Classroom Management- Observation 3

Throughout the last few weeks I have visited a local High School to observe the classroom atmosphere, content taught in the classroom, and classroom management. This specific observation was on classroom management.

            As soon as the bell rang, students came rushing through the door. Some had earbuds in their ears listening to music, while others gossiped about the newest information spreading around school. Part of their routine is to walk through the classroom door, grab their binder in the back of the room and take their seats. Some follow directions well, while others need guidance and have to constantly be told what to do. In order to get students focused, the teacher provides them with a DO-NOW, each and every class meeting. This is how he gets his students focused on academics. About two minutes into the period, the principal’s voice can be heard over the intercom system… “just a reminder, passes should not be given out the first fifteen minutes of class. Thank you.” This is the principal’s way of managing the hallways in the school… sure seems like a good idea.

            It would be a good idea for the teacher to take attendance during the time the students are working on the DO-NOW, but he doesn’t. He prepares the PowerPoint for the lesson and walks around to make sure students stay on task. It occurs to me now that he never ended up taking attendance. Once the students complete their daily activity, the teacher distributes papers to each student individually.  While he is standing on one side of the room distributing the papers, the other side breaks out in conversation, and vice versa. Instead, he should have sent the papers around or had the student’s pick one up on their way in. This would have prevented the outbreak of chatter.

            Once papers are distributed, the teacher reminds students that any due/overdue homework should be handed in. At the front of the classroom, he has bins set up, each labeled with a section number. Students simply drop off their homework in the bins once it is complete.

            As he starts his lesson, students have a hard time focusing their attention. The walk from the hallway to the classroom acted as a transition period in which they lost focus on their academics. Students just cannot stop talking. The teacher quiets the class by reminding them that if they can get through the PowerPoint and their assignment in a sufficient amount of time, they will have free time at the end of class. This usually works. But, just as they start to focus their attention…a student walks in late. It is like a vicious circle. All that work to get the students focus doesn’t matter now. It’s time to refocus. The tardy student is handed the assignment sheet for the day and takes their seat. Once the lesson is over, the teacher approaches the student individually to explain what he/she missed the first few minutes of class. This way, they can complete their assignment.

            As students work on their assignments, the teacher walks around to ensure students are grasping the new information. If they aren’t he will take a few minutes to walk through the problem with them. Then, he will continue on his way around the classroom. The classroom is fairly quiet when students are working. They really do enjoy learning as long as they aren’t constantly being reprimanded. So, 10, 20, 30 minutes pass and students are beginning to put the final touches on their work.

            The attention is brought back up to the front and the teacher goes over the in-class assignment with the students. There is always a bit of a discussion. When the teacher feels as though his students have grasped the information he gives them free time to sit and chat. He doesn’t assign homework, and doesn’t collect any papers. The papers are expected to be in their notebooks for the proceeding class meetings.

            About 5 minutes before the bell rings, students begin lining up at the door. They cannot wait to break through the doors and yet again become enveloped in the world outside of the classroom. When they walk through the doors for their next class, the same scenario ensues. 

Observation #4- Assessment for Lesson

Name: ________________________________________                     Date:____________________

Genetics Quiz

15 points

1. Different forms of genes are called _______________________ (2 pts).

            A. alleles

            B. traits

            C. dominant

            D. recessive

2. Phenotype refers to the _____________________________ of an individual (2 pts).

A.     genetic makeup

B.     physical appearance

C.     difference in alleles

D.    function

3. If brown eyes are dominant and blue eyes are recessive,

I.  A person with the genotype Bb will have __________________ (2 pts).

A.     blue eyes

B.     green eyes

C.     brown eyes

D.    red eyes

II. A person with the genotype BB will have ___________________ (2 pts).

A.     blue eyes

B.     green eyes

C.     brown eyes

D.    red eyes

III. A person with the genotype bb will have ___________________ (2 pts).

A.     blue eyes

B.     green eyes

C.     brown eyes

D.    red eyes

4.  If we continue with the idea that brown eyes are dominant and blue eyes are recessive, lets cross two individuals expressing a difference in eye color. Cross a homozygous dominant individual (BB) with a homozygous recessive individual (bb). What percentage of offspring will have blue eyes (5 pts)?

Answer: 0%

1) What do you think the objective is?

Students will be able to solve genetics problems on their own, with 100 percent accuracy.

Students will be able to calculate probability in the form of ratios and percentages, reflecting the odds that offspring will inherit certain traits, without error.

2) What level of Bloom’s Taxonomy is that?

            Multiple choice: Knowledge/ Comprehension

Word problem: Application/ Analysis

3) How will you assess it in 10 minutes or less?

I decided to make a quiz consisting of 5 multiple-choice problems, each worth 2 points. Each of the multiple-choice should take 1 minute (max). I also included one word problem. This word problem has a couple of different steps. Students should create the punnett square first then analyze their results and calculate a percentage. This problem should take no longer than 5 minutes. 

Professional Organization Reflection- Promising Practices

The theme of this year’s Promising Practices workshop was “STEM Education in Urban Environments.” There were various workshops offered throughout the course of the day. Based on interest, I chose to attend session IB, “Idea to Implementation: Challenges and Opportunities of Building an Outdoor Classroom to Broaden Participation” and session IIE, “Comedy in the Classroom.”

Workshop IB provided information about how to establish an outdoor classroom and use it properly for educational purposes. There is actually an outdoor classroom on campus called the “Bee Education Center,” which was established earlier this year. The Apeiron Insitute and DownCity Design worked in collaboration with the college to design and build this outdoor classroom. The structure of the classroom resembles a honeycomb. Its walls have stools built into them, and the surface of each stool has a fact about honeybees. Overall, it provides an informal atmosphere in which students can explore and learn.

Although we spoke extensively about the outdoor classroom established on our campus, we also spoke about other topics including culturally relevant pedagogy/teaching, culturally responsive curriculums, and elements of effective STEM instruction. We began by speaking about the three parts of culturally relevant pedagogy, which involves academic achievement, cultural competence, and critical consciousness. We then spoke about the idea of a culturally responsive curriculum and the five different actions involved. These include defining learning goals, questioning traditional concepts, understanding student diversity, selecting materials and activities, and evaluating effectiveness. The final topic of discussion was the elements of effective STEM instruction. These elements include motivation, student thinking, engagement, STEM discourse, making meaning, and drawing conclusions. I took the time to explain these topics because they are what make the outdoor classroom culturally relevant.

Besides being culturally relevant, the outdoor classroom provides students with hands-on activities. Not only does it provide a good science lesson, it could be used as a geometry lesson in which students take measurements of the honeycomb walls. It could even be used as an English lesson in which students write about a their experience. I think it is a great idea, but I feel it is targeted for elementary school children.

The second workshop I attended was about implementing comedy in the classroom. The students from TALL academy were very enthusiastic about the topic, and made it a lot of fun. Comedy in the classroom definitely creates a more comfortable environment, but this workshop was targeted for teachers of younger students.

After the workshops, we listened to a speech by the keynote speaker, Dr. Christopher Emdin. He spoke about the evolution and problems of our education system. He spoke about it saying, “we are following models of teaching and learning without knowing where they even came from.” How true is that? Think about it… where did these practices come from? And why do we continue to implement them? Granted, we have learned a lot about work done by Horace Mann, John Dewey, Ivan Illich (etc.), but we are not educated on every educational model. I agreed with him on this statement. I also agreed with the fact that students learn better when they take the information they are learning and create something with it. He gave a great example when he spoke about the student who made a rap about Newton’s laws of motion.

Although I agree with some of his points, I really did not like some of his comments. It made me very angry when he said that individuals of African American descent have to overcome obstacles and face resiliency. He almost made it seem as if Caucasians never have to face hardships and become resilient. He acted as a one-way street, often looking at the world from the perspective of African Americans. He never switched perspectives. I just don’t believe you can make a speech and persuade people to believe in what you say if you look at the human population as segregated, rather than as a whole.  

Overall, I had a positive experience at the Promising Practices conference. I look forward to attending next year. 

Microteaching II

Leave comments for Microteaching II here! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated :)

Incomplete Dominance Lesson- Observation Assignment 2

Lesson Plan Template for SED 406 and 407 part 1 = planning
Teacher Candidate: Alisha Iafrate	Subject: Biology/ Genetics	Grade(s): 9
Name of Lesson: Incomplete Dominance
Learning Objective(s), including Bloom's taxonomic level: (label A, B, C, *D) *optional ·       Students will work in small groups to solve genetics word problems to the best of their ability. ·       Working in small groups, students will work to the best of their ability to create punnett squares based on information given in the genetics word problems. ·       Students will work to the best of their ability to calculate probability in the form of ratios and percentages, reflecting the odds that offspring will inherit certain traits.
Student Standards (GSE or/GLE or Common Core-in draft for math/science- list which): HS-LS3-3. Apply concepts of statistics and probability to explain the variation and distribution of expressed traits in a population.
Teacher Standards (professional society and/or NETS  and RIPTS-list which): Standard 5: Teachers create instructional opportunities to encourage all students’ development of critical thinking, problem solving, performance skills, and literacy across content areas. Specifically 5.5: use tasks that engage students in exploration, discovery, and hands-on activities
Rationale: Why this lesson? How does it fit into the curriculum and context? Is this the introduction, conclusion, or somewhere in the middle of the unit of instruction? The class has already finished part of the genetics unit regarding complete dominance and co-dominance. The next topic of discussion is incomplete dominance. Students are required to have a general understanding of heredity, so this fits into the curriculum. This lesson in particular lies in the middle of the unit of instruction.
Materials/Resources needed, including technology: ·       PowerPoint projected onto the Smart Board ·       Genetics word problems worksheet
Accommodations and Modifications (special needs and learning styles) For example:  Dr. Kraus has poor vision and needs written material to be at least 12 pt. font.  He also reads two grade levels higher and needs appropriate reading material.  Jack has poor hearing, but he can sit where he feels comfortable. If accommodations are needed he will ask.
What content resources support this knowledge base? (list at least 2) ·       Internet ·       Student Biology textbook- section on heredity and genetics
How confident are you in this topic as you start this lesson? Confident- I think the students will enjoy the connection to superheroes found in the worksheet, while learning about genetics at the same time.

Lesson Plan Template

(Boxes expand as you type)

part 2 = action    

Bell-ringer: How will you get students seated, and ready for academic work? (without your voice) A DO-NOW is posted on the front board at the beginning of each and every class. Students know that they are expected to come in, sit down and complete the do-now for credit.
Anticipatory Set: How will you introduce the material, interest the students, show relevance of topic? Introduce the material by relating it to what students already know from the previous lessons in the unit. Let them know that we will be completing a worksheet involving the heredity of famous superheroes! (This will grab their attention and get them interested).
Phase (change as needed)/Time	Teacher action	Student action	Questions/Assessments
e.g. Intro/5 min.	Go over the DO-NOW and explain how it relates to today’s lesson on incomplete dominance. Informally assess students on their knowledge of information from last class.	Participate and answer questions- fix any wrong answers on the DO-NOW.	Review: What is the definition of complete dominance? What is the example we spoke about in class the other day regarding complete dominance? Does anyone have questions before we move on?
Presentation or Open-ended/	PowerPoint on incomplete dominance and its relationship with other forms of dominance (co-dominance and complete dominance-which they have already learned).	Listen and ask questions if something is unclear.	What is the first step when we decide to create a punnett square? What would the genotypes of the parents be? Who gets the letter? Dominant or recessive? What is the dad, heterozygous or homozygous? (etc).
Guided Practice or Convergent/	Both guided and individual practice- let them try to figure it out on their own. Go around and see how students are doing then come back together as a class and go over problems that students seemed to struggle with.	Work in small groups to complete genetics word problems.	Walking around and observing the students will act as an assessment. It will also give me an idea of how well they are beginning to understand the material.
Closing/	·       Overview- difference between what we have already learned and the new information. ·       Review important terms with students	Listen and ask questions if they don’t understand something	Does anyone have any questions? Do we feel comfortable with the material?
HW/Application/	N/A	N/A	N/A
Review and Reflection: How will you review for students who are still having trouble? Offer them one-on-one help after school and provide them with practice worksheets. After they have had some practice, review the beginning of next class to make sure they understand before moving on.
Extension: What will you offer to students who have mastered this? Students who have mastered the material can help those that do not understand. They can work on other science related work if necessary.
*Closing: How will you review the material, and draw conclusions? (may be listed above) I will ask the students questions about what they have learned to try and figure out where they stand with the material. They will be reviewing the material constantly. The information tends to find its way into the DO-NOW, that way students realize it is important and something they should know.

	Lesson Plan Template pt. 3 = reflection
WHAT?	What went well?   Students definitely learned something. They enjoyed the connection to superheroes and they worked together to help each other. When they needed help, they weren’t afraid to ask.
	What area of weakness needs addressing? Number 2 was a little difficult because of the wording. I think I need to pay close attention as to how certain things can be misunderstood. With a little clarity and guidance they were able to understand the problem.
	Which objectives were met? What is the evidence? Every objective was met. Students were able to successfully complete the genetics word problems, they understood the correct way to create a punnett square, and figured out the probabilities and ratios regarding offspring of the crossed individuals.
	Which students did not meet objectives? Although it was difficult to get students working at first, all of them completed some of the worksheet, which means that they were thinking about the information.
	Was time managed appropriately? Yes, students were able to complete the worksheet and we were able to have a discussion and relate it back to what we learned. There was about a 5 minute timeframe at the end that students had to themselves.
	Did any teacher mannerisms or actions detract from the lesson? No, I don’t think any mannerisms or actions detracted from the lesson.
	*What were the strengths and weaknesses of classroom management? The classroom is pretty laid back, so sometimes students take advantage of this. Many students are easily distracted. However, there was always something for them to do; it was just a matter of getting them to do it. There were really no weaknesses. For the most part, the classroom was managed well. When students were off topic, they were guided through the next problem, and the guidance made them want to participate.
SO WHAT?	Was the lesson engaging? It was engaging, but I probably should have done something a little MORE engaging. They liked the connection to superheroes. If I had done a mini lab with transparent colored chips, they would have been able to put one on top of the other and hold it up to the light. For certain colors, they would notice a mixture-which would be a good way to introduce the idea of incomplete dominance.
	*What did I learn from my peer observation (address at least one aspect)   I learned that students are going to test my patience and that sticking to rules and implementing them constantly is key to successful classroom management. After speaking with the teacher, I asked him, “if there is one thing you could tell yourself about your first year teaching, what would it be?” He said that he would tell himself not to let the students’ behaviors make you feel like you failed as a teacher. He often took it personally when a student would misbehave in class and he was unable to stop him/her. Odds are, the student is acting up in all of his/her classes. This is something else I’ve learned.
NOW WHAT?	How will this experience influence your professional identity?  I will go into it knowing that even the more experienced teachers have their bad days. Not one teacher is perfect. These little failures along the way will make me strive to be a better teacher.
	How will it influence how you plan/teach/assess in the future? I think this experience has changed my mindset a bit. I hope to take what I have learned in my observations and work on applying these ideas into my own classroom. I like how Mr. D is able to be a laid back teacher and the students respect him for that. I think I will take the same approach, but make sure students are grounded and understand what is expected of them. If, of course, they are unable to comply with rules, consequences will result.

Experience is the Real Teacher- Observation Assignment 1

As I walked through the big front doors of Mount Pleasant High School, I made a conscientious effort to analyze my surroundings. I have been here before, but I never took the time to admire its interior walls. Blue, red and white are the colors that seemed to coat the cinderblock. As I glanced around, I noticed a powerful quote written in big white letters. It read, “experience is a hard teacher, she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.” I stood there for a second to let this quote sink in. How powerful. Experience is life in and of itself. That was when I realized I was there for a reason, to broaden my experience in the classroom.

             I made my way up the staircase to the front office, welcomed by the friendly faculty and staff. I signed in, obtained my visitor’s pass and began making my way up to 307D. As I walked, I began to notice the diversity among the student body, and I began to focus my attention to conversation. I heard a lot of slang, a ton of swearing and languages I am unfamiliar with. None of the students smiled, they kept their conversations to themselves, and they stared at me (almost as if I had crossed a boundary). I honestly felt as if I didn’t belong. The wood in the hallways were stained a dark color, the floors a dark shade of green, all of which attributed to the dreary, intimidating atmosphere. I walked up two flights of stairs, through the double doors, and arrived at my destination- the first door on the right.

When I opened the door to room 307D, the atmosphere changed. It felt safe once more (maybe because it was a smaller area in an unfamiliar environment). I walked in the room and was greeted by Mr. D, whom I know from previous visits. I took a seat in the back of the room and began to observe the environment. I began to pick up on things I have never noticed before. I sat straight facing the front of the classroom. For a second, it felt as if I traveled back six years to my freshman year of high school. This was a new environment. I noticed a poster on the upper left hand wall highlighting opportunities for the future. The poster read, “you choose the future ahead of you,” with pictures of logos from our very own Rhode Island College, URI, CCRI, the United States Navy, Marine (etc).

            I quickly changed perspectives, from high school student Alisha, to teacher candidate Alisha. At that point I noticed a lower and higher ordering thinking chart. The words remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate and create spread across the middle of the wall (sure sounds a lot like Bloom’s taxonomy!) Below this was a word wall with words relevant to the teacher’s unit on genetics- allele, genes, genotype, phenotype, homozygous, heterozygous, dominant, recessive (etc). Next to the word wall was an “Effort-ometer”, displaying different levels of effort. If a student were to put very little effort into their work, they would fall under the category “started from the bottom.” As students put forth more effort, they make their way towards the top. As I continued to scan, I saw student’s work displayed across every wall- multiple diagrams of the human heart with blood flow (how can I forget those red and blue colors displaying the difference between oxygenated and deoxygenated blood!), a cycle describing homeostasis, a list of rules, a cell phone policy and multiple biology books stacked against the wall.

Once I focused less on the walls, I made it a point to analyze the furniture in the room. This was a science classroom, so there were benches rather than desks. Each bench sat two students and there were a total of nine benches (three rows of three), all facing the front of the classroom. The teacher’s desk was at the front of the classroom near the Smart Board. As students began to file in for class, I watched them take their seats. I was introduced to Mr. T and Mrs. Brown. I was wondering who they were, and I quickly learned. I was lucky enough to be observing an inclusion class co-taught by three teachers. I counted the number of students in the classroom: 9. Out of the nine students, one student was white, and the others were of African American and Spanish decent. Although Mount Pleasant High School falls in a low-income district, many of the students’ feet were equipped with the newest Jordans, and their backpacks and jackets were of the Northface brand. All nine students sat down and began their 5-minute “do now.” Some needed help focusing their attention, while others got right to work.

As the teacher began his lesson, I realized which students needed the extra attention, mainly due to their short attention spans, others for accommodations due to disability. There was one student that I noticed had hearing aids in both ears. He was not treated differently or accommodated unless requested. As I watched these students go about their school day, I quickly realized those whom yearned for attention and those who simply wanted to learn. There was one student, whom for this purpose I will call Max. Max spoke whenever he had the opportunity. He often spoke over the teacher, and raced to answer each and every question (without raising his hand or giving others the opportunity). It seemed at though the females in the room were in tune and paying attention, while the males in the room were talking about sneakers and other irrelevant topics. They were asked multiple times to quiet down and pay attention. There was one boy and one girl who sat towards the back of the classroom and did not participate. They could have participated if they chose, but it seemed as though they didn’t want to or were uninterested.

 One thing I have noticed is that people lower their expectations of Mount Pleasant High School students. This is mainly due to their low ranking amongst Rhode Island schools and their low standardized test scores. However, if a stranger were to sit in a classroom, they would realize that all students at Mount Pleasant have the skills and abilities that match the expectations of the school. They simply need to be motivated to learn and succeed. I’ve noticed time and time again that with a little push, they soar far beyond what is expected. Part of this motivation lies in the hands of the teachers, and the environments they create for learning. In this particular room, it was clear that the teacher had the upper hand. However, he didn’t make the students feel inferior to him. He was interested in their extracurricular activities, and more generally their lives outside of the classroom (he often asked what they did over the weekend, how things were going etc). As long as the students showed him respect, he showed them respect.

As I sit here writing, I switch gears once more and wonder what it would be like if I were a student in this classroom, and in this school in general. For me, it would definitely be a struggle. Granted, if I were in the situation I would probably think differently. I have lived up the street from Mount Pleasant High School my entire life, on the North Providence/Providence line. I enjoyed my time at North Providence, and I wouldn’t have traded my high school experience for the world. After all, it is the reason I never want to leave. For as long as I can remember, Mount Pleasant always had a negative connotation attached. This led me to believe that attending class at Mount Pleasant High School would be the equivalent of jeopardizing my future. After spending some time in the school, I have realized that I was wrong, and each and every student has the same potential. I say this knowing that although there is potential, there is also a struggle. It is disheartening to sit and watch students who want to learn get frustrated with those that interrupt the flow of the class and the learning process. I’m not sure I would have been able to succeed as a student in this type of environment. At an age where children are highly influenced, they could be influenced to reduce their own standards and expectations. I think if I were to have attended Mount Pleasant, it would have been just like any other experience. The test would have been dealt first: do I conform to the rest of the student body or focus on my own desire to succeed? And from there, the lesson would have resulted depending on my level of success.