspect a challenge but I think I did a sufficient job and I learnt a lot about
questioning students that struggle with understanding.

Observation Sheet Management

Graduate Standards AITSL
Professional Practice:

1. Create and maintain supportive and safe learning

environments
2. Planning for Effective Management
-

The lesson plan was effective in managing the class as it

was a sports class and the students maintained focused
and interested in the activities that were set out for
them. The students reacted positively in regards to the
lesson as they were excited to try a new sport. They
payed attention and were able to answer questions when
asked and answer them correctly.

Nothing too unexpected happened. In the basketball

chain game it got a bit rough and physical so we
modified the rules so everyone was safe.

Did you provide a variety

of activities?

Yes, we provide a variety of activities including a warm

up, practise and 3 different games.

Were you satisfied with

your timing, particularly
for the end of the lesson?

Our lesson had finished approximately 15 minutes early

so we added another game which we hadnt originally
planned on including but it turned out well in the end.

Did you feel you were able

to change things if
needed?

I would be a little bit more prepared and have other

games and drills known in case a similar situation occurs.
I would have also liked to know the students a bit better
before teaching them but overall I think it ran well.

The classroom procedures in the workshop room (for

design and technology) were all safety precautions.
The schools disciplinary process was that if a student
continues to misbehave the first point of contact is the
head of learning area then if the student continues to
misbehave the next point of contact is the year
coordinator and a phone call home. The student then
loses his/her good standing and receives a form to be
signed by each teacher of their classes each session for
every day to ensure that student is behaving and
attending class
On my first day of PRAC my mentor teacher gave me a

Was your lesson plan

effective for managing the
class?
e.g. How did the students
react to your lesson
overall and to your
planned activities?
Did anything unexpected
happen?

Were you aware of

classroom procedures and
school disciplinary policy?
How much did you know
about your students?

How did your mentor

teacher maintain a safe
learning environment?
What strategies did your
observe your mentor
teacher using to maintain
this?

brief rundown of the background of the students and

stated that most of them were refugees and struggle
with poor English competency and come from tough
backgrounds. Throughout the week I tried to get to know
the students but it was difficult as I only saw them once
or twice during the week so it was hard to build
relationships.
-

In the workshop the teacher maintained a safe

environment by ensuring all safety precautions were
taken e.g safety glasses, long hair tied back, closed in
shoes, no food or drink, no earphones or dangly
jewellery.
He also ensured the kids were behaving safe and
operated the machinery correctly.
The strategies I observed the mentor teacher
implementing were that he put trust in the students and
built up a relationship with and if they misbehaved or
acted dangerously they lost his trust and werent allowed
to participate any longer.

Maintaining a Positive Attitude in the Classroom

How did you demonstrate
to the students that you
valued them, and enjoyed
learning?

e.g. Tone of voice, facial

expression, sense of
humour, introduction to
students and topic.
Which aspects of your
teaching style do you feel
helped you maintain class
attention?
e.g. Variety of activities,
class or group discussion,
pace of lesson, interest at
class level.

I used eye contact and had open body language towards

the students and actively listened when they spoke to
me. I showed interest in wat they were doing in class and
the projects they were working on.
I greeted the students towards the end of the wee when I
knew a few of their names.
I was friendly to the students and used a passive voice,

By using a variety of activities to keep the students

focused and maintaining their attention and I think also
because I was given the opportunity to teach a small
class in d&t and whole class in sport, the subjects are
more practical and fun for the students so they
maintained focused as they enjoy these subjects.
I modified the classes to run at a pace that would be
suitable to the students this helped them a lot in keeping
focused as they werent getting left behind with work.

Did the students know

what was expected of
them?
-

Were you able to redirect

energies of attention
seeking students? Did the
students have enough
to do?

In the small group lesson the students knew what was

expected of them as it was explained at the start that
this was stage one for their new project and if they didnt
complete it correctly they would be left behind.
In the whole group lesson students knew what was
expected of them as it was outlined to them at the start
of the session.

The attention seeking students energies were able to be

redirected to the activities and games in the whole class
lesson and in the small group lesson I didnt encounter
any attention seeking students.

Dealing with Minor Misbehaviour

Were you aware of what
was happening in all parts
of the classroom? Did you
know what each student
was doing?

Did you take any action

when you observed poor
behaviour? Why? Why
not?

Did you use non-verbal

cues? e.g. Contact, pause,
gesture, movement toward
student/s concerned.

In the workshop classes it was difficult to monitor each

student as they were all at different stages and working
on different parts of their current project individually. By
the end of the week I was moving around and was aware
of what the students were doing.
In the classroom it was easy to have awareness of what
the students were doing simply by walking around and
observing. The classes at this school were fairly small
(around 15-25 students) so simply by walking around the
class and observing I was able to have an awareness of
what each student was doing.
On a few occasions I would approach misbehaving
students and re-direct their focus back onto their work
but for majority of my time here I didnt feel comfortable
taking action as I didnt know the students very well and
that high school students react differently to pre-service
teachers. I didnt feel valued or recognised as a teacher
or that I had that authority.
The mentor teacher was on the ball and dealt with poor
behaviour straight away anyway.
I used proximity and gestures to keep the students
focused on the task at hand.
The mentor teacher used a range of non-verbal cues to
manage the class.

Overall Comments
With the high school experience I feel as though I managed the class reasonably well by
giving instruction when I was teaching. When I wasnt teaching a class I did feel intimidated
and wasnt comfortable in telling students what to do or dealing with mis-behaviour. At the
start of the week my mentor teacher didnt even introduce myself or the other pre-service
teacher to the class and that set the tone for the week. I feel as though my mentor teacher
made us feel more like students then teachers and that we were encroaching on his
teaching by interfering so we just sat back and observed. I would have like to become more
involved but I didnt feel as though it was my place as my mentor teacher didnt really make
me feel welcome as a teacher in a class more just like a student to follow him.

Schools as text looking at the whole school

Describe the school in terms of
its demographics, appearance
and resources (be general here
and do not name the school).

What were the roles and

responsibilities of the teaching
staff you observed?

The school was all brick and looked very run down,
it was not at all appealing. The brick paths were
uneven, the doors all chipped and the bricks
looked dirty. The school also contained many
demountables. The classrooms were very basic in
which they had tables/chair, computers and a few
posters on the wall. The workshops appeared very
resourceful as they contained many different tools
and types of machinery relevant to the subject.
The Phys Ed Department of the school was very
appealing and resourceful. The school contained a
very well kept oval, 2 basketball courts, and indoor
gymnasium, 4 brand new tennis/netball courts, 25
RPM bikes and a swimming pool all which were on
campus.
The school took pride in its sports department but
unfortunately the rest of the school was lacking.
The teachers I observed throughout the week had
the responsibility of the students safety in the
classroom and out in the yard. I was mainly
situated in the design and technology building

What did you observe nonteaching staff doing to support

teaching and learning in the
school?

After discussion with your

mentor teacher describe how
policies and processes of
government, administration
and schools have an effect on
the work of the teacher?

The administration staff were very helpful and

ensured the school ran smoothly. They dealt
which consisted of workshops filled with
with the absentees and forwarded those to
machinery and tools which added so many more
teaching staff each day to ensure all the
risks but all the teachers in that block had their
students were accounted for and present.
main concern on the students safety.
school
had a had
large
canteen
with a few of yard
-TheThe
teachers
shared
responsibility
volunteers
in it,
they
provided
duty to working
ensure the
kids
arealso
behaving
well during
breakfast
each
morning
for
students
who
recess and lunch.
any. Therole
free
gave is to be an
-didnt
Theget
teachers
inbreakfast
the classroom
students
a chance
to have
eat
educator,
facilitator
andsomething
mentor to to
the
students
before
school
started
and
the
canteen
gave
and provide them with life skills and knowledge.
the choice
ofhad
purchasing
food/drinks.
-students
Each day
the staff
the responsibility
of making
In many
of
the
classes
I
was
in
this
week
we
sure the students were accountable by hosting a
often
hadgroup
an EAsession.
in the class. These EAs were
form
extremely helpful and supportive to the
in assisting
students
were and
-teaching
My mentor
teacher
is basedthat
in design
struggling,
behaviour
management
technology, occupational health and
and to
safety is a big
helpeffect
students
who
had
trouble
understanding
on him. Each machine is fitted with
dueinstructions,
to a language
barrier.
rules
and safety precautions which all
students must abide by and the teacher has the
responsibility to supervise the children.
Funding is a big issue, each student gets
approximately $17 which makes funding projects
difficult.

Students
You will have observed the
diverse nature of your classes.
How was this diversity
supported?

Majority of the classes I was in were IEC classes.

(Intensive English Centre) These classes were
extremely diverse as the contained mixed ages,
genders, ethnicities, race, cultures and
languages. These diverse students are supported
as they are given the same opportunities to learn
but just at a modified pace and skill for them.
This allows them to learn and grow at their own
pace rather than get left behind in mainstream
classes. All students were completing the same
task and no one was segregated or didnt
participate. It is important to have programmes
such as IEC in schools to focus on what students
are capable of and work with them to achieve
realistic goals for them. It also provides an

opportunity for the students to gain knowledge

and competency in English to help them
understand and develop their own skills. Classes
are specifically designed in levels and the
classwork is modified to suit the level in which
the students are at when it comes to that
particular class.

Function of Schools
Did you observe the
connection of your schools
with the broader community?
How did this happen?

What do you think the function

of school is?

I didnt have any first hand experiences with the

broader community which didnt actually surprise
me as it was a high school and the students are
more independent in high school.
The school contained a well-known soccer
programme which could be linked back to the
community as providing students with
scholarships and extra-curricular activities.
As well as the IEC classes which could be linked
and connected to the community as providing
disadvantaged or foreign students with the same
opportunities with schooling.
For the most part I didnt observe any real
connections with the broader community.

I think the function of a school is a welcoming safe

environment for students to attend and learn
knowledge and life skills. Schools should be seen
as a positive place for students to undertake a
journey of self-discovery and growth whilst gaining
the fundamental building blocks to prepare
themselves for the real world.
Schools are a safe environment for students to
feel welcome, protected, respected and valued.
Schools are a place for students and teachers to
build relationships.