Course title: PRACTICUM 1
Instructors: Asst. Prof. Renata Geld, Mihajla Ćavar Portolan
ECTS credits: 2
Status: mandatory
Semester: VII
Enrollment requirements: none
Course description: Classroom observation. Roles of the observer. Observation difficulties. Observation foci. Observation instruments. Recording teaching events. Reflection on observed classrooms. Designing teacher profiles.
Objectives: Students will develop skills of focused and reflective classroom observation. They will also develop an understanding of the teaching competence components and the need for its development. They will be able to connect theoretical knowledge developed during the relevant university courses with the concrete examples of teaching events observed in real classrooms.
Course requirements: During practicums student will get prepared for focused classroom observation in the institutions where their mentors work. During visits to these institutions they will keep a teaching practice diary. After a mentor’s lesson, a detailed analysis of the observed teaching will be carried out. During these analyses students will have to connect and implement knowledge and skills they will be developing during other ELT methodology courses. The diary and the analyses of the observed lessons will be assessed as part of the portfolio that students are required to keep during their graduate studies.
Week by week schedule:
| Week | Topics |
| 1 | Introduction; Main concepts |
| 2 | Classroom observation foci (I) |
| 3 | Classroom observation foci (II) |
| 4 | Observation instruments (I) |
| 5 | Observation instruments (II) |
| 6 | Classroom observation in lower primary schools |
| 7 | Classroom observation in lower primary schools |
| 8 | Classroom observation in upper primary schools |
| 9 | Classroom observation in upper primary schools |
| 10 | Classroom observation in secondary schools |
| 11 | Classroom observation in secondary schools |
| 12 | Classroom observation in LSP courses |
| 13 | Classroom observation in adult courses |
| 14 | Teacher profiles based on classroom observation |
| 15 | Issues in classroom observation |
Required reading:
– Crookes, G. (2003). A Practicum in TESOL: professional development through teaching practice. Cambridge: CUP. [selected chapters]
– Newby, D. et al (2008). European portfolio for student teachers of languages. Graz: ECML. [selected chapters]
– Wajnryb, R. (1992). Classroom observation tasks. Cambridge: CUP. [selected chapters]
Recommended reading:
– Allwright, D. (1988). Observation in the language classroom. New York: Longman. [selected chapters]
– Costas i Costa et al. (eds) (2001). Student teaching in Europe. Freiburg im Breisgau: Fillibach-Verl. [selected chapters]
– Gebhard, J.G. and Oprandy, R. (1999). Language teaching awareness. Cambridge: CUP. [selected chapters]