EDFD Assessment Task Two: Observation in class My placement school is a Catholic Parish Primary School located in an outer, northwest

suburb of Melbourne with a student population of around 320 and a staff population of around 35. The School has 14 classes that are divided into the following levels: Junior school (5 x P-2 classes), Middle School (4 x 3-4 classes) and Seinior School (5 x 5-6 classes). They are divided into a straight preparatory grade and composite classes for all other grades (years one/two, three/four and five/six classes). The school is situated on a single campus next to a local town chapel and uses the library facilities of a nearby high-school.

The lack of an on-campus library may very well create problems for student research because students may only visit the library once a week and if they pick up the wrong references, then they cant acquire new ones as quickly as may be necessary. This has probably increased the Schools reliance on computers as a source of student information. The undercover area of the school has 5 classrooms as the walls, a feature that often results in student distraction when there is a PE class or other loud noise being made in the area. The renovations and expansions taking place in the school are likely to increase class productivity once the students are in larger and better resourced rooms. The school has frequent fundraisers that increase the financial ability of the school to support camps and other beneficial excursions and incursions.

The classroom I have spent the most time in caters for the students physical development by having space for students to move around effectively. Socially, their development is assisted by the seating arrangement where at each table the students

are facing other students as they work. This encourages discussion and debate about the task at hand and promotes friendly interaction between students. The students intellectual development is supported by the posters and charts that are on the walls of the room. These posters are filled with information from all the students subjects and have reminders of important information for the students to use as a resource when they get stuck.

During classroom operations I observed the teacher employing a number of techniques that were compatible with the information processing version of constructivism. McInerney and McInerney (2010) contend that information processing teachers should; have an acceptance of the differences in the degree of assistance required and of rates of progress (of students). My associate teacher demonstrated this when she informed me of the different tasks she sets different students when they are at different mathematical levels. She explained that she would assign student A with a difficult problem because they had a high degree of proficiency with the subject matter, but give student B a more basic problem because their comprehension of the topic wasnt yet complete. Students need to be proactive in their academic work. As Elena Bodrova (2007) explains: Information processing theorists and Vygotsky agree that the child must make a mental effort to learn. This has the added bonus of encouraging the students to re-evaluate their thoughts and see problems from another perspective. It is vital for students to be motivated to learn by thinking about the purpose of their school-work. Thomas Good (1995) stated that: Teachers can help their students remember what they learn by encouraging them to think about the contexts in which they will need the information and what will they do with it when they apply it This has occurred many times in the classroom when the

teacher described the possible application of their current topic (geometry) to the construction industry with strong combinations of shapes being sought after by architects. Another example was when a student was questioning the importance of learning about measurement and the teacher not only explained but demonstrated how useful knowledge of measurement was by posing the class a question of whether the teachers desk would fit on the other side of the room without obstructing the whiteboard or getting in the way of doors. The children were unsure of why this was important at first, but then the teacher pointed out that the students would one day need to move furniture around their own house and know through measurement what would be able to fit in certain spots. It is Important that students be engaged with the subject matter they are studying at school. Biehler (1993) contends that the human information processing system is interactive. Information already stored in memory influences and is influenced by perception and attention. This means that students must be paying attention to what they are studying as frequently as possible. My teacher kept the class attention by constantly asking the students what their opinion on the subject was or what other ways could a problem be solved. Students would then remain engaged and focused on the information being presented. Another technique the teacher would use was making a game based around the work being looked at. So for literacy, they developed a game of bingo in which the students were read out a series of sentences and their bingo answers would be a combination of nouns, verbs and adjectives that they would need to identify before calling out bingo.

The school places a lot of emphasis on its acceptance of different ethnic students and says that the school student population currently has 63% of its students from nonEnglish speaking backgrounds. In my class there was one young student whose family

was from Iraq and he had very limited English skills. To help this child, the school has assigned a specialist teacher to help him translate and comprehend the work that he is given. In terms of religious diversity, given that the school itself is a catholic school, there is limited mention of other religions other than Catholicism in the curriculum. Special needs students are catered for by the school with specialist teachers working closely with affected students to assist their academic and social development.

Bibliography: Biehler, Robert F. and Snowman, Jack (1993) Psychology applied to Teaching (7th Ed.) 379-380 Bodrova, Elena and Leong, Deborah J. (2007) Tools of the Mind: The Vygotskian Approach to early childhood Good, Thomas L. and Brophy, Jere (1995) Contemporary Educational Psychology McInerney, Dennis M and McInerney, Valentina (2010) Educational Psychology Constructing Learning (5th Ed.) 97-127