Observation and Feedback

Observation and Feedback

            After my first lesson in my placement I was made aware that my classroom instruction can be rather static, sticking to one particular place in the room to speak from as a sort of comfort zone. In doing this, I lacked the comfort to utilize proximity in addressing classroom management. Another consequence of feeling “stuck” at the front of the room was the feeling of discomfort with projecting my voice and learning the proper volume of a “teaching voice.” The third place of improvement that my host teach brought my attention to was to introduce the lesson in smaller pieces, explaining a handout as it is being passed out so that students are aware of what the task is and what is expected of them.

            Throughout my second lesson I was aware of the advice I was given previously and worked to put that advice into practice. I was much more comfortable circulating the room, despite one class of students taking my time “leading” instruction as an opportunity to use their cell phones and hold side conversations during instruction. Instead of coming to my rescue, my host teacher allowed me to address these issues myself, greatly increasing my confidence in adhering to the behavior policies that are in place in the classroom. To curb side conversations I was able to utilize proximity to particular students, conducting a large portion of the instruction from the back of the classroom instead of the front.

            This opportunity greatly increased my awareness that classroom behavior must be assessed and built from the very first days in a classroom. Despite knowing and for the most part following the rules during my host teacher’s lessons, the students took the opportunity of a new leader in the classroom to test my boundaries and push limits that they ordinarily would not. I was surprised at how rattled the students’ use of cell phones made me. Seeing the pile of fourteen confiscated cell phones on the front table led me to the realization that the students, for whatever reason, were not listening, were not engaged, and I needed to address the issue quickly in order to salvage the learning activity that was planned for the day. I took a minute to regain my thoughts and take a few deep breaths, and then did my best to rebound back into the lesson. After the lesson was over my host teacher reassured me that I had done the best that I could, and that it is in students’ nature to push the limits of “fresh meat.” It was a relief to know that the students’ actions should not be taken personally and that despite the hiccups in the lesson it was not viewed as a failure.

            The hiccups and struggles of this second lesson would have been entirely overwhelming if I did not have the advice from the previous lesson to keep in mind and draw solutions from. I realized very quickly that proximity is an incredibly useful tool and that projecting my voice is not only necessary for instruction, but also a key aspect of establishing authority in a classroom as a beginning teacher. Another lesson I learned from this experience was that timing is key when allowing students to work on an activity in groups. If the students are offered too little time they are unable to engage in group discussion because they are not finished preparing their responses, and if students are offered too much time they are too susceptible to veering off task.

            While leading the instruction for this learning activity in the next class period I was able to keep all of these key elements in mind, causing the lesson to be much more fluid and productive. To start off the class on a firm note, my host teacher very sternly informed students not to be on their cell phones, or risk them being confiscated for the rest of the school day. This immediately set the tone that any disruptions would not be tolerated. In order to keep the flow of the class moving along I was much more aware of my timing, asking students who needed more time and who was finished, ensuring that the students stayed on task and were neither left behind or left waiting for others to catch up. By utilizing all of the hiccups of the first lesson as learning experiences I was much more confident in my abilities for the second lesson. Had those students not pushed my limits I do not believe I would have felt as confident in my last lesson. They provided me with the mentality that it could only get better from there instead of leaving me feeling defeated on my last day in my clinical placement.