Blog 5 Response
CM observed
Reflect on your classroom observation
1.) Describe effective management strategies you observed for opening a lesson, applied during a lesson, and for lesson closure.
Rules were written and in plain view for students. She responded to the same problems with the same response keeping consistency above all. Students have obviously become comfortable with continuing the lesson after the bell rings. On 5 of the 43 students that day reacted negatively to the bell. She waited until they had sat back down and continued with review and next period expectatios
The hooks that I observed were the same and fairly inoccuous. There were no entrance strategies except the materials needed for class were posted outside the classroom so the students could see them and aquire them before class. One class needed to be reminded to check the board outside for supplies. A couple students didn’t have their materials. One of these was found out by the teacher but nothing punitive came of the situation.
Having an earthquake drill in Alaska is common. It reminded me of the bombing drills we did in the 60’s. Thankfully, that is not a concern any more. The wisdom of preparedness is still necessary though and all the more with transitions. After the E drill we had an F drill. That took a while to recover from for the adminstration but it needed to be done and what better time to do it than after class had already been disturbed by the E drill. The teacher struggled to get the class back to focused. This particular class was generally unfocused the rest of the period. In conversation with the teacher, this class is generally “scattered’ which makes any interuption difficult. Getting started after lunch seemed to go ok. By the time the teacher was recovered from the previous classes the students were coming looking for passes during final period study hall. She waited at the door to ensure all students had their gear. This class was obviously more needy in that regard when even during class they had to be reminded to get out their resources.
The observation I made this semester was very similar as last year in that the teacher had to work extremely hard to keep the class focused and moving towards gettting to the end of the material. Having been trained to see/perceive details without looking at them I have an advantage over most. It is difficult at times, to process all the information but it does lead to some interesting conclusions. While factoring in all the details, chronology is not an issue. Cause and effect happen over and over again in a sequence of events. Knowing what cause and what effect are related can sometimes be difficult. In a classroom of 8th graders it can be next to impossible. This “impossibility’ is not mandatory but when there is an overload of stimulace or stimulants the effect can be multiplied by 10. If one considers each stimulace can multiply the subsequent cause, then the subsequent effect can be in the 100s in no time. Respectful behavior to those in authority is not taught at home in general except for the military families. Military members tend to have much tighter control over their children which is reflected in the average student self-discipline between North Pole/Eielson and schools on the west side of town. Village schools tend to reflect the discipline of the village council and elders. It can also be seen in the cultural differences between the interior and the west coast. My friend, who spent 22 years teaching in Yupik schools related to me the differences of student classroom discipline of villages that were dry or wet. Classroom discipline isn’t meant to hold a student back but only to level the playing field for all the students. Respect for teacher, student, parents, elders etc. is a reflection of the preparation needed for the student to progress to success in later life. What better time for “respect practice’ than at school.
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