Learner observation tasks as a learning tool for pre-service teachers

This task is accomplished during the second meeting with the class after they have made their first impression about the pupils’ behaviour and relationship with each other and the teacher. Student teachers are recommended to observe six pupils of different gender and language level. The restricted number of target pupils will focus student teachers attention and makes the task more achievable,

as they need some time to outline the learning situation and make some descriptive comments. Student teachers are free in choice of the number of female and male learners as it depends on specific a class. The number of female and male pupils can be equal or different.

Student teachers are guided with some observable evidences of low and high degrees of motivation. The choice of these signs reflects various factors that determine pupils’ commitment or lack of it. For example, the facts when a pupil ‘attends the task at once/ after the teacher’s reprimands’, ‘does not obey teacher’s instruction’ reveal pupils’ positive or negative attitude to the task, or the learning process. Observing the behaviour when a pupil ‘complaints about the difficulty of the task’, ‘enjoys working on difficult task’ student teacher can infer pupils’ sense of efficacy whether they under-estimate their capabilities or not. When a learner asks the teacher or his/her neighbour when uncertain it is likely to exert positive attitude to the task. But student teachers should be careful in labeling this desire as integrative or instrumental motivation since pupil responds to the teacher instruction, which might be formulated as getting a good mark, or interesting challenge. The fact when a learner works independently on the task for a long time demonstrates her/his effort invested in the task. But at the same time working for a long time seems to be ambiguous in determination this motivation as integrative or instrumental as it closely relates to students’ language competence, his/her attitude to the task and task instruction. So, student teachers are asked to comment on the manner of working on the task, and emotional behaviour. The fact when learners are glad or upset with teacher’s reward overtly displays pupil’s instrumental motivation, whereas attitude to the feedback should be treated in accordance with the context. Student teachers should judge whether negative or positive feedback is given and its effect on learner’s behaviour. It might raise positive emotions and hilarious exclamations, or frowning and mumbling on the part of learners. The last sign ‘pleas teacher to get a better mark’ is the salient evidence of instrumental motivation.

The frame of the task involves four columns. In the first column the names of learners should be put down beforehand. It allows student teachers to start their observation from the very beginning of the lesson. In the second column opposite the names of the target learners an observer makes some notes about physical, emotional and language behaviour. This task seems to be similar to the previous one. But this time student teachers have to be concerned with student’s willingness and interest to the task and learning process. In the third column student teachers have to outline a specific learning activity. After the lesson they will analyze which tasks promote negative or positive attitude with learners. In the last column an observer has to give any other comments on the situation and motives that caused this behaviour, and defines whether this situation refers to the instrumental or integrative motivation.

After the lesson pre-service teachers are recommended to make brief comments on the relationship between learners’ behaviour and learning activities in order to define which learning activities, instructions promote instrumental or integrative motivation. The third comment that students have to make concerns attitude to the task with different gender. They should be aware of whether motives of female and male students are different in approaching and accomplishing the tasks or the same.

At the post-observation session student teachers should reflect on the role of motivation in the learning process and its influence on the task fulfillment. They might think of the degree the pupils judge their learning capabilities, and the level they value their efforts invested in the task. It will direct pre-service teachers to take into account the degree of challenge pupils face and adequate feedback they expect. Finally, student teachers should consider all these factors in their further planning of lesson activities, formulating their instructions and anticipate appropriate rewards for every task.

5.3 Learner as a doer

5.3.1 Learner as an active participant and reasons of participation

Humanistic, communicative language teaching theories advocate the assumption that learners should be actively involved in day-to-day teaching practice. In its turn in order to encourage learners to take active position in learning process and be more responsible for their progress teachers should take into account that learners perceive, approach tasks, process and solve problems in divergent ways. The reason of it arises out of learners’ intelligence, expectations, aptitudes, strategies and learning styles.

Learning styles, or some learners’ preferences in approaching and processing tasks, are considered to be salient and can be obtained through observing learners’ behaviour. Tudor (1996:114) considers that learning style is characterized as ‘a practically-oriented construct: it is based on … the analysis and grouping of observed behavioural preferences’.

Various researchers define learning style as ‘a consistent pattern’ (Gregoire 1970:234), ‘relatively stable indicator’ (Keefe 1979) which consists of distinct behaviours or characteristics a person learns from and interacts with his/her environment. This definition shows that the term ‘cognitive style’ refers to a very complex set of processes and involves different psychological and cognitive variables. Birkey and Rodman (1995) point out that, just as there are ‘striking differences in the way people learn and process information .there are significant differences in how learning styles are defined and measured’. Different researchers have constructed a great range of bipolar schemes and numerous measuring instruments, such as questionnaires, scales, surveys, to investigate student learning styles.

5.3.2 Areas of learning styles

Reid (1995:x,xi) have grouped different dimensions of learning preferences into three main spheres: cognitive styles, sensory styles, affective/temperament styles. Cognitive learning styles refer to how people learn rather than what they learn. It relates to learners’ ‘habitual modes of processing information and, in a general sense, of organizing their perceptions of and interaction with their environment’ (Tudor 1996:108). Keefe (1979:4) defines learning style as a ‘characteristic of cognitive, affective, and physiological behaviors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning environment’. Thus, the term ‘cognitive style’ is used to refer to a very complex set of processes, and encompasses various stylistic variables. The most famous and developed variable with application to language learning is field dependence – field independence (FD - FI). Sometimes called global versus analytical thinking this variable reflects on how learners think and process information. The FD learner is one who processes information globally. This learner is less analytical, not attentive to detail, and sees the perceptual field as a whole. This whole resists analysis or decomposition. The FI person on the other hand can easily break the field down into its component parts. S/he is typically not influenced by the existing structure and can make choices independent of the perceptual field. FD persons are more socially oriented, they ‘benefit from positive peer interaction’ (Violand-Sanchez 1995:53) and tend to be sensitive to approval (Chappel 1995:160). They also need more explicit instructions when material to be learned is disorganized. FI learner, because s/he does not need the approval of others, ‘might be the more confident language learner, actively speaking out in class and taking risks’ (Day 1984:74).

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