EDU 600 Field Blog

 

2/10/2021

This week I asked my mentor teacher about behavior issues and classroom management techniques that she employs. I was hoping she might have some tips for asserting the appropriate amount of authority as a new teacher, striking the balance between being friendly and being respected. However with virtual classes, it seems like the issues now relate to getting students to show up and speak up, rather than getting them to settle down or quiet down.

Many of the classes I've observed have been very quiet, bordering on eerily silent. I've observed a few strategies for trying to coax them into engaging, with varying results. One teacher uses sticks with students names on them, and calls on students at random to answer questions. This would generally get an answer from the specified student, but didn't do a whole lot to improve the atmosphere of the class. My mentor teacher starts every class by asking the class how they're doing, what they did that weekend, or other small talk to get the ball rolling. This seems to work pretty well for some students, but there are still a good number who don't engage with that question or the rest of class.

What seemed to get the most engagement was any form on non-verbal response. Many students were more comfortable using the chat, answering poll questions through google meets, or responding to PearDeck prompts. I guess it's lower commitment to put in a typed response, or perhaps students are concerned about background noise from the homes, or simply don't want to talk. In any case, I'd rather have 100% participation in a non-verbal form than 20% vocal participation.

There are still a few instances I've observed of too much talking, rather than not enough. One class in particular had several prominent students who were always ready to share an off topic story. However, these students were generally receptive to asking if we could finish the story later, or a gentle reminder to get back on track. Particularly when these students were attending virtually, that's all it would take. 

Although I haven't observed any serious need for a classroom management plan, it seems worth considering how such a plan should be modified for virtual environments. Perhaps the focus would be less on how to keep students on track, and more about how to get them engaged. Instead of hall passes and fire drills, we need to consider camera requirements, and what counts as "present" in a virtual meeting.

2/20/2021

Meeting the needs of diverse learners is always a challenge in the classroom, and having to re-format all materials to a virtual format makes it even harder. While technology can help with differentiation, recreating all your content on the fly doesn't leave much time to think about personalizing assignments.

Many of the teachers I've observed have general, honors, and AP versions of their classes, which provides for some easy group differentiation. Between honors and general, the honors students tend to move a little faster and generally end each unit with a "challenge assignment" that the general class doesn't get, or they'll cover some extra pieces of content. The AP class however is a totally different animal, usually covering content in a different order, going in much more depth, and covering different topics entirely. Their tests tend to include more short answer and higher order skills.

It took me a while to see instances of differentiation for students within an individual class. Most teachers assign one assignment for the whole class, and they all attend just one lecture. However, there was one significant mechanism that I think could contribute to differentiation, and that is game-ifying and adding creative layers to assignments and projects. For students who know the material and don't really need more practice, they can still enjoy playing the review game, or getting more creative with poster design. Students who do need the practice don't have to pay too much attention to the game aspect of the review, and they can work to make sure they've got all the right content for their poster project. While small, adding an optional layer to assignments seems to help all learning levels stay engaged with the material, rather than encouraging more gifted learners to tune out.

In addition to that, some teachers provided options for assignments. For example, a chemistry teacher opened class with the choice of two warm up activities- both were Blooket games, but one reviewed the prior week's material, and one explored new applications of the material. In the general class most students chose the review, and in the honors it split about half and half. It can be tough to find "challenge material" that lets the faster learners stay engaged, but doesn't put them too far ahead for the next topic such that they'll be bored with that one. I think this example covered the divide well by doing review either way, but in one version through more rote practice, and in one version through more challenging applications.

Another way I might choose to address this issue in my own classroom would be to have the slower learners focus on the what, and the faster learners focused on the why. For example, most students just learn what the 3 soil types are, and memorize the major characteristic of each. This is completely adequate to pass the test, and is easiest for most students to do. However, the reason that each soil type acts the way it does, is due to some strange phenomena that occur at small sizes, edging on the world of organic chemistry. This explanation is glossed over in all but college level soil science classes, but this could be something to try to present to faster learners as supplementary but related information that can help them understand the phenomena rather than just having to memorize it, which is not very challenging.

It's definitely not easy to design courses with multiple layers of content within each of already separated out levels. However, it's been very apparent in my observations that individual students are not always placed "correctly" for their ability level. Some of the brightest and most engaged students are in general classes, maybe because they don't have the focus or the follow through to maintain higher grades. Some honors students get placed there, and then struggle the whole way through because they really needed more support. It's a good reminder that differentiation between classes doesn't make up for differentiation within classes.

2/25/2021

Blended Learning has become a huge component of teaching in the modern era. Even with vaccines rolling out and students gradually returning to the classroom, snow days are presumably a thing of the past, and it's hard to imagine a virtual-free future. So, observing during this time has been a great way to get exposed to the many tools and techniques teachers are trying. 

My mentor teacher has a classroom flow that is working well for her, using PearDecks for lectures, EdPuzzle and WebQuest for learning assignments, a virtual guest who presents something interesting related to each unit, and quizlet or google forms for tests and quizzes. However, other teachers I've had the opportunity to observe use completely different tools, some film themselves drawing on their whiteboard, some zoom in on a piece of paper that they write on, some require physical notebooks and some use all virtual resources.

It seems that regardless of what tools teachers use, their students appreciate that they use the same tool repeatedly. Introducing students to a new tool takes up a lot of time, and can lead to extensive problem-solving, technological issues, and a high probability of students tuning out while you try to sort that out. So, I think it would be advantageous to try to figure out what tools students are familiar with and know their school accounts will allow them to access, and then trying to work with those. Of course, sometimes a new tool is worth the hassle. I have just realized that it's worth analyzing when you really need a new tool, and setting aside time for its introduction.

Above just using the same technologies, maintaining a classroom flow seems to be a helpful practice. Students know to expect a warm-up assignment, or to have their notebooks ready for a lecture, or that they'll get a bathroom break midway through class. These sorts of class norms are useful to establish so students know what to expect, know that their needs will be met, and can focus on the content for the day.

I like the format of having some warm-up to work on, as it incentivizes students to arrive early and be prepared, as they know there will be something for them to do. In particular, if that can be an open ended or game-type warm-up, students can't just "be done" and tune out waiting for the next step. The game-ified assignments seem to be very popular, and students may even complain when they have to stop working on their warm-up.

Currently, the school I'm at suggests that all teachers use the first 45 minutes of class for instruction, and the second half for individual work. While sometimes that structure is annoying, it does provide a level of predictability in the schedule, while still leaving 45 minutes up to your discretion. For this portion of the class period, I think opening up a little more flexibility between day-to-day schedules isn't as big of a deal. In fact, students might appreciate having a little variety on the "lecture" component of the class. My mentor teacher often uses videos and virtual guests to mix up class time, and other teachers I've observed mix in games, discussions, breakout groups, and more, when it fits the lesson.

In the time allotted for individual work, some teachers just let the students go and ask them to email with any questions. Some teachers ask that students stay in the meet, but can turn off their cameras and just check in if they need something. I like that method a little better, as it seems students are more likely to ask a question if they're already in the meeting with the teacher right there, and everyone can hear questions being asked so you avoid redundancies. The teacher can also hop in to clarify issues that might be generating a lot of questions, or generally be available to everyone.

Overall, the different classes I observed remind me of the analogy for state law, a laboratory of democracy. Each teacher has different techniques, a different classroom setup, and different tools. It's too bad that current teachers don't get a chance to observe other teachers in their schools and learn from each other's experiments. Many teachers have told me this must be a terrible time to be a student teacher, but it's never been a better time to learn from their trials!