For my last visit, I was stoked to have a productive and fun day. The day started off as usual with the announcements on the smart board, then the first class came in. They were the eight grade class I had had first the previous visit. This class was now reviewing for the test. They had a packet, just like the second class from last week. But, this class was on their best behavior. So, the teacher rewarded the students. She did this by putting music on. First she put on classical music, but the students were working well, so she put on disney music. This was fun for the students, but one student was not able to focus with the disney on, so the teacher changed it. This upset many other students because they were enjoying the disney music. The teacher explained how she had to switch it because all of the students worked well with classical, but not all did with disney. The students kept pouting for a few more minutes, and then got over it. The class was then winding down and the kids were getting ready to switch classrooms.
The next class came in. Because they had a test in their previous class, the kids kept asking if their teacher had graded their tests. The teacher informed them no, and they started a new lesson on linear equations. They were learning it on the smart board, and then received a worksheet. This was the first time the kids were learning this information, so they were very confused and the teacher had to take it slow. And by this this time, it was time for me to leave.
This day was a good day to end my observations on, both class periods were very productive, even though the second class took longer to understand the concept being taught. One piece of information that the teacher shared with me was the concept of grading tests. She told me that she grades her tests from back to front. She does this so she doesn’t know whose test she is grading. I really enjoyed this piece of information.
This observation really opened up my eyes, and I am so happy for the opportunity!