Whole Class Observation

Observing a Whole Class Session:

Today, Thursday, September 18th, I had the opportunity to observe Ms. Lee’s class. I was relieved to find out that I would only be observing because I was still a little nervous about being there. As the class settled down Ms. Lee began to explain that they would be starting a new worksheet over addition which resulted in some sighs of relief and some moans. After handing out the worksheets Ms. Lee explained what she wanted them to complete that day and instructed them to begin. As I scanned the room to see how well each student was participating, I noticed that many of them wanted help from the teacher. I was somewhat confused because I didn’t know if the worksheet was a review or if they were just now learning addition for the first time. As Ms. Lee walked around to help the class, she seemed a little agitated because as I came to find out, the worksheet was a review of what they had already learned. I got the feeling that some of the students raising their hands knew what they were doing, but they were being lazy and wanting the teacher to tell them the answers. As the time passed, the students began to become antsy and bored with the material. As I watched Ms. Lee’s reaction to the student’s behavior I noticed she did nothing to get them focused back on their work. I wanted so badly to stand up and walk around the room thinking that I might be able to get them back focused, but I didn’t want to overstep my boundaries since it was only my second day there. I also noticed that the students didn’t sit in individual desks, but rectangular tables instead which seemed to promote small group work. I liked the idea of having students sit in groups because I think that there are times when students learn more from their peers than from their teachers.
As I sat there looking around I began to take notice of the images in the room. There were posters with shapes, colors, numbers, clocks, months, and classroom courtesies plastered everywhere I turned. Unfortunately, I found the room to be slightly cluttered. Sad to say, one thing I didn’t seem to see much of was student art work. In all I only saw two clusters of student art in the whole room. Another area that caught my eye was the classroom library, but in a good way. I was amazed to see how many books there were in the library, there had to of been at least two hundred if not more. The teacher had all of the books packed away tight in zip lock bags which were all labeled with different letters to represent different reading levels. I thought the library was the most organized area in the whole room. Something else I noticed was the board at the front of the room which was a regular dry erase board. Although I think that this board could serve its purpose, I wish a smart board would have been placed in the classroom instead. I have only heard positive things about smart boards so it would definitely be beneficial to have one.
After inspecting every inch of Ms. Lee’s classroom I decided to pay more attention to the students. I think that the seating arrangement of the students is extremely important in a classroom setting, especially at this level, therefore I thought it might be a good idea to take not of who was sitting where. To do this I roughly drew out each table and recorded the seating arrangements by race and gender. After doing this I determined that the teacher had mixed the students up quite well. Of course there were more of one race and/or gender in the room but all in all the seating was perfectly divided. At each table there were at least two females and two males and at least two Caucasian and two African American students. I found the seating chart to be effective and I applaud the teacher for not splitting the students up by gender, race, or both for that matter. I will definitely model Ms. Lee’s seating chart when I begin teaching.

Disruptive Behavior in the Classroom:

Every classroom has those students who misbehave on occasion, including Ms. Lee’s class. I think that teachers who believe that their classrooms should be perfect and never have behavior problems don’t need to be teachers. Today, just as with every other day I have observed, I witnessed a few of these behavior problems myself. I think that actually working one on one with the students is a great way to learn what works for you when it comes to discipline. One child I seemed to notice above all the rest was a young boy by the name of Eli. After watching this child constantly getting distracted from his work I decided to walk over and ask him a few questions. Although I knelt down and got right beside his ear and asked him why he wasn’t doing his work, he still paid no attention. After repeatedly asking him this question I began to get frustrated so I walked away. Ms. Lee later informed me that Eli had been diagnosed as ADD and that his attention span was incredibly minute. I think that Ms. Lee should have let me know this the first day of school so I would have known the situation and not become frustrated with him.
As the day progressed I witnessed another student by the name of Jay who was acting out a bit in front of the class. I thought at first that Jay was just a funny child who liked to make others laugh, but I soon learned different. As I knelt down and whispered in his ear to sit down and get to work I saw this look of fear cross his face. I think that many times teachers are too quick to reprimand students when they don’t know how to do their work which in my opinion has these negative effects on children. Jay let me know that he didn’t understand what he was doing so I then took the time to explain it to him one on one. I believe that good teachers will not be quick to punish a child for misbehaving, but will first find out the underlying problem. After I took the time to help Jay it was like he turned into another child.
I think that overall the behavior problems in Ms. Lee’s class are few and far between. Expecting children to do as they are told at all times is ludicrous as we are all aware, so stressing out over the small stuff is not worth it. Like I have been told many times before by my mother who used to be a teacher, “You have to pick your battles.”

1st blog post

I am currently a junior at Georgia Southern University where I am majoring in Early Childhood Education. This semester I am in the curriculum section of the program where we are to complete 20 hours of observation in the school we have been assigned . I have just found out that I have been placed at Stilson Elementary School in Mrs. Langes 3rd grade classroom and I am very excited about observing this grade level.