Lesson

The second most frequent theme that emerged from the PSTs’ journals in the first phase of the study was related to the lesson. The main foci were:

 The lesson plan

 Content

5.5.2.1 The lesson plan

Important areas that the PSTs noted about the lesson plan included the benefits of having a lesson plan, the aspects they considered in order to think of future planning, and changes they had to consider in their lesson. Regarding the advantages of having a plan, the comments were more about what the PSTs gained by writing down a plan and the need of having a backup plan for a class. See, for instance, Mario’s comment:

One of the benefits that doing your lesson plan has is that you learn […]. I could say that before I teach my lesson I need to check the

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vocabulary that I do not know because it is easier for me to understand the topic and also because if students ask in the class, I have checked it before.

(JPh1/Mario08/ll4–7)

Evidently, Mario thought that writing a lesson plan beforehand was helpful since it served as a guide and enabled him to be aware of the topic to be taught, to foresee possible questions from the students, and to be prepared to answers those questions accurately. Mario’s comment showed his concern as a novice teacher to be well prepared for the class. Data from the journals showed that most of the PSTs were aware that the activities planned do not necessarily flow the way they were designed. For example, Marguerita (JPh1/02/ll20–21) stated that she had learned that ‘even though you have a lesson plan it would not necessarily be carried out in the way that was planned’. In the same vein, Perla admitted that ‘it is important to have a plan B because we won't have a perfect class always’ (JPh1/Perla09/ll11–13). Marguerita’s and Perla’s quotes revealed that they were aware that they had to be prepared in order to solve unexpected situations. In general, the PSTs noticed the importance of having a backup plan, and changing or adapting the lesson plan ‘according to students’ needs’ (JPh1/Lea02/ll8) or ‘as a result of time, lack of understanding [of the content] or lack of clarity in teacher's explanation’ (JPh1/Marguerita04/ll6–7). It was clear that the PSTs were concerned about variables that can shape a class. The aspects identified by the PSTs as affecting the lesson and causing changes were the level of English of the students, and the lack of time to carry out some activities. These seemed to be real world difficulties and unforeseen circumstances they dealt with during their teaching practices. When referring to the level, for instance, Valery declared that she modified her lesson when noticed that her students had some difficulties learning a topic due to their low level of English: ‘the classes were less stressful and more successful’ after that (JPh1/Valery01-04/ll6). The low level in L1 was also

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addressed by some PSTs as a determining factor for making changes in the lesson plan. For instance, Lea found out that her young children did not know some numbers in Spanish. Lea decided to make some adjustments in the moment of the class, as she explained:

The day of the class, I felt a bit confused because I realized that not all the students knew the numbers [in Spanish]. I had to think quickly in a solution and I decided to focus the class only on four numbers (1, 2, 3 and 4).

(JPh1/Lea02/ll4–7)

This was a clear example of the PSTs describing reflection-in-action and immediate decision-making to solve an unexpected problem. Another aspect that caused changes in the PSTs’ lesson plans was the lack of time to carry out some activities. María, for instance, described how she had to make some changes to her lesson plan ‘because of the time that the students were taking to do the activity’ (JPh1/María05/ll5–6). The realisation of adjusting the time for activities was usually expressed in terms of the students’ time to process or learn a topic. Mario mentioned that:

[…] it took a long time to explain the topic. But in the end, I realized that the topic is like that. Students need to take more time learning simple past.

(JPh1/Mario03/ll15–16)

Mario tried to balance the situation and make a decision based on what was the best for the students. Mario confirmed his position in his following entry when he reflected that:

[…] We are learning. I know that if the topic that we planned couldn’t be finished it doesn't matter we have to teach it in the next section.

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Mario was not only aware of his students learning but also the process of learning that he was going through as a novice teacher, in terms of time management and his flexibility in adapting the content of the lesson according to students’ needs. Mario introduced a concern that seemed to be shared by some other PSTs. That is, planning ahead based on the development of the class or students’ preference of activities. Most PSTs proclaimed that they were frequently observing and analysing students’ likes and characteristics, and what worked in order to plan their lessons. Moreover, asking the homeroom teachers about students’ background knowledge in the first language (when teaching young children) was useful when planning the lessons, as Kimberly recalled:

I had spoken to the teacher in charge of the group and she told me that the children had already learned this topic in Spanish. So for my lesson plan I decided to combine this topic [vegetables] with colors (a topic I had already taught to them).

(JPh1/Kimberly05/ll3–6)

Asking experienced teachers, or the ones who are familiar with students, showed the PSTs’ genuine interest in improving their teaching practices and making the learning more meaningful by having a lesson plan that considered what students liked and needed.

5.5.2.2 Content and sequence of lesson

The PSTs showed a strong interest in describing the content and sequence of their lessons. For instance, Mario wrote:

I taught places in the country or in a city. […] Then I showed some images in the projector so that students could identify and learn which kind of places they have in their city, for example, hospitals […].

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Mario, as most of the PSTs, focused on providing a plain report of what they did and the topics taught in a class. However, there were a few examples of description of the class and the inclusion of some details. For instance, see Sofía’s and Joseline’s accounts of what they taught and the order of their classes:

The second class was focused on practicing the simple present and the use of the adverbs of time. First, I […] Then, I […] I asked some volunteers to come to the front and write their answers but nobody wanted to do it. So, I chose some of them by means of the list.

(JPh1/Sofía06/ll11–16) This is the fourth class; the topic was the present continuous. I start with the class. First I do the warm up, I make some examples in Spanish so the students can realize the topic for that class. After that, I use some flashcards. AII the students were involved in the activity.

(JPh1/Joseline04/ll1–4)

Both Sofía and Joseline focused on the teaching of grammar and, apparently, they thought that it was necessary to indicate the sequence of the class in their reflections, even though it was stated in the programme of the Teaching Practice

course that they should avoid describing the lesson. However, it was also evident that they included details, such as noticing students’ engagement (Joseline) or making decisions, when they observed that the students did not volunteer to participate (Sofía). Apparently, in some cases, the description of the sequence of the class was only an excuse to add information about decisions or observations they made.