4.Class room Transaction & Practicum

[Kerala University English Teacher Educator’s Forum - KUETEF]

Please note the consensus in Class room transaction and Practicum arrived at during the meeting held on 13 June 2009

•A Lesson Plan is only an outline programme of action of a teacher to teach a particular topic in a subject. If we surf the internet we can come across 2 Column , 3 Column, 4 Column, 5 Column and ones without any ‘Column’ at all, as in Lesson Plans for Models of Teaching. So, let us not be fussy about ‘Columns’!

•We will continue to follow the practice of making trainees write Lesson plans with three columns:
* Column 1: Process
* Column 2: Response
* Column 3: Theory / Principles

•If the trainee writes anticipated response in Column 2, prior to the class in blue ink, after the class, the trainee should reflect on the class and write an analysis of Process, Product and Strategy in another colour ink (say black)

• Alternatively, if this is not done, after the class, in the Lesson Plan at the end, the trainee should write a short paragraph reflecting on the class just engaged.

• Ensure that in the Diary, each trainee enters his/her reflections on the classes engaged during Practice Teaching.

•In the facing sheet of the Lesson plan, make a reference to the ‘Main Issue’ of the lesson being taught under the head ‘Curriculum Objectives’

•Also make sure that each Lesson Plan makes a reference to
1. The Main issue
2. The language task
3. Entry point ( ie; the ‘Advanced Organizer’ made use of )
4. Activity: individual, pair and group
5. Product: Notice, Letter etc

•While teaching topics related to an ‘issue’, attempt to identify a ‘Local text’ and move on to the various sub issues.

•Reciting of poems and reading aloud the prose passage, by the teacher will definitely help the pupil. So it should be attempted.

•Time- tested Behaviourist strategies can be attempted if they are useful for the pupils.

•While giving tasks, begin with Individual work, them move on to Pair work and finally to Group work. This will ensure better participation of pupils and help in proper scaffolding . ZPD will also receive due attention.

•The nature of evaluation for an ‘issue-based’ curriculum was one area for which the members present had nothing specific to state. So it was decided to follow the pattern in the recent SSLC Question paper* , though the CB for Standard X is not actually designed to sensitize learners to issues and employ strategies of Critical Pedagogy.
[*Prepare a short speech in not more than 80 words to be made in your school
assembly on rain water harvesting – Q.31. March 2009 Code # 219]

•Teacher educators and trainees should familiarize themselves with the currently available Source Book for Standard VII published in 2008 (Standard VIII Source Book is not yet available)

•While trainees prepare Discussion Lesson Plans , ensure that at least one lesson is IT-based.

•The teacher educator should definitely engage a lesson based on Models of Teaching as part of Demonstration Lessons.

•Encourage trainees to prepare at least one Innovative Record. It could be the report of a Multimedia material they have designed/created. Eg: Animated Video.

•Try to enrich class room transaction by making use of Magazines/ Newspaper clips, video clips etc for highlighting the ‘issue’ and for illustrating or explaining topics.

•As part of the Practicum on documentation, identify several sources for teaching a particular poem or passage. Cite the sources for audio/video/ visual/ critical/ biographical materials or even similar poems/ passages. Ensure that they are properly documented as in the Bibliography section of PhD dissertations.

•For Practicum based on Film / Book review, it would be better to choose films/ books related to the ‘issues’ identified in the Source Book However, choosing films /books dealing with ‘issues’ is not compulsory.

•For Film/Book review, the trainees may state the positive and negative aspects they were able to identify after reading/ watching it. They may also highlight the style of writing, character delineation etc.


If you need any further clarification, please feel free to contact me
cpteach@rediffmail.com