High School offered me an excellent forum to view students in action. The school itself is impressive and appears more like a University with grand brick buildings of classical early 20th century architecture, than that of public high schools I am more accustomed to seeing. It is one of the few quasi public schools in the state, with the towns that students reside paying the school for students to attend rather than relying on direct public funding. The school was impressive and I envied the students who attended thinking back to my days in a rather dreary high school built in the seventies and probably none to impressive then. The demographic of students who attend is diverse, coming from as many as five towns. The teachers I dealt with were dedicated and interested only in bettering the students as learners.
Of the time I spent observing, I found Dr. C.'s pre-calculus class the most enlightening for many reasons. Besides the fact that the content level was beyond anything I could handle at the moment, the one aspect that has stayed with me is the enthusiasm he instilled in his students and level of preparation he expects. I do not think that any of his students were necessarily exceptional or even well above average, but he set his standards high and expects nothing less than full achievement. Almost all the students were completely prepared, if for no other reason than the fact the class would be unbearable if you weren't prepared, and like a college class once you get behind it is very difficult to catch up. He was nonchalant and all business at the same time, matter of fact and glib. Chatter was accepted and everyone joked around enough to keep the class lighthearted while working on trinomial equations and square roots of square roots to the third of an x power. It was amazing!
I hope to bring Dr. C.'s technique, expectations, and enthusiasm into my classroom. It is not difficult to parlay mathematics into my content area of science. Connecticut's Common Core of Teaching for Mathematics calls for teachers to create an environment where mathematical thinking is the norm, while the CCC of T for science calls for teachers to create an environment to develop critical scientific reasoning. These are two very similar concepts calling for fact based thought and reasoning. A math problem is like a scientific experiment, solved similarly, often through trial and error. Even the terminology in the two content areas is similar. But to me the most important relation between the two is the fact base that is available for math and the sciences. Study techniques are the same and students can learn with similar techniques. I hope I can keep a pace in a classroom like Dr. C., firing questions, accepting wrong answers as long as they are prompting corrections.
The Connecticut Common Core of Learning is again strikingly similar for math and science. Students should use mathematical and scientific theory to solve problems and devise solutions. Again I feel Dr. C.'s classroom pace accomplishes this by creating an atmosphere where mathematical thought is instinctual for the student and they attack the problems fearlessly in class not worried about being wrong only hoping to get the answer correctly and through the proper means. This thought process and level of intensity I hope I can instill in my students. To me science is everywhere and I hope to help students see the forest for the trees, to look into, not at the bigger picture and apply and recognize the theories and ideas I teach to what they see outside of the classroom.
In my upcoming observations I will do a few things differently. First I will attempt to see more of my content area. Secondly, through better communication with the teachers I will be observing I hope to be able to sit in on classes that show more literacy concepts and techniques. Not that it wasn't relevant to this course, or more importantly to the students, I don't want observe another class watching a film. Even though Dr. C. was impressive to watch, and I saw much that I hope to draw upon, I don't think I will observe another math class. Our course objectives for EDUC 508 are clear. My first observations have started to touch on many, but when all is said and done I would like to more than fulfill them all. I witnessed a few instructional methods but would like to explore deeper the selection of these strategies. The selection of materials is important to me as well as ensuring I am selecting material appropriate to the levels of my students. I hope to incorporate more literacy concepts in my classroom than I witnessed thus far. My first day of observations has set up even more useful and successful observational experiences.
References:
Billmeyer, R. & Barton, M.L. (1998). Teaching reading in the content area: If not me then who? Aurora, Colorado, McREL.
Vacca, R.T. & Vacca J.L. (2002). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum. Boston, Allyn and Bacon.