During the past few weeks in Educ 250, we have been visiting different schools to observe a typical hour of instruction at various points in the K-12 progression. We began at Crest High School, where I was placed in an American Civics/Economics class with about twenty students. Although they were definitely bored out of their minds (some were even falling asleep), I really admired the level of deeper-thinking that the high school students were able to reach. Instead of the teacher having to explain every sentence of the US Constitution, he let the students read for themselves and then guided the students in an academic discussion. Students were learning from each other, and his input was only there to guide the students' thought processes. While student-centered teaching can be implemented at any grade level, at the high school level, students are generally mature enough to have an intelligent discussion on a topic without getting too far off track. Although the student independence was very attractive to me as a future teacher, the lack of subject variety in what high school teachers get to teach prevents me from wanting to teach at that level. After reflecting on my own needs and personality traits, I have realized that I need to be able to go back and forth between different subjects in order to stay on my toes.
My middle school experience was honestly quite unpleasant--while the students worked independently, it seemed that the teacher had to spend more energy on classroom management than she could on actually teaching the lesson. This relates to standard 1, which is centered around teacher leadership. Although the teacher was very good at being a leader in the classroom by displaying professionalism and respect, the students did not seem to care.
Visiting the elementary school was quite affirming to my calling as an elementary school teacher. During my high school observation, I began to idealize the independence of students and falsely assumed that elementary students could not work independently. As I observed a 4th grade math lesson, I was amazed at how well the students seemed to be able to articulate their unique problem-solving skills to their classmates and the teacher. I was fortunate enough to witness the teacher transition from science to math at the beginning of my observation time, and I hope to be as clear and organized as she was in my future classroom.
The classroom observations taught me a great deal about several different classroom settings that can be used for various subjects and age groups. The biggest thing that I think I will be taking away from these observations is the diversity in teaching methods and philosophies used by teachers. In my future classroom, I will be open to using successful strategies from the other teachers that I work with. Learning truly never stops.
My middle school experience was honestly quite unpleasant--while the students worked independently, it seemed that the teacher had to spend more energy on classroom management than she could on actually teaching the lesson. This relates to standard 1, which is centered around teacher leadership. Although the teacher was very good at being a leader in the classroom by displaying professionalism and respect, the students did not seem to care.
Visiting the elementary school was quite affirming to my calling as an elementary school teacher. During my high school observation, I began to idealize the independence of students and falsely assumed that elementary students could not work independently. As I observed a 4th grade math lesson, I was amazed at how well the students seemed to be able to articulate their unique problem-solving skills to their classmates and the teacher. I was fortunate enough to witness the teacher transition from science to math at the beginning of my observation time, and I hope to be as clear and organized as she was in my future classroom.
The classroom observations taught me a great deal about several different classroom settings that can be used for various subjects and age groups. The biggest thing that I think I will be taking away from these observations is the diversity in teaching methods and philosophies used by teachers. In my future classroom, I will be open to using successful strategies from the other teachers that I work with. Learning truly never stops.
Abigail,
ReplyDeleteI think it's great how much these school visits really were able to confirm for you that elementary is where you are supposed to be. I am sorry that your middle school experience was unpleasant, its such a rough age emotional and socially. You were right though, unfortunately, more time is spent just trying to keep the classroom together rather than actual instruction.
We share some of the similar views of teaching at high school level. I feel like for me personally I would lack connection with those students. I feel like I need to teach at a subject level that I can be for sure that I am an expert in. Which is elementary for me. Our middle school visits were quite similar as well. If you head on over to my blog you can read that. Im glad that the school visits helped you narrow down the grade levels you would like to teach.
ReplyDeleteYou have made some keen observations in your observations - specifically about the amount of time teachers spend on classroom management. Remember this as you move forward so the focus can truly stay on instruction.
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