Thursday, January 14, 2010
1/15 - EDU 489
Today I am on WKU's main campus for my first meeting with my EDU 489 course. This course accompanies student teaching and is focused around the Teacher Work Sample, or better known as the TWS. This class meets twice a month on Friday's so periodically I will be attending it and missing out on all the fun at DCMS. Hopefully, Mrs. Westerfield has everything under control and hasn't got to used to having a student teacher to do everything ;).
Outside Classroom Observation (1/15)
Today I had my first opportunity to observe outside of my assigned classroom. Mrs. Westerfield suggested that I visit the classroom of Mr. Brian Roberts, 7th grade (World Civilization), so I did just that. Mr. Roberts has been teaching for eleven years, eight in World Civilization.
The class had a good mix of male, female students. It also had two Hispanic students (females), one who was considered an ESL student (only 20% English fluency). The class also included special needs students and had a collaborating Special Education teacher as well.
Mr. Roberts was very clear in the daily schedule and expectations for the class. He came across very professional and started class immediately to get the students focused and prevent distractions. He mimics what I have seen in Mrs. Westerfields classroom as he is very consistent in following classroom rules and teaches from "bell to bell." He used technology in the class in several different ways. He used his projector to provide images from the History Alive Interactive Student Notebook which he had down loaded to his PC from the accompanying History Alive CD. Mr. Roberts seemed like an "expert" in the content area and spoke very confidently and firm. He also continually moved around the room engaging students with discussion and prompts. He also carried around a clip board with chapter terms and their translation to Spanish. He later informed me that he had previously studied Spanish for four years and that this was a great advantage in connecting and assisting with the ESL students. When a distraction did occur due to a student talking quietly he never stopped the discussion but instead stopped the behavior by simply looking and snapping quietly (and politely) at the student. I could see that he had coaching experience due to the way he addressed his class when someone was not following the class rules. He was very firm, yet mono tone to a degree. He was not excessive in the volume he used when addressing the student/class, he just used more bass and seriousness in his tone. The students responded successfully to this approach.
Procedures for the day included approximately 10 minutes checking (and discussing) the ISN homework. This is when he moved around the room and used a remote control to advance the PC from page to page. He then led a brief discussion/intro on what the class would be watching. The video was a product of the History Channel and was titled "Last Stand of the 300", a visual lesson of the battle between the Spartans and the great Persian army. The students had previously been given a movie guide that gave key facts and had vital questions pertaining to each section. On this day the class watched only section 2. The finish the block the class discussed what they had seen in the video and made connections between what they had learned from the text and video, and their connection biblically.
The class had a good mix of male, female students. It also had two Hispanic students (females), one who was considered an ESL student (only 20% English fluency). The class also included special needs students and had a collaborating Special Education teacher as well.
Mr. Roberts was very clear in the daily schedule and expectations for the class. He came across very professional and started class immediately to get the students focused and prevent distractions. He mimics what I have seen in Mrs. Westerfields classroom as he is very consistent in following classroom rules and teaches from "bell to bell." He used technology in the class in several different ways. He used his projector to provide images from the History Alive Interactive Student Notebook which he had down loaded to his PC from the accompanying History Alive CD. Mr. Roberts seemed like an "expert" in the content area and spoke very confidently and firm. He also continually moved around the room engaging students with discussion and prompts. He also carried around a clip board with chapter terms and their translation to Spanish. He later informed me that he had previously studied Spanish for four years and that this was a great advantage in connecting and assisting with the ESL students. When a distraction did occur due to a student talking quietly he never stopped the discussion but instead stopped the behavior by simply looking and snapping quietly (and politely) at the student. I could see that he had coaching experience due to the way he addressed his class when someone was not following the class rules. He was very firm, yet mono tone to a degree. He was not excessive in the volume he used when addressing the student/class, he just used more bass and seriousness in his tone. The students responded successfully to this approach.
Procedures for the day included approximately 10 minutes checking (and discussing) the ISN homework. This is when he moved around the room and used a remote control to advance the PC from page to page. He then led a brief discussion/intro on what the class would be watching. The video was a product of the History Channel and was titled "Last Stand of the 300", a visual lesson of the battle between the Spartans and the great Persian army. The students had previously been given a movie guide that gave key facts and had vital questions pertaining to each section. On this day the class watched only section 2. The finish the block the class discussed what they had seen in the video and made connections between what they had learned from the text and video, and their connection biblically.
1/14 (Red)
Today is a Red Day and on Red Day's we start a new lesson.
Activities for the day consist of:
- Students are given about 5 minutes to study for their DOG Quiz, covering week 15 & 16.
- DOG Quiz (10 minutes)
- Students are picked to go to the dry erase board to illustrate key terms from Chapter 8.
- Class covers instructions for the Geography Alive Immigrate Interview.
Observation
Mrs. Westerfield is always on the go and is a master at time management. I am quickly learning about an area that is completely ignored during the educational process. She was quick to locate and move four additional desk to the room that would help organize the supplies needed for the Immigrate Interviews.
I also had the opportunity to be a part of the team meeting that took place during our planning (4th Block). Topics covered included: PTC, Pep Rally, Evacuation Procedures, CATS Prep, and 2010 - 2011 Homeroom Assignments
Activities for the day consist of:
- Students are given about 5 minutes to study for their DOG Quiz, covering week 15 & 16.
- DOG Quiz (10 minutes)
- Students are picked to go to the dry erase board to illustrate key terms from Chapter 8.
- Class covers instructions for the Geography Alive Immigrate Interview.
Observation
Mrs. Westerfield is always on the go and is a master at time management. I am quickly learning about an area that is completely ignored during the educational process. She was quick to locate and move four additional desk to the room that would help organize the supplies needed for the Immigrate Interviews.
I also had the opportunity to be a part of the team meeting that took place during our planning (4th Block). Topics covered included: PTC, Pep Rally, Evacuation Procedures, CATS Prep, and 2010 - 2011 Homeroom Assignments
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