<p class="p3"><span class="s1">Observers: Assoc. Prof. Ivanka Kamburova-Milanova, PhD,</span></p>
<p class="p4"><span class="s1"> Irina Ivanova, PhD, University of Shumen, Bulgaria</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1">07.12. – 10.12.2015</span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">The visit to the school Ellinogermaniki Agogi in Athens, Greece was conducted with the aim of monitoring the process of implementing the project programme. The process involved observation of two lessons, which were planned in advance, following the CLIL/ STEM observation checklist produced under the project. The checklist is organized into 4 groups of indicators: 1. Lesson Structure, Design and Outcomes; 2. Teaching and Learning Strategies; 3. Content, Language and Communication; and 4. Classroom and Learning Process Management/ Mobile Labs. </span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">The report follows the structure of the observation checklist. </span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1"><b>Ellinogermaniki Agogi Dimitriou Panagea</b>, <b>Athens/Pallini ,</b></span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1"><b>5th Grade</b></span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1"><b>General information</b></span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">The observed lesson of the 5</span><span class="s2"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="s1"> grade class took place in the afternoon of December 7</span><span class="s2"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="s1"> from 15.30 to 16.50 p.m. The topic of the class was <i>Electricity (Elektrizität/Strom)</i>. The German teacher Christina<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>Leontzakou taught the class together with the Physics teacher Marianna Potsidi. The class consisted of 10 fifth grade students for whom German is their first foreign language. They have 6 lessons (teaching hours) per week. The lesson we observed was an optional lesson in physics. By the time of the observed<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>lesson the students had been studying German for 4 school years, which means that they had a language competence level A1+ (Elementary). The class was attended by Fani Stylianidou who works as researcher in the Research Department of the school and also participates in the project. </span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">Our first impressions were that the lesson was taught according to plan, with active and even student participation. The rapport was good and was conducive to students’ learning. The students were enthusiastic and interested in the material. This affirms that the project’s idea is well received and suitable to their needs. </span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1"><b>Discussion of indicators</b></span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">Before the class we were provided with a lesson plan in English. The planned objectives were appropriate for the students' level and</span><span class="s3"> recognizable</span><span class="s1">, though not explicitly stated in the plan. The students knew what they were doing at each stage of the lesson. The materials and the tasks corresponded to the topic, and were suited to students’ current cognitive level and learning styles. With respect to the lexis taught in the lesson,<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>the students used labels with the key vocabulary, worksheets, and an experiment kit (das Holz, das Kabel, die Lampe, leuchten, das Metall, der Draht, der Fußkontakt, der Sockelkontakt, Plus Pol, Minus Pol, der Stromkreis, geschlossen). However, the key vocabulary as planned did not contain the structure „verbunden ist” (is connected) and the verb „verbinden“ (to connect), which provoked questions in students and made it difficult for them understand and draw<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>conclusions. In general, the language used by the teacher was appropriate for the students. The German teacher spoke the target language throughout the lesson. The Physics teacher also took active part in some tasks, explaining in Greek the subject matter which students found difficult to understand (e.g. Task C in the worksheet in which they had to find the difference between the atoms of plastic and atoms of metal). The Physics teacher spoke only Greek to consolidate the key terms and to explain some of the content. The learning outcomes became clear when the students presented the results of the experiment in a language which was appropriate for their language and cognitive level. The fact that the students took active part in the summary of the experiment and the conclusions drawn from it, shows that most of the students successfully managed to pass through the stages of the STEM inquiry approach (trigger – hypothesis – experimentation – verification/ conclusion – generalization/ transfer). </span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">The teacher used a variety of teaching strategies to link new to old information and to ensure continuity between old and new material. At the trigger phase she elicited the key words from the learners, and then asked them to fill them in the scheme on the white board. The teacher made the input comprehensible by using graphic organizers and visualization (interactive white board), and by monitoring and helping individual students during the experiment. </span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">The language activities were mainly focus-on-form (vocabulary and structures, question - answer exchange), without a separate focus on skills development. However, given the students' level of German, we think that they could have been asked to explain the functioning of the electrical circuit themselves or ask and answer questions about it in pairs, if they were encouraged or prompted by the teacher. To compensate for this lack of interaction between students and to ensure free communication flow, the Physics teacher encouraged constant code-switch. </span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">In terms of CALP, students can perform a lot of functions – they can observe and recognize the interrelations and dependencies in the physical world, such as what atoms are composed of and what electricity is. They know the German terms for the objects, they can differentiate among different notions and summarize results of experiments. As for BICS, students can make hypotheses, explain and exchange ideas about the experiment, report their findings, dеscribe what a closed electricity circuit is, and draw simple conclusions. These abilities can be reinforced by introducing language structures and verbs such as <i>bestehen aus (consist of), sich unterscheiden (differ from)/, verbinden (connect), geschlossen ist (is closed),</i> etc.</span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">Students are aware of the application of these phenomena in real life. The experiment gave students hands-on experience which facilitated their understanding and learning. </span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">One positive aspect of the lesson was the variety of interaction formats, such as, lock-step (plenary), pair work, group work and individual work which corresponded to nature of different tasks. There was a variety of activities, such as revision, tasks integrating language and content, and tasks focusing on the application of the studied phenomena in other contexts. </span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">The post-lesson discussion was very fruitful, as it provided opportunities for exchange of experience and good practices between the observers, physics and foreign language teachers and the project researcher from the school. </span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1"><b>Ellinogermaniki Agogi Dimitriou Panagea</b>, <b>Athens /Pallini,</b></span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1"><b>6th Grade</b></span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1"><b>General information</b></span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">The observed lesson took place in the afternoon of December 9th from 15.30 to 16.50 p.m. The topic of the lesson was <i>Reibungskräfte</i> (Friction). The lesson was taught by the German teacher Christina Leontzakou and the physics teacher Athena Tsagogeorga who worked as a team. The class consisted of 9 sixth grade students for whom German is their first foreign language. They have studied German language from the 1</span><span class="s2"><sup>st</sup></span><span class="s1"> grade. By the time the observed lesson took place, students had been studying German for more than 4 years, which means that their level was A1<b>+</b> - A2. The lessons are optional and are held once a week as a science (physics) class. The topic of the lesson was chosen by the teacher. The lesson was attended by the researcher Fani Stylianidou from the Research Department of the school.</span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">The lesson was taught according to plan, with active and even learners’ participation. The rapport was good and was conducive to students’ learning. The students were enthusiastic and interested in the material which exhibits the successful implementation of the project. </span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1"><b>Discussion of indicators</b></span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">We were provided with a lesson plan in English for 80-85 min. The planned objectives were clear, recognizable, and detailed - especially the communicative goals. The students were in control at all times and understood the purpose of the tasks. The materials and the tasks were suitable for the topic and the current cognitive and language level, life experience, and learning styles of the students. The German teacher spoke the target language throughout the lesson. The language was appropriate for the students’ level. The learning outcomes became clear when the students presented the results of the experiment in German. The lesson was well structured and reflected the 5 stages of the STEM inquiry approach. The teacher first elicited students’ opinions on the importance of friction (trigger). She reviewed the content of the previous lesson and drew their attention to visuals in order to present the key words. She also used short video films to introduce the topic and provoke students' thinking. On the basis of physics teacher input the students hypothesized about the nature of friction phenomena and later tests their hypothesis in the experiment (hypothesis and experimentation). In the experiment both teachers worked in a team assisting groups of students. Through interactive tasks (question – answer exchanges) students verified the results and made conclusions about the existence of friction as a phenomenon. </span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">The teachers used a variety of teaching strategies to link new to old information and to ensure continuity between old and new material. The input was made comprehensible by using photos, drawings, graphic organizers and visualization (interactive white board and short videos), and by monitoring and helping groups of students during the experiment. </span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">There was a good balance between focus-on-form and skill development. The code switching was done by students when conducting the experiment and when addressing both teachers. </span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">In terms of CALP, students can perform a lot of functions – they can observe, recognize and nominate the interrelations and dependencies in the physical world, such as forces and friction phenomena. They know most of the German terms for the objects, they can differentiate among different notions, and summarize results of experiments. As for BICS, students can talk and exchange ideas about the experiment, they can report their findings, and draw simple conclusions in German. Students are aware of the application of these phenomena in real life. The experiment gave students hands-on experience which facilitated their understanding and learning. </span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">One positive aspect of the lesson was the variety of interaction formats, such as lock-step (plenary), pair work, group work, and individual work which corresponded to the nature of different tasks. There was a variety of activities, such as revision, tasks integrating language and content, and tasks focusing on the application of the studied phenomena in other real-life contexts.</span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">The post-lesson discussion was very fruitful, as it provided opportunities for exchange of experience and good practices between the observers, physics and foreign language teachers and the project researcher from the school. </span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s1">Although there were no mobile labs the teachers provided very good equipment for the experiment from the facilities available at the school. </span></p>
<p class="p6"><span class="s1"><b>Issues and recommendations</b></span></p>

<ol class="ol1">
	<li class="li5"><span class="s1">The optional observed 80-minute lessons are held in the afternoon in one block without a break, after the students have had 6 regular teaching hours in the morning. Although the students participated actively and were interested in the studied material, in the second half of the lesson they showed clear signs of fatigue and lack of concentration. In order to make both teaching and learning more effective, we would recommend a short (10 min.) break or, alternatively, shorter lessons. </span></li>
	<li class="li5"><span class="s1">It was difficult to follow the teacher's activities in the lesson plan of the second lesson, because they were only marked schematically (e.g. ‚,T. monitors”). In order to make the observer's task easier, the lesson plan should use clear sequencing and numbering of activities and corresponding worksheets. Although the stages were clearly outlined, the activities for these stages were not specified. The procedures and tasks should be described in more detail. </span></li>
	<li class="li5"><span class="s1">Although the German and the Physics teacher worked together in the preparation of the lesson, the observers were left with the impression that it was the German teacher alone who taught the whole lesson. In the template the actions and responsibilities of each team’s teacher are not specified. These should be differentiated in order to avoid confusion and overlapping. </span></li>
	<li class="li5"><span class="s1">In one of the lessons there was no balance between the participation of the two teachers. There were no clear transitions between their activities. Neither of the Physics teachers spoke any German. We recommend that code switching be motivated and balanced. </span></li>
	<li class="li5"><span class="s1">There were some issues with the timing of the activities. It is not necessary to do everything that is planned (and outlined in the worksheets, as in the second lesson) – it is better to be flexible and adapt to students’ needs, especially at the generalization stage. It would be more beneficial to the students to make a better use of games and game-like activities.</span></li>
	<li class="li5"><span class="s1">In teaching the key vocabulary in a STEM lesson and developing students' BISC and CALP, it is important not only to introduce but also to practice and consolidate key verbs and structures which are central to understanding and adopting scientific discourse. </span></li>
	<li class="li5"><span class="s1">The worksheets were very well-prepared and suitable for visualizing the studied material and can be a recommended best practice. They played a vital role in facilitating students' understanding and learning of the subject matter. </span></li>
</ol>