This
week in class was very interesting. On Tuesday, February 4th the
class was broken up into smaller groups and we went on a “Walkthrough” to other
classes. I was excited, and not nervous to go observe the classes even though
this time the principal was not guiding us. One of the hardest parts actually
was finding the classrooms on our own. We had a map but it took a while to find
our first class.
The
first class we observed on our Walkthrough was an art class. The students were
working independently on their drawings. Well, some students were working.
Others were listening to music or playing on their phones. The teacher was
walking around the class coaching the students who wanted to learn how to make
their art better. This reminded me how my art classes were in high school. It
was more of laid-back environment and although it was still a class that
received a grade there was not as much pressure as there was in my core
classes. As long as the assignments were turned in by deadlines, then the
students would receive a passing grade.
Another
class my group and I went into was a psychology class. From observing and
speaking with the students I can confirm that they were doing research on
Lawrence Kohlberg and making a brochure. There were some questions on the board
in front about his studies that I think were supposed to be included in the
students’ brochures. Many of the students were talking and one was making rude
comments regarding the teacher. The teacher was nothing but welcoming to us and
was walking around the class monitoring and helping the students. When we
discussed this in class other members spoke about how that they had a
completely different experience in that classroom. This proves that getting a
five-minute snapshot is not always the best and I would like to return to that
classroom in the future to compare observations.
In
the classroom, a panel of teachers gave us advice on our first year teaching.
We received advice such as get to know the students, ask other teachers for
help, set goals and break down goals into smaller accomplishments, celebrate
accomplishments, be a learner myself, and be willing to improve as a teacher.
These are my personal favorites and are quotes that I would like to keep in the
back of my mind for my first few years teaching. Taking advice from many
educators is very beneficial because, like I did so here, I can take what I think
are the best pieces of advice from each teacher.
I
learned a lot this class and so far it was my favorite. Getting into the
classrooms with a small group and even speaking with some of the students was
not only fun, but taught me about their experiences in the classroom. Also,
listening to the teacher panel was taught me about what to do in my first year
as a teacher and the attitude I will have. It reminded me that everyone was
once a beginner and for now, I am not as nervous. I would really like to speak
with other teachers about this topic and to also take more Walkthroughs to
other classrooms in the future.
Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post I realized how short of a time we spent in the classrooms because we all went in the same rooms but had completely different experiences. It goes to show that observing the classrooms are important but not to judge the teacher on just a few minutes or even on one class. Teaching is a learning experience and there will be lesson that we plan that will go completely wrong at times. It does not matter what happens during any single class but the big picture of what the students walk away with in the end.
The teacher panel was great because getting advice from people that have been where we will be is great. The one thing I know I will have trouble with is asking for help. I am very independent and stubborn person so I really have to watch out for that. I just have to keep in mind that asking for help does not mean I am admitting defeat.
I two felt that the short time spent in the classes while informative is also limiting in what we get to see. I am looking forward to spending longer amounts of time in a room to see what is going on, five minutes is just not enough time to get an idea of what is going on in the classroom. I also enjoyed the teacher panel but felt that it was too short and we didn’t really get to ask many questions.
ReplyDeleteTiffany,
ReplyDeleteI was really looking forward to the teacher panel, and I enjoyed hearing the different perspectives on teaching at CF and the advice for first year teachers. I was also disappointed that we didn't have a chance to ask more questions. I feel like we are familiar with CF High School at this point, and I was frustrated that the first part of the panel involved being talked at about the demographics, social issues, etc. In some ways I feel like I learned more from the student panel because we were able to interact with them more. I hope the teacher panel will come back, because I think we'd all benefit from being able to ask some more questions.
Hi Tiff,
ReplyDeleteSince I was in your group for the walkthroughs I can see where your points are coming from and I agree with you. The snapshot of time can be beneficial in some ways, but for us to really see the real class time I think we do need to do a few more observations of longer time periods. Also, the teacher panel would be a great thing to have come again at the end of our semester so that we can have more focused questions about things we saw throughout our time in the high school. I would love to get more in depth conversations going with the teachers instead of just "advice" for first year teachers. I'm also excited for more walkthroughs and deeper interactions with the students. This is a great learning experience!