Classroom Observation Charts — EDPRAC 612

All three charts from the 2026 Practicum Handbook (Section 8, pp. 21–23). Chart 1 is required; Charts 2 and 3 are chosen to suit the classroom being observed.

Confidentiality — this applies to the rough notes, not just the tidy version. The handbook requires that teachers and students are not identified by name even in rough notes, and that pre-service teachers work in accordance with the Privacy Act. Use class codes and role descriptions ("the teacher", "a student near the door"). Record only what I would be content to show the teacher I observed.
How to observe (handbook §3.1). Describe rather than evaluate — my role is to collect data, not to judge the teacher. Record key phrases verbatim where possible. Stay unobtrusive and avoid interacting with students while actively observing (this is different from assisting, where helping is welcomed). Good and Brophy (1987) warn that watching only the teacher is a misplaced emphasis: "The key to looking in classrooms is student response." Work saves in this browser as you type.
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Observation Chart 1 · General Observation

Required — at least one

Fill this out throughout practicum observations so there are as many examples of teacher behaviour as possible to discuss in EDPRAC 612 class. Record key phrases verbatim where possible.

This is how the teacher(s) dealt with the following situations
As students entered the classroom at the beginning of the lesson
When starting the class
When directing the students to start a task / activity
When attracting the students' attention
Transitions from one activity to another
Student inattention
Students asking to leave the class e.g. to use the toilet, collect equipment, go to the sick bay
Students questioning the work given
Students putting others down; sexual harassment
The last five minutes of the lesson
Giving out homework
Students leaving the class at the end of the lesson

Observation Chart 2 · GRAPES Lesson Observation

Optional — choose to suit the class

Note precisely what happens in the lesson in each of the following areas. Record key phrases where possible.

GHow was attention gained each time it was required? How was attention maintained?
RHow was the lesson linked to the previous lesson? Review
AHow were the aims of the lesson communicated to the students?
PHow was new material explored or presented? How were key or difficult points stressed? How were visual aids used? How were activity instructions given?
EWhat opportunities were there for student activity? Exercises — what was the nature of the activity?
SHow were the key points of the lesson summarised?

Observation Chart 3 · Class Management, Transitions and Misbehaviour

Optional — choose to suit the class

Two columns, deliberately: what the teacher said, and what the teacher did. Much of class management is non-verbal, and it is invisible unless recorded separately.

Teacher language — "What did the teacher say?" Non-verbal signals — "What did the teacher do?"
Lesson opening Record what the teacher did at the start of the lesson.
Transition beginnings For each transition, record how the teacher got students working.
Student off-task behaviour Briefly note any misbehaviour the teacher responds to, and what the teacher did to correct it.
Lesson ending Record what the teacher did to conclude the lesson.

Charts reproduced from: University of Auckland, Faculty of Arts and Education. (2026). EDPRAC 612 GDTSE Practicum Handbook (updated 17 July 2026), Section 8, pp. 21–23. Quotation in the note above from Good, T. L., & Brophy, J. E. (1987), as cited in the handbook (p. 7). Reproduced as a working form for my own practicum use.