Project Bilingual education.

MA in teaching English to young learners as a second and foreign language co-financed

by the European Union under the European Social Fund

Graduate Programme in Teaching English to Young Learners:

Practicum Experience
Mentor teachers report on student
Students name and surname: Agata redziska
Schools name and address: Szkoa Podstawowa nr 109 im. Batalionw Chopskich
Mentor teachers name and surname:

Justyna Kamierczak

Practicum dates: 23/03/2015 - 26/05/2015

Number of observed classes:

15

Number of conducted classes: 5

Guidelines for the mentor teacher:

This evaluation form consists of three parts:
-

yes/no questions
evaluation table where you assess the student according to specified categories
reflection on the students progress

The student will be asked to complete self-evaluation which is very similar to the evaluation
form which you have received. They can serve as a springboard for your conversation about
the practicum experience.

Project Bilingual education. MA in teaching English to young learners as a second and foreign language co-financed
by the European Union under the European Social Fund

The student completed the following tasks during the practicum experience: (please underline
appropriate answers)
1) Observed lessons
Number 15 age group 6,7,9

YES

NO

2) Conducted micro-teaching sessions (e.g. 10-15 minute activities)

using either the teachers or his/her own materials
number 6 age group 6,7

YES

NO

3) Observed CLIL lessons

Number 10 age group 6,7

YES

NO

4) Conducted 45-minute CLIL lessons using

his/her own materials from the CLIL unit
number 5 age group 7

YES

NO

5) Participated in other activities (what kind?)

YES NO
............
.
.

Potential
as a teacher

Professional attitude (interested in entering teaching profession,

attempts to perform competently)
Communication (uses appropriate voice modulation and voice
strength, enunciation of words is satisfactory)
Creativity and flexibility
Emotional maturity (able to work under pressure)

Needs
improveme
nt
1 point

Good
2 points

Evaluation categories

Very good
3 points

Project Bilingual education. MA in teaching English to young learners as a second and foreign language co-financed
by the European Union under the European Social Fund

x
x
x
x

A student is interested in teaching profession. She is keen on getting new knowledge

about teaching techniques and ideas that can be used while conducting lessons. She was
interested in discussing observed lessons, thinking about other activities that could have
been used.

Comment/Reflection

Although she is not confident enough in communication yet. The students voice is quite
calm which sometimes causes problems in keeping control of the class. However, during
last conducted lessons she seemed more confident in this area.
Whats more she is a creative person, shes got art skills developed well (she made handmade aids) and usually she is able to change her lesson plan during the conducted lesson
if needed. However working under pressure is not developed well yet but as a student
its quite good.

Organisation and implementation of a didactic

process

Project Bilingual education. MA in teaching English to young learners as a second and foreign language co-financed
by the European Union under the European Social Fund

Lesson plan(s) prepared by the student provide evidence that the

student has the:
Ability to formulate lesson goals and objectives
Ability to select appropriate methods and teaching
materials
Ability to select appropriate forms of students work (e.g.
pair work/group work/individual work etc.)
Ability to provide justification for teaching decisions
Students ability to present grammar and vocabulary

Students ability to practice all skills

Students ability to motivate students and provide them with

feedback
Students classroom management skills

x
x

Proportion of using English and Polish in teaching

Students ability to conduct lessons according to selected

objectives

Most of the lesson plans were constructed properly. The student was able to choose

Comment/Reflection

appropriate activities, methods and materials for almost all parts of the conducted
lessons. At the beginning the student struggled with introducing vocabulary but it
improved while practicum programme. She used Polish from time to time, rarely it was
unnecessary.
Her classroom management skills are adequate to her experience and will improve.

Project Bilingual education. MA in teaching English to young learners as a second and foreign language co-financed
by the European Union under the European Social Fund

Attitude towards
pupils

Ability to maintain classroom discipline

Respectful and kind attitude towards all pupils

x
x

Ability to recognize and assess pupils skills and needs

Ability to differentiate instruction according to pupils individual

profiles
Ability to make quick decisions in a changing environment

x
x

The student had problems with keeping discipline in the classroom and sometimes it
caused problems in fulfilling the lesson. Although she was very kind and respectful
towards pupils. She was usually able to recognise problems that children faced during
the lesson and rarely had problems with assessing pupils skills. Differentiating

Comment/Reflection

instructions was on a good level but still needs some practice.

Attitude towards the

practicum
experience

Project Bilingual education. MA in teaching English to young learners as a second and foreign language co-financed
by the European Union under the European Social Fund

Responsibility (attends classes regularly, is punctual, fulfils

assignments on time)

Cooperation with the mentor teacher

Openness and willingness to learn and accept constructive

feedback
Ability and willingness to analyze and reflect on the learning and
teaching process

x
x

The student attended classes regularly and whats more she came to five extra lessons to
feel more secure and get to know the class better. She was keen on discussing her lessons
and willing to listen the feedback that I gave her. She analysed conducted lessons and

Comment/Reflection

drawn conclusions.

Project Bilingual education. MA in teaching English to young learners as a second and foreign language co-financed
by the European Union under the European Social Fund

Other comments and reflections regarding the students progress

At the beginning of practicum Agata was insecure and felt quite lost in the school
environment. But day by day she began more confident and felt more secure. She was keen on
meeting with a mentor teacher to discuss her ideas for conducted lessons and in my opinion it
gave her self-confidence. She used L1 when it wasnt needed but when told not to do it, she
kept control on it.
When started conducting the micro-teaching lessons her voice was very weak but after few
times she become more resolute. Although she still needs some practice in this area.
In my opinion Agata has got great potential to become a teacher.

Project Bilingual education. MA in teaching English to young learners as a second and foreign language co-financed
by the European Union under the European Social Fund

Suggestions for the student:

You should be more confident and believe in yourself. You had many great ideas that were
interesting for children and they really enjoyed them but some of them were too long for
example instead of giving each child fifteen examples give each pair five different ex. and
then discuss them together. Remember that not everybody has to do everything. Children can
do bits of activities on their own, pairs or small groups and later connect the solutions
together.
Next thing that I want to highlight is keeping control of the time and discipline. Time
management is a skill that can help you to reduce stress and improve productivity. You should
give timing to children and sometimes hurry them, especially when they dont do what they
were supposed to do. You should be more consistent in case of discipline in the classroom.
I know that sometimes its difficult but never give up and be brave you are the chief of the
class.
And remember laminate everything because then you can reuse it many times (respect your
time) and download anything you need for the lesson on your laptop (the Internet is not
always reliable source).

Project Bilingual education. MA in teaching English to young learners as a second and foreign language co-financed
by the European Union under the European Social Fund

___________________________________________________________________________
Verification of the compatibility of students self-evaluation and mentor teachers report
conclusions reached after final conversation between the mentor teacher and the student
summarizing the practicum experience
Agata is glad that she had an opportunity to take part in the practicum. She knows that
observed lessons gave her a lot and she was able to use gained knowledge during her
conducted lessons. She has also noticed that she had problems with discipline in the class,
managing the time and sometimes accomplishing planned activities.
She has also pointed out that five conducted lessons were not enough and that with every
lesson she had improved her teaching skills. Agata noticed difficulties that can occur while
conducting lessons and she knows that she has to be ready to solve them immediately.

Project Bilingual education. MA in teaching English to young learners as a second and foreign language co-financed
by the European Union under the European Social Fund

Final grade for the practicum: 45 points GOOD

20 categories / 3 points
Maximum number of points: 60
Minimum number of points to receive credit for the practicum: 31
Grades:
Very good: 51 60 points
Good: 41- 50 points
Satisfactory: 31-40 points
Non-satisfactory: below 31 points

Date

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Mentor teachers signature

..
Headmasters signature

Project Bilingual education. MA in teaching English to young learners as a second and foreign language co-financed
by the European Union under the European Social Fund

This evaluation tool is being tested. We would be grateful for your feedback.

It was not clear enough for me that I should have assessed Organisation and
implementation of a didactic process: Lesson plan(s) prepared by the student provide
evidence that the student has the:
Ability to formulate lesson goals and objectives
Ability to select appropriate methods and teaching materials
Ability to select appropriate forms of students work (e.g. pair work/group
work/individual work etc.)
Ability to provide justification for teaching decisions
by giving only one mark for all those points. At the beginning I gave each ability one mark
but when I summed all the points I realised that something was wrong.