1. English Language Program, School of Continuing Studies
University of Toronto
Instructor Observation
Instructor: Rukhsana Haji Program: ACE at UTM
Date: August 9, 2012
Part One: Technique
Giving Instructions and Explanations
Timing
1. Tasks are appropriately timed
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
2. The pace of the class is appropriate
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
Comments/suggestions:
• When you ask students to complete a task, please let them know, from the beginning,
how long they have to complete it. This will help keep them on track and manage their
time.
• The class started off a bit slow – almost immediately students were required to do a lot
of writing on the board, without having some time to warm up. Using a simple warm
up – as simple as having students share something or perhaps have them spell some of
the new words they have been studying could help raise the energy in the class.
The Instructor:
1. Uses appropriate vocabulary/rate of speech/volume – gives clear explanations
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
2. Gives instructions that are simpler than the task
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
3. Checks for understanding
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
4. Provides clear models/examples
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
5. Maintains the students’ attention
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
Comments/suggestions:
• Through the class you asked many questions to make sure that students understood the
content. The questions you asked not only told you whether they understood the
content, but they got students to think more critically about what they were learning.
For example, you asked a student what it meant to be creative. Very effective!

2. English Language Program, School of Continuing Studies
University of Toronto
Checking of Learning
Part Two: Content/Lesson Organization/Quality
Activities
1. Students know why they are doing an activity/objective is clear
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement N/A
2. Activities are relevant and meaningful
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement N/A
3. Activities are appropriate to the level
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement N/A
4. Balance of Skills is addressed
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement N/A
Comments/suggestions:
• You went over the objectives at the beginning of the class, but to help students
understand why and what they are studying even more, I suggest that you ask students
to read them and then ask them why they feel the objective is important. This will
encourage students to think more about how each lesson impacts their lives, helping them
to connect with and retain the information.
• In addition, please add an agenda to the board so that students have the opportunity to
monitor the class and where they are at. Again, this just helps them feel a part of the
process.
• There was a good balance of skills covered through the lesson. (reading/vocabulary
development/discussion)
The Instructor:
1. Monitored participation
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
2. Was aware of and corrected errors
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
3. Checked learning and provided feedback
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
4. Kept students on task
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
Comments/suggestions:
• During the sentence sharing activity – you listened intently and asked students many
questions to make sure they understood as well as gave some excellent feedback. You
also made sure everyone participated by asking each student to read a sentence.
• You continued to provide feedback through the class, but please be careful to catch some
of the more obvious errors that students make. One error that a student made while I
was there was using the word “abuses.” This would have been a perfect time to do a
“mini” reminder lesson on countable and uncountable, where the student could first
identify his own mistake.
• I am not sure how much you allow the use of tablets in your class, but they can make
getting distracted that much easier. Please ask students to put them away unless a task
requires them. This will also help you maintain student attention.

3. English Language Program, School of Continuing Studies
University of Toronto
Lesson Stages
Use of Resources
Part Three: Classroom Atmosphere
The lesson included:
1. Introduction/Warm-up
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement N/A
2. Presentation
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement N/A (didn’t see)
3. Elicitation from students
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement N/A
4. Controlled Practice
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement N/A
5. Freer Practice
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement N/A
6. Extension/Rationale
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement N/A
Comments/suggestions:
• You started the class by going over the objectives, which acted as an introduction. To add
to this, please build in a warm-up that will help students raise their energy levels and get
ready to study. This will help with the pace of the class because you will be able to elicit
more from students when they feel energized and awake.
• There wasn’t really a presentation in this class – the class moved from objectives to
definitions on the board.
• Going over vocabulary definitions is, without question, an important part of academic
English – very relevant. My only suggestion would be to perhaps use a jigsaw activity to
do the same thing as you did with the board work. There were many definitions on the
board and it took quite some time for students to write their answers, leaving others in
the class waiting their turn. Having too much “down” time can lead to students
becoming distracted. The more engaged they are, the better.
The Instructor provided:
1. Materials of quality of content and presentation
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
2. Effective use of other resources: textbook, board, a/v equipment, etc
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
Comments/suggestions:
• You had some difficulty with the digicam, but you quickly came up with a solution.

4. English Language Program, School of Continuing Studies
University of Toronto
Classroom Dynamics
Overall comments/suggestions:
Rukhsana, overall, your class was well-organized and provided students with a variety of
activities. You listened carefully to their responses through the lesson and made sure to provide
context and concrete examples to clarify any material/vocabulary they were unsure of.
Moving forward, please consider spending more time going over the objectives and writing an
agenda on the board so that students better understand what they are learning on any given
day and why they are learning it.
Observed by: Barb Petersen, Senior Program Coordinator, ELP
The classroom reflected:
1. A balanced instructor/learner centered focus
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
2. A friendly atmosphere
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
3. Students being addressed by name
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
4. Positive student-student interaction
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
5. Positive student-instructor interaction
Very Good Good Fair Needs Improvement
Comments/suggestions:
• The activities that you included in this class were varied and involved students working
with partners, in groups and as a class. It was nice to see such a great mix in such a
short amount of time.