Jen Marie McKenzie
April 23, 2015
Clinical Observation Paper
Weaver
Component 1: Methodology and Technology
I had no idea what to expect for this
component of my observations. Every teacher has their own methodology that they
use in their classrooms so it was impossible for me to predict what this would
look like. I expected that for each of the two observations that I did on this
component, the results would be drastically different from each other. I also
did not know what to expect for the Technology portion of this section either.
I did expect that if the teachers were younger that there would be a greater
chance that they would implement technology more than if the teacher was older.
In my experience as a student, the older the teachers are, the more hesitant
they seem to implement technology in the classroom.
Both teachers that I observed for
this topic were younger, and they implemented technology very well into their
classrooms. In both classrooms, computers lined the room. One classroom was a
technology class, so of course they had access to computers, and the second was
a classroom that met in a computer lab. Both made excellent use of the
technology that was presented to them. Both teachers also actually had
relatively the same methods for running their classrooms, which was not at all
what I expected! I had assumed that every teacher would be completely different
but instead I was proved wrong! Both of these teachers started off their
classes by answering questions before class started, then went on to explain
what the class would be doing that day and carried out those plans.
These specific observations changed the
way I viewed methodology in teaching in general. I always assumed that teachers
had their own ways of doing things and that almost nothing would overlap. To my
surprise there seemed to relatively be a formula that both of these classrooms
followed. When I am in my future classroom, I will keep in mind the way that
these teachers ran their classrooms so that I can have the most effective
classroom that I can make.
The one thing that I observed that
really surprised me was that the Technology teacher told the students that if
they paid attention during the review session then they could have free time
with the computers at the end of class. I had assumed that this would have led
to the students trying to get through the review as quickly as possible, but
they actually paid attention and participated properly in the review session in
order to get to have their free time.
This component was actually treated
relatively the same in both classrooms that I observed. The only difference was
that in one classroom the teacher used the computers throughout the lesson so
that half of the class was always on the computers and the other teacher saved
computer time until the end of class. I think that both ways have merit as long
as the students are actively working. The teachers most likely just had
different ideas of how they wanted the class to run.
For this specific component I learned
that there is a general method to the teaching madness and that every teacher
is not completely different from the next and that teachers can and should
collaborate with each other, regardless of what subject they teach. This made
an impression upon me because I never thought of teachers across different
subjects using the same methods but apparently methods are not unique to
subject areas. This will make me a good educator because I will know to ask for
help from my colleagues, not just other music teachers.
Component 2:
Professionalism
I expected that the nicer teachers
dressed, the more respect they would get from the students. I expected that if
the teachers were dressed professionally, their classes would be smoother and
reigned in. For verbal language, I assumed that if the teachers used slang
words, the students would be lowered to the students’ level, and therefore
would not receive the respect that they deserve as teachers. I also expected
that as long as the teachers were prepared and knew what they were doing for
the lesson, the students would listen and be respectful.
Most
of what I expected was confirmed for me in my observations. What surprised me
was that the choir teacher was not dressed professionally because she was
wearing jeans. In a choir class, the teacher has to be professional enough to
keep the students on task because since the students are already being vocal
and singing, the tendency is to start talking as soon as they stop singing. This
was exactly the case in this choir classroom. Because the teacher was dressed
unprofessionally, her class acted unprofessionally. One of the teachers used
slang words and I do thing that that had an effect on her students. The teacher
who was dressed professionally and used proper English was much more respected
overall.
This
observation opened my eyes to how much clothing can affect a job. Granted,
there could have been other circumstances that I was not aware of because I
only observed one class period, but I did observe that the teacher who was
dressed nicer and did not use slang words had a better control over their
classroom. As a music educator, I will always be fighting with keeping my
students on task and a big part of that is professionalism between my students
and me. In order to achieve this, I will dress appropriately and professionally
and refrain from slang words!
Something that I observed that
really surprised me was that even though one teacher had a more chaotic
classroom while the other had an orderly one, both teachers were really having
fun in the classroom! It was blatantly obvious that both of the teachers were
very comfortable with their students and their school that they were working
at. They were smiling and laughing regardless of what was going on in their
classrooms. This is something that surprised me because I know that a lot of
teachers seem to lose their happiness in teaching as time goes on, but these
two women were very excited to be teaching in their classrooms! I really hope
that I am able to hold onto the joys of teaching for the rest of my life.
One of the classrooms that I observed,
the teacher was wearing jeans, and in the other classroom the teacher was
wearing more dressy clothing. This may have been treated differently because
they took place on different days. I know that a lot of schools have casual Fridays
where the teachers are allowed to wear jeans if they want to. In my opinion,
teachers should only be allowed to wear jeans if they think that they have
their classrooms under complete control. Once a certain level of respect is
gained with the students, the teachers can wear whatever they want to and it
will not make a difference. I do not think that the choir teacher had this
level of respect from the students; therefore she should not have been wearing
jeans.
In terms of professionalism, the one notion
that I will take away from this observation experience is that being
professional around your students in general is not something to be taken
lightly. Being respected by my students is crucial to my success as a music
educator and without professionalism, I will not receive that respect and
therefore my ensembles will suffer. I am going to take away that I need to not
only dress professionally, but also be a professional in everyday life. I need
to be able to speak professionally to my peers and to my students, as well as
handle conflicts professionally. I already try to conduct myself with a
professional mindset on a daily basis, but I am going to take that even further
and I am going to be a professional one hundred percent of the time!
Component 3: Understanding Learners
For the specific component of
understanding learners, I expected the teachers that I was observing to have
generally a good understanding of their students. Teachers become teachers
because they love children and they want to make a difference in their
students’ lives. In order to do this, the teachers must have a good
understanding of their students and how they learn. I expected the teachers to
pay equal amounts of attention to their students regardless of their ethnicity,
gender, or orientation because I have high hopes for teachers and their
abilities to be impartial towards their students.
Almost everything that I expected to
happen did happen. The teachers that I observed were impartial to every minute
difference between their students. As I also had predicted, the teachers showed
that they cared about their students! The students seemed to have their needs
met because they were able to focus on the lesson at hand. One of the things
that I did not expect was that one of the teachers did seem slightly judgmental
towards his students when they got answers wrong; he would laugh at them in a
joking manner, but I know that I would have felt judged had I been in the
students’ shoes. I do not think that this teacher realized all that he was
doing, but it still seemed harsh regardless of his intentions.
This observation made me realize that I
do need to pay attention to my students’ lives outside of school including
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It also made me think of how I am going incorporate
all of the learning styles into my lessons. I am personally a kinesthetic and
oral learner, I do not learn visually very well, so when I teach, I often
forget about my visual learners because that style of learning is not intuitive
to me. It is important to me that I reach all of my students and allow them to
learn in whatever way works for their individual needs. In my music classroom for
example, if I was introducing a new song to my choir, visually, the students
can see the notes on the page, orally they can sing the notes or speak the
rhythms, and kinesthetically they can do solfege symbols with their hands. By
applying these different learning styles into my classroom, I will affect each
student instead of just a portion.
One thing that surprised me in my
observations was that one of the teachers seemed to have an attitude with his
students. Even though I may be having a rough day, I know that it is important
to treat my students with respect, and that they are not stupid just because
they may not know the answers to a question. When his students were giving bad
or incorrect answers, he laughed and had their answers erased. To me, this was
an inappropriate way to handle this situation. It would have been easy to
simply say that an answer was wrong and to erase it, but to laugh at an answer
seems to be going too far. To this teacher’s defense, however, his students did
not seem to be entirely too offended, or if they were, they were not showing
it. This may have been because he has developed a relationship with his
students that would allow him to act like more of a friend than most teachers
do, however I do not think this was the way to handle wrong answers.
In one classroom, the students were well
attended to and respected. They were able to contribute to the conversation in
whatever way they wanted to, and even if their answer was not completely on
track, the teacher would validate their answer and get the discussion back on
track. In the other classroom, if a student gave a wrong answer, because they
were playing a game on the board, they were publically pointed out if their
answer was wrong and the teacher would laugh and erase their answer. At no
point did he validate their answers if they were wrong; he just deemed them
unacceptable and erased their answer from the board. These situations were
treated differently because the teachers had different teaching styles. One
teacher felt that it was necessary to validate wrong or undeveloped answers and
the other one threw his kids into the deep end and had them either sink or
swim. In my opinion, the teacher who validated answers and helped the students
develop what they were trying to say handled the situation better than the
teacher who laughed and erased answers. The students feel better about themselves
and actually learn more if the teacher helps them develop their answers into
more complete responses if the teacher helps them instead of just saying that
they are wrong.
Something that I am going to take
away from this observation is to be careful of how I am treating my students.
There is a time and place for laughing and games, but I never want to be the
teacher who laughs at their students. This made an impression on me
because I have had a teacher who responds to answers with negativity and I remember
not even wanting to answer his questions for fear of feeling stupid. This is
going to make me a better educator because by focusing my lesson and tone of
voice around what is most productive to the students, I can create a nicer and
safer learning environment.
Component
4: Management of the Physical Environment
I
did not know what to expect with this component before I made my observation
because a lot of this component deals with things that are out of the teacher’s
control. Whoever designed the rooms and how much money the school had during
building has a lot more to do with how a room is set up than a teacher does. A
science teacher cannot install lab tables into their room; they have to simply
deal with what they are given. For the portions of this that the teachers can
control, I expected them to use the equipment that they had and to respond
positively and respectfully to their students.
The
expectations that were confirmed for me was the teachers responded very well to
their students! The students were all attended to equally and they were all
expected to contribute to the conversations or discussions that were happening
in the classroom regardless of their gender, race, or sexual orientation. The
teachers also had a command over their classroom that was very impressive to
me. The students listened very well to what the teachers were saying and they
actually did what was being asked of them without complaining; they contributed
to the discussions and actually had very nice, thought provoking conversations.
c)
How did these observations change your perceptions of this component? How do
you imagine you will address this issue in your own future classroom? Explain.
As
for the use of the physical space, this observation forced me to think how I would
design a classroom if I had nothing but an empty room. I would set the chairs
in concentric semicircles and have my podium at the center. I would also try to
have as many posters as I could fit around the room! One thing that almost
every music room has is an abundance of musical posters on the wall and one day
I hope that my classroom can look like that as well. As for the addressing
students portion of this component, I want to have a schedule that I follow for
every class period. I know that as a student I thrived on schedules, so I know
that a schedule will help my students. I will start each class with a bell
ringer that includes either sight-reading or a musical theory problem. Then I
will discuss what we will be trying to accomplish for the day and get to work!
Some
things that surprised me in this observation is that in both classrooms, all of
the students were completely engaged in the discussion that was going on. When
I was in high school, there were always at least one or two students who refused
to participate in class. I looked around the room to try to find anyone who was
not paying attention or was not contributing to the conversation, but all of
them were engaged!
Both
teachers made do with what they were given. In one classroom, every student had
a laptop to use. Because each student had a smart device, they were able to
actively research questions that they had during the discussion so that
information was constantly flowing. In the other class, the students did not
have laptops, so the teacher gave them a sheet with an article on it and they
were told to read it and then discuss it. While no organic information could
come from the Internet, the class still had a very nice discussion about what
they had read. Of course, in an ideal world I would prefer the first teacher’s
approach to using laptops in order to actively research new information during
the discussion because in a real life situation, smart devices are going to
within arm’s reach at any given time, so why not use it? However, perhaps the
second teacher did not have student who all had laptops or smart devices so he
made do with what the situation was. Both systems worked very well, but I
prefer the use and integration of technology.
In
terms of this specific component, I am going to take away that surroundings are
very important. Posters and bulletin boards can change a blank white wall into
a fun and unique space that can make four walls feel like home, or at least a
comfortable classroom. I am also going to remember to use what I am fortunate
enough to be given. There are endless possibilities with the integration of
technology into lessons and I am excited to get the chance to use it. This made
an impression on me because I had not considered how much the surrounding area
could affect my lessons. This will make me a better educator because I can
provide a better learning environment for my students.
Component 5: Diversity and Demographics
I
expected the vast majority of the students in the classrooms to be Caucasian
because of the general surroundings of the city in which I observed and my
previous clinical observations. Even though I expected most of the children to
be Caucasian, I did also expect there to be a variety of ethnic diversity in
the classrooms. I also expected the teachers to treat all of the children
equally regardless of the ethnicity of the students. Especially because of the
environment that these teachers are working in, I knew that the teachers would
not be biased against any of the children and that they would hold all of the
kids to the same standard.
In
both classrooms that I observed, the majority of the students were Caucasian,
but what surprised me was the other ethnicities that were present in the room.
In one classroom, there were only Caucasian and African-American students! It
shocked me that there was not more ethnic diversity in such a diverse school.
The other classroom was much more diverse in that just over fifty percent of
the students were Caucasian, which also surprised me! I thought that most classrooms
in this area were predominantly Caucasian, but I suppose the surrounding
community is more diverse than I originally thought.
This
component made me realize that the school that I was observing at and
subsequently the surrounding society is a lot more diverse than I had
originally thought. As a music teacher, I have one of the most flexible
curriculums as compared to other subjects. Because of this, I have a unique
opportunity to explore different cultures from around the world. If I have a
student who’s family has emigrated from Germany, it is very easy for me to pull
a German piece out for us to perform, which would also allow for me to teach
the class a small lesson on Germany and why the origin is important to how we
perform the piece.
As
mentioned previously, something that really surprised me was just how diverse
the classrooms really are. Diversity is something that can change drastically
depending on where one teaches, but I really do hope that I teach somewhere
where the students are diverse. I think that when there are students from
different ethnicities in the same classroom, the education that the students
receive is richer because the children bring different experiences and views to
the table than if everyone came from the exact same background. Something that
surprised me about this assignment overall was how focused it was on ethnic
diversity and racial equality and almost none of it was focused on gender
equality. It is still very important to me that girls and boys get the same opportunities
as the other gender. I wish that this project had explored gender differences
more in depth than it did.
In
both situations, the classrooms were diverse but nothing about the classes was
any different than if the entire class had been filled with only Caucasian
children. I think that this is important because every child deserves the
opportunities and education that all of the rest of America gets. I do not
believe that any child deserves special treatment because every life is
important regardless of the color of your skin, what gender you identify as, or
what your home situation is. Our society is moving towards needing a higher
education in order to get a job flipping burgers let alone actually having a
job with a functional and livable salary. In my opinion it is best to give
every child the opportunity to learn to the best of their ability.
One
thing that I will take away from this specific component is that regardless of
race or gender, I am going to treat every child exactly the same. I do believe
that my generation is the most accepting generation that we have seen so far
and I really hope that the trend continues. I plan on working in a school with
a diverse setting because I am an advocate for the minorities in the world
whether they are racial minorities or gender minorities. I think that people
are people and no matter what everyone deserves an education. This made an
impression on me because I care about all children of the world regardless of
the situation that they were born into. Every life is precious and I intend to
treat my students that way. This will make me a good educator because I know
that I am going to make a difference in children’s lives and advocate for them
regardless of their race, gender, or the pigment of their skin. This will make
me a better teacher because not only will I treat all my students equally, but
I will incorporate their backgrounds into my lessons and repertoire choices
that I make!
