Early Childhood Classroom Observation

Observation
It is believed that observing allows a teacher to see how children interact with adults and each other, as well as, becoming familiar with their everyday behaviours and the range of abilities in the classroom (Dowling, 2010). IPTE has allowed me to observe a number of teaching techniques, assessment methods and positive behaviour management strategies. Across a period of four weeks, I was able to spend two days a week observing in four of the five classrooms within the school, both in Foundation Phase (FP) and Key Stage 2 (KS2). The observation period enabled me to gain a good insight into lesson planning, the running of the school, strategies and policies used as well as the integration between FP and KS2. However, what stood out to me over the four weeks was the schools methods and use of Assessment for Learning (AfL).

In September, a new headmaster was

Peer assessment is when members of the class look at or read each other’s work, mark it and provide valuable feedback on work which allows them to learn from each other. 'Two stars and a wish' is a form of peer assessment that could be used with the class, this form of peer assessment is used frequently in the foundation phase of the school, therefore, is familiar to the children in the year 5/6 class. 'Two stars and a wish' encourages children to state two aspects of their peers work that they like and has met the learning objective and a wish where they can improve on the work. Peer assessment gives students the opportunity to not only asses their peers work but also compare answers. It allows children to think for themselves, self-correct and helps them identify strengths in their learning. 'Two stars and a wish' is a method I will be encouraged to use during my teaching practise as the children are familiar with it and I feel it to be an effective method that is suitable for the year 5/6