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I write this second take on my reflection paper based on my the 1st half of my observation , which consisted mostly of exam

reviews. In spite of the lack of actual teaching, I had the opportunity to observe different styles as I worked with four different teachers. In my theory of learning reflection, I talked about the importance of using the physical environment of the classroom. I explained how this physical environment can play an important part in the learning experience of the students. During my first week at Valley View High School, I have had the opportunity to visit several classrooms, I have had therefore the chance to see very different approaches towards the creation of an enticing classroom environment. I started my observation with an Italian class. I was surprised to see that the classroom walls were almost bare of any kind of decorations. The only elements of decorations were a map of Italy, a flag and a few white paper models of famous Italian monuments such as the Tower of Pisa and the Coliseum. I was surprised not to see posters, pictures or any kind of authentic material, especially given the importance of Italian-American culture in the Jessup-Archbald area. Furthermore, the program being very popular - there were 25 students in that class - I was surprised not to see any kind of student made projects either. On a side note, I also found the arrangement of the boards peculiar as the Smart Board was located across from the tradi-

tional white board. As a result, the teacher was not able to use the latter as the students had their backs towards it. On the other hand, I was very impressed with the Spanish II classroom I had the opportunity to observe. Indeed, this classroom was very well decorated and incorporated most of the elements I discussed in my first theory of learning. First of all, the classroom was very colorful, including many posters in the target language as well as many flags of the different Spanish speaking countries. This classroom also included many student made projects such as their horoscopes in Spanish. Finally, the teacher had set a mini-library corner with a variety of books and magazines in Spanish for the students. As an observer, I found this classroom very welcoming and found myself looking forward to observe there, which contrasted a lot with the austerity of the Italian classroom. I therefore feel even more strongly about the importance of making a classroom a pleasant place in which to spent an hour. These few hours have also allowed me to consider an aspect of teaching I had not mentioned in my first reflection: variety. Valley View High School is particular in the sense that they use the block scheduling system. I had heard of it prior to my observation but I had not had the chance to experience it myself. Planning for an 85 minute period is, I believe, very different from planning for a 45 minute one or even for two 45 minute ones. Indeed, teaching for twice as long makes it harder to captivate and retain

the students attention. For that purpose, I believe that varying the activities is a key element towards success. At this point of my observation, I unfortunately found that most of the classes I have observed lack this crucial variety. For example, during the one class, the students only did three different activities, one of them being a 40 minute long vocabulary game. As I observed the students behaviors during this game, I noticed that after ten minutes many of them were losing interest in the activity. As an outsider, it really seemed that the teacher was stretching the assignment as long as possible, for lack of other tasks scheduled for that day. I understand that these were special circumstances as students were mostly reviewing towards their final exams. However, I can not help feeling that this class felt particularly long and that a wider variety of activities would have not only been more entertaining and engaging for the students but most importantly, far more efficient and beneficial. Similarly, the other classes I observed lacked variety. In another class, the students spent the entire 85 minute period working on a packet as the teacher had to take care of oral exams on the side. In yet again another class, the students spent the majority of the period presenting powerpoint slideshows. Once again, I honestly understand that these were special circumstances as the semester was ending and the final exams nearing. In this respect, I am not trying to be judg-

mental towards the different teachers I have observed but I felt necessary to stress the importance of variety to maintain an enticing learning environment. These first few hours of observation have proven to be somehow frustrating as I have not yet been able to observe actual teaching. On the other hand, I have also found it to be very beneficial. Indeed, as I have been teaching at the college level for a couple years now, I found these few hours at the secondary level to be a good reminder of the differences between the two levels. I am now looking forward to observing the start of a brand new semester and hope to benefit from it as much as I have so far.

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