FS 1 Episode 5

Field Study 1: The Learner's Development and Environment

Episode 5

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND LEARNER'S INTERACTION

OBSERVATION REPORT

Name of the School Observed: Mayapa Elementary School

School Address: Mayapa, Laguna

Date of Visit: October 11, 2013

As I observed the class of Grade 5 section Matiyaga, I noticed the different abilities of every learner. There are students who are listening very eagerly to the teacher and very much interested in the subject matter, there are some who talks to their seatmates and also discuss some of their businesses; others are very vocal of what they wanted to express making them a little bit noisy.

While observing, I noticed that those pupils near the board or in the first rows are very attentive to their teacher and communicates more and have more interaction in the class. While those at the back or in last rows has their own “mini” discussion of their own and some are just quiet while in their seats.

According to the teacher, one of the students who is very active during class discussion is a daughter of a tailor and lives in a nice place, while one of the students who is quite noisy at the back lives in a kind of place that is kind of noisy or not peaceful.

Their behavior is very different maybe the reason behind this is their socio-economic status. Just like if a pupil lives in a place that is harmonious and happy to live in surely he or she will adapt and cope with this kind of environment and on the other side if a pupil is used to be raised in an environment where conflict attributes this may have a huge effect on the learner.

The teacher provides right assistance to those who need her support the most. She is very approachable which is very good because her students will not be able to be shy to ask for help. Even if she focuses more on the students who needs her the most, she still didn't forget the other students.

MY ANALYSIS

1. Did your observation match the information given by the teacher? Were you able to correctly identify who among the students performed well and who did not? What behavior helped you identify them? (volunteering to answer, responding to teacher's directions, etc.)

• Yes of course my observation matched the information given by the teacher. I certainly identified those pupils who performed well and not so actively performing well. The behavior helped me identify the well performing pupils is that they are very fond of raising their hands when the teacher asks them several questions about the subject matter, and I be able to identify those pupils who are not so good in class by means of when the teacher asks them a particular question they wouldn't be able to answer the question and often when the teacher asks them they just remain quiet.

2. Describe the differences in ability levels of the students in the class. Is there a wide gap between the students who are performing well and those that are not?

• Those students who perform well in the class have the ability to easily understand and cope up with the lesson while those students who performed not so well takes a longer time for them to understand the lesson. There’s a gap but it is not wide enough, because as said it only takes time for some students to understand the subject matter but on the bottom line they still can cope and join as others are doing.

3. Describe the methods used by the teacher in handling the students' differences in abilities. How did the students respond to the teacher?

• The methods used by the teacher in class in handling her students whether high or low achiever is very fair. She addresses the class as a whole and not by making her students think that there is a huge barrier among those students who performed well than those who are not.

MY REFLECTIONS

1. Recall the time when you were in the elementary or high school. Recall the high and low achievers in your class. How did your teacher deal with differences in abilities? Was your teacher effective?

• When I was in elementary my teacher used to treat us fairly. She is very effective and approachable because she helped on the things that maybe difficult and hard for us. For instance when a lot of us didn't catch up a certain topic she discussed she would gladly repeat it all over again just to make us understand the discussion. She also cites more examples for us to master the topic. She is not a quitter which is very admirable for a teacher she will not stop unless all of the class understands the topic.

2. With the principle of individual differences in mind, what methods and strategies will you remember in the future to ensure that you will be able to meet the needs of both the high and low achievers in your class?

• In the future as I will be teaching the next generation, I will never forget this desire of letting the students understand all of the lessons. It is not enough if only some can fully understand it. It must be the class as a whole because all of them deserve equal right and treatment.