Observation of Delanie Downey

Day: Wednesday

Date: September 14^th, 2016

Location: Classroom

Lesson:

This lesson took place at the beginning of the Assignment #3 unit. It primarily focused on the Lang-Grant reading.

What is coming up throughout the next two weeks (PowerPoint). The class starts by telling the students what they will be doing today and what is coming up in the following week or two weeks. It is shown on a PowerPoint so all the students can have a visual aid.
MLA format quiz (Handout). Each student did a quick quiz over MLA format.
Introduce the Land-Grant Reading (quick overview)
Get into groups to read through and discuss key points of the Land-Grant (different sections for each group)
Students share their key points with the class
Instructor also mentions key points she found after the students have shared (after each section)
Show students how to start researching and uses the Farm House for the example

Observations:

A variety of methods were used during the lesson: instructor led, individual quiz, small group, whole class sharing & instructor input. This helped to keep the class involved without losing structure. Handouts were provided for the quiz (answers to the quiz would be provided in the next lesson to allow more time for explanations). This made sure that every student could participate and work individually.

Some difficulties that came up during class were late students, students not discussing in groups, and students struggling with speaking out loud.

Late students were not addressed right away, but allowed to enter without disrupting the class. The first late student came in while they were doing the quiz, so the instructor went to her and handed her the quiz and explained it quietly. The second late student came in after they were in groups reading the land-grant. She walked to the student and explained what they were doing and told him which group he should join. She was switched him from the group he was originally assigned to in order to keep group numbers more even.

She told the students when to start their discussions so they, would know to stop reading. No one started to talk right away but she allowed time for them to finish up reading and get their thoughts together. Slowly, one group began to speak but others were still quiet. After giving them another minute, she explains that they should be discussing and writing stuff down because they will be expected to share with the class.

Lastly, some of the students would struggle while reading their key points for the classroom, which could cause embarrassment and them not wanting to share. She dealt with this by always praising the students for sharing, usually by saying “that’s great” or “good”. This kept the students encouraged. Also if a student struggled with pronunciation, she would help them and encourage them to keep going. She even referenced that she had made a mistake with a similar word, and acknowledge that some words are just difficult. This was really helpful because it made the students less embarrassed but also didn’t allow them to just stop talking.

Post-Observation talk:

We discussed how students came in late. One student was 16 minutes late but it was nice that she went over to the student, explained what they were doing and what group he should join. We also discussed how many of the groups would not talk to each other when they were supposed to be discussing. She had made a comment during class that they were being too quiet and that seemed to help. They did a good job at sharing points with the class though. Our talk mostly revolved around getting students to speak to each other or speak up in discussions because I have similar problems with my classroom. I did not get a chance to see it, but she uses note-cards to keep track of participation. The students hand her their notecard if they speak during class. Students who don’t hand in their cards during class, do not receive participation. She also keeps track of their attendance on the cards so they are aware of their attendance. This seemed like a really good idea and something that I might try with my class.

Application to my teaching:

One aspect I really liked was the note cards that were given to each student at the beginning of class. I struggle with my class on getting them to participate in whole class discussions. I thought that giving each student a note card and telling them that this is how they gain participation could motivate my students. I also noticed that note cards had different colors, I thought this would be a good way to put them in groups. I could have students with the same color be in the same small groups. This would allow my students to get familiar with who they are working with and keeping them the same throughout the semester. This is something I could do now, because I could form groups that I know will benefit them as a whole. However, it would be difficult to do on the first day because you don’t know how each student behaves yet or their work ethic.

I really liked how she let the students be quiet for a little bit and gave them time to start talking. This technique is something that I struggle with. If my class is quiet, I feel like I should try to fix it right away. While it was not completely successful, one group did start to talk on their own. I need to remember that it can be ok to give them time and get finish up what they were working on before trying to correct them.

Another thing I liked was how the instructor would tell them what was going on for the next week or two. I currently tell my students what they will be doing the next class period, but usually not more than that. I think it could benefit my students to know more about what is happening throughout that whole unit. I often get questions about when other things are happening and I just address them as they come. If I took the time to explain a week or two ahead, I could eliminate some of these questions and keep my students informed and not feeling lost.