Student name and surname: SARITA PIENAAR

Student number: 67078753

1. OBSERVATION ACTIVITY

Use the observation schedule to note down your observations of the following for each period:
Period 1:

The classroom
The classroom is neat and tidy and there are enough seating places for all the learners.

The atmosphere
The atmosphere is conductive to learning and is positive

The subject
Social Sciences

The teaching approach and how the learners respond to this.

In this period the leaners did revision, so the teacher only gave them direct instructions. The leaners
responded with respect and sat and do the revision activities as the teacher gave it to them.

The expectations the teacher has of the learners and how the learners respond to it.
The teacher expects the leaners to have respect for her and do the work a she told them; she expects
them to do the work in a certain format. The leaners do what the teacher expect of them.

Time spent on task and what learn do if there is time left

The teacher takes 10 minutes to give the instructions and the 30 minutes that is left the leaners do
the activities.

Learners interactions
The learners interact with the teacher and other leaners, they ask if there is something that they
don’t understand.

Learner behavior in general

The leaners do their activities. The leaners are respectful, and the learners have good manners.

Learners observed/class
Combined class with boys and girls

Grade
7

Period 2:

The classroom
The classroom is clean and there are enough tables and seats for all the leaners.
The atmosphere
The atmosphere is uplifting and positive.

The subject
Mathematics

The teaching approach and how the learners respond to this.

The teacher explains one module to the learners using different learning techniques for e.g. She
explains a concept with pictures, she used poems the help the leaners remember a concept. The
learners respond very well to this approach, they enjoyed the class and interact with the teachers.

The expectations the teacher has of the learners and how the learners respond to it.
The teacher expects the leaners to stand neatly outside the classroom before they enter and enter
the classroom with order. The learners respond well and do what is expected of them.

Time spent on task and what learn do if there is time left

The teacher takes 30 minutes to explain concepts and the 10 minutes that is left the leaners do the
activities.

Learners interactions
The learners interact with the teacher and other leaners, they ask if there is something that they
don’t understand.

Learner behavior in general

The leaners are respectful, and the learners have good manners. They want to leaner.

Learners observed/class
Combined class with boys and girls

Grade
8

Period 3:

The classroom
The classroom is clean and there are enough tables and seats for all the leaners but there is limited
space for the teacher to move around between the tables.

The atmosphere
The atmosphere is positive and suitable for a learning environment.

The subject
Life skills

The teaching approach and how the learners respond to this.

The teachers interact with the leaners by explaining the work and each concept. The teacher uses a
baking teaching approach, the teacher deposits knowledge into the ‘empty’ minds of students for
students to commit to memory.

The expectations the teacher has of the learners and how the learners respond to it.
The teacher expects the leaners to memorize the work and to their activities. The leaners respond
well and do the activities, the memorize the work by repeating it.

Time spent on task and what learn do if there is time left

The teacher takes 30 minutes to explain concepts and the learners repeat the rest of the 10 minutes
what they have learnt.

Learners interactions
The learners interact with the teacher and other leaners, they ask if there is something that they
don’t understand. The leaners tell the teacher the last 10 minutes what they have learnt.

Learner behavior in general

The leaners are respectful, and the learners have good manners. They want to learn. The leaners
cooperate and participate in discussions.

Learners observed/class
Combined class with boys and girls

Grade
7

Period 4:

The classroom
The classroom is clean and there are enough tables and seats for all the leaners. All the leaners have
their own desk and chain and apart for each other so that they don’t distract each other.

The atmosphere
The teacher created a positive classroom atmosphere, where students can learn better. All the
leaners feel safe and relaxed. The atmosphere is positive and suitable for a learning environment.

The subject
Geography

The teaching approach and how the learners respond to this.

The teacher approaches the leaners with a cooperative learning approach. She encourages students
of mixed abilities to work together by promoting small groups. Through verbally expressing their ideas
they enhance their communication and critical thinking skills. The leaner responds well and enjoy this
fun group work

The expectations the teacher has of the learners and how the learners respond to it.
The teacher expects the leaners to work in their groups and each of them should express their ideas
and give others a chance to. She expects of them to only focus on the module related work.
Time spent on task and what learn do if there is time left
The teacher takes 10 min to give the instructions and the rest of the period they express their ideas.

Learners interactions
The learners interact with the teacher and other leaners, they give everyone a chance to express
themselves.

Learner behavior in general

The leaners are respectful towards each other as well as to the teacher.

Learners observed/class
Combined class with boys and girls

Grade
11

Period 5:

The classroom
The classroom is organized. There is a place for everything, and everything is on its place.

The atmosphere
The classroom has a positive atmosphere, but the classroom also has discipline and the students have
a caring attitude.

The subject
physical science

The teaching approach and how the learners respond to this.

The teacher approaches the learners with visualization. He is using the interactive whiteboard to
display photos, audio clips and videos as well as encouraging his students to form their own ideas.
The learners respond well and are very interested and at the end of the period they give their own
ideas.

The expectations the teacher has of the learners and how the learners respond to it.
The teacher expects the leaners to memorize the work and to their activities. The leaners respond
well and do the activities, the memorize the work by repeating it.

Time spent on task and what learn do if there is time left

The teacher takes 30 minutes to explain concepts and the learners repeat the rest of the 10 minutes
what they have learnt.

Learners interactions
The learners interact with the teacher and other leaners, they ask if there is something that they
don’t understand. The leaners tell the teacher the last 10 minutes what they have learnt.

Learner behavior in general

 The leaners are respectful, and the learners have good manners. They want to learn. The leaners
cooperate and participate in discussions.

Learners observed/class
Combined class with boys and girls

Grade
12

REFLECTION ACTIVITY
Reflect on how these learners experienced a school day and what the implication may be for the school,
teachers and yourself.

1. Do the teachers in this school include learners’ perspective when they make decisions on
schooling?
Yes, the teachers always asked the leaners to vote for a decision or to debate and each leaner
can give their own explanation why they choose a certain decision.

I think the teachers should, because its learners have the chance to debate about it, they also
get the chance to see why other people are agreeing or disagreeing. Leaners will feel like they
are also included and that the school value each one of them.

2. What insight did you gain from this observation?

I now gain a better understanding of how different classes have different needs and that all that
needs can been reached by different styles and teaching techniques. I now also understand that
it is not about just teaching but there are a lot more like admin. I also learn that the way you
treat your students is one of the most important things because that reflect on the way they
treat you.

3. What learning approach did the learners respond to most positively?

The leaners respond the best to the visualization approach.

Why do you think this is the case?

it's simply because visuals hold more appeal than plain text to those curious and intuitive young
minds. Such as, learners respond to visual information faster as compared to text only
materials. Also, visuals help improve learning tremendously and on multiple levels.

Could you possibly make use of this knowledge for your own practice?
 Yes, I would also use more visual teaching techniques and use others approaches as well to see
what works the best for my different classes.

4. Describe two challenges that the learners experienced and how teachers perhaps or you can
address this to make life easier for learners? (Remember that schools may have very good
reasons for doing things in a specific way because of their years of experience in practice.)

One of the challenges that the leaners experience is the fact that they live in a poor area and
there are some days that they don’t even get breakfast. The schools have a feeding scheme
every morning before school to make sure everyone get some food that will help them to focus
better and to learn more productive.
The other challenge is that some of them live on farms far away from the school, so they are not
able to get transport every day to school and back to the farm. The school build a large hostel
for these leaners with teachers to help them in the afternoon with homework.

5. Did the learners find it difficult to meet different expectations from different teachers or did
they manage to do so easily? What can you learn from this for your own practice?

Yes, the leaners struggle to meet all the different expectation because they are so different.
I would try do most of the thing the same as other teachers to help them cope with it.

6. Did the teachers create enough opportunities for the learners to participate in the learning
process?

Yes

What did you learn from this for your own practice?

That it is important to give students the opportunity to express themselves and give their
opinions about the learning style and the learning material, by giving them that they feel
included and that motivate them to learn even harder.

7. How will you use learner-centered pedagogy in your subject? (An example specific to your
subject.)

I will use learner-centered pedagogy by viewing knowledge through lenses of social and
relational processes and therefore prioritize students' individual processes of constructing
personal knowledge and understanding rather than rote mastery of course content.
8. Was this observation exercise informative enough to influence your own perception of
teaching? Explain

Yes, in five weeks you get to experience more than one grade and more than one classes. This
means you see how different teacher work with different types of learners.

9. What aspects were not observed that you feel is important for a teacher to know? Explain
what you observed and how it would influence teaching.

The aspect that I feel is not observed is the admin of a teacher, the absent register, the lesson
plans according to the CAPS document, the mark sheets etc. This influence teachers because it
takes more time and planning. This means we need to be prepared to manage our time well to
make sure all these documents are in order and still have time to make the learning material
interesting and think of different learning and teaching styles.