Observation 3-b

Diverse School
Pole Gladiator Discussion Day 4 Video
Notes:

Reflection: This teacher did a marvelous job at making sure that she understood and valued her students. Most students in this classroom were caucasian, however everyone was given equal opportunity to participate in the class discussion. They were actually required to all participate or else their grades would suffer. Regardless of their genders or ethnicities the students were held to the same standards as everyone else. This classroom appeared to be a 1:1 classroom; that is each student had access to their own laptop. The students were told that they could stray from the conversation if they wanted to, but the teacher had access to look at all of their screens. She was understanding in that she would not call them out on it, but she would lower their grade if she caught them on a site that was not productive to the conversation. Because they had laptops, the students could learn and research in whatever way was best for them; they could write, use pictures, or speak!

Observation 3-a

Diverse High School
Organized Chaos

Notes:

Reflection:

This classroom was exactly what the video was called: organized chaos. All of the students seemed to be native english speakers, but there was a diverse classroom setting. Even though there was a variety of ethnicities in the room, it was clear that all of the students seemed to be on the same intellectual level. The teacher was very good at giving equal amounts of attention to all the students in the room, regardless of their gender or race. There was one person who got to be a judge for the game that was going on, and he actually selected an african american boy. This shows that he is not biased against this student or hopefully any other minority or group in the classroom. No student besides the judge received special treatment. When one team kept sending the same person to the board to give answers, the teacher threatened the class with papers if they sent up that student again and they all laughed. This shows that there is a kind classroom environment because if one of my teachers threatened me with a paper, I would take it very seriously. The teacher also seems to have met the needs of the students because they were able to focus on smaller, minute things rather than if they were in a safe environment or where their next meal was coming from. The teacher overall was very effective in his teaching capabilities because if he wasn't, this activity would have gotten far more out of hand than it did and the students would not have been able to contribute anything to the board.

Observation 2-b

Diverse High School
Start of Class Behaviors: Science Video
Notes:

Reflection:
This teacher was dressed semi-professionally which aided her instruction of the classroom. She was dressed in khakis and a relatively nice brown shirt. She was very professional and punctual, which aided to the respect that the teacher received. The children were very respectful to the teacher and her professionalism with her outfit and the way that she spoke definitely added to that. She was very happy to be teaching and you could tell that because she was so enthusiastic with everything that she said. She makes jokes but continues to teach. One example of this was when she was teaching the students about what a kilo was, she referenced a tv show Cops and talked about a kilo of cocaine! While that was not the route that I could have taken, it definitely got her message across and that is something that her students will not forget. It is obvious that this teacher loves her students and her job.

Observation 2-A

Diverse High School
Choir Online Video

Notes:

Reflection:

The teacher was dressed in relatively laid back clothing. She was wearing jeans and flats with a nicer looking shirt. This was both good and bad for the classroom setting. Because it was a choir class, already the atmosphere is different than what a science or math class would be. Normally things are more relaxed in a musical setting because unless it is a musical theory class, there are no formulas or equations to memorize. Music classes use a different part of the brain, so intuitively the students have more fun and are ore relaxed. This is why jeans can be both good and bad. Jeans to me mean a relaxed atmosphere which can be really needed in a math class. However, in a music class, there is already that laid-back feeling so when jeans are added to that mix, the level of professionalism, in my eyes, is lowered significantly. The environment of the classroom seemed to be too laid-back to be effective and I do believe that part of that stemmed from the outfit choices of the teacher.

Observation 1-B

Diverse High School
Tech Ed Video
Notes:

Reflection:

The teacher greeted the children as they came into the room and answered any questions they had before class started. This shows a good connection or relationship between the students and the teachers. It was very obvious that the students enjoyed being in this classroom. They were very engaged throughout the entire class review session that I watched. This may or may not have been because they were promised free time on the computers if they would finish their review early, but the reward worked because they were focussed and on task the entire time. It was clear that not only did the teacher know what he was talking about, but the students did as well. It is obvious that this is a good and effective teacher because the students knew the answers to all of his review questions and all of the kids were engaged in the discussion of each topic! The atmosphere of this classroom is worth mentioning; the students and the teacher really understand one another. When the teacher was asking questions, if the students had to think about it, it was not awkward for the teacher or the students. The students simply thought about the answer until they could form the correct one in their heads. The teacher also validated every answer regardless of if they were right or not.

Observation 1-A

Diverse High School
Online Video- Classroom Management in a Computer Lab
Notes:

Reflection:

Students seemed to be very engaged with the activities that they were assigned to do. The students at the computers seemed to not go directly to the website that they were supposed to be on, but after a quick walk around the room to see what websites they were on, the students quickly got on task. All students at their desks seemed to be working on reading their article, but it is hard to tell whether they were actually on task or just staring at their papers. The teacher was very clear in her instructions and the examples that she gave. Her teaching was very effective for the situation at hand. The students understood what their tasks were, and they carried them out! Very nice instructional teaching!