Project-Based Instruction Instrument for Student Observation 1 Physical Environment, Diversity and Equity in Education Observer: Gemma Holdman

Class Date: 01/28 Class Location: Buchholz High School 02/01 Class Times: 12:55 Course Title: Math for College Readiness 2:40 Physical Environment The physical environment of the classroom impacts instruction. At some time during your career as a teacher, you are likely to be in a traditional science laboratory room or a regular classroom with individual desks. Because PBI instruction involves the creation of projects, it includes an additional component, a space for students to work on the construction of their projects. This is in addition to adequate space to do investigations and research. Over the next few weeks, you will be completing five (5) observations in the same classroom. Each observation is intended to focus on an important component of effective instruction, but may look different in a true PBI classroom. Today, your focus will be to observe the structure of the classroom. As part of your first classroom observation, you must: 1. Introduce yourself to the students and tell them you will be observing their class for five weeks. You may ask them questions during some of the observations. 2. Inform them that during the 10th week you will be teaching them a lesson that is coordinated with the unit they will be learning at the time. 3. Record the overall physical environment of the room: Describe the content pictures, poster, or other displays in the room. What is the general theme? Buchholz posters with bobcat mascot, four coordinate plane graph, poster (Never settle for less than your best), class rules (1 do what is right, 2 do your best, and 3 treat others as you want to be treated), posters (Math of Africa and Gators), bulletin boards (containing in-depth information about the syllabus, school rules, classroom rules and procedures, grading scale), and large dry erase board (including the agenda for the day and important classroom information). Describe any bulletin boards that have content information or interactive activities. Do you sense that the world of mathematics or science is alive in the classroom? Explain. With the exception of the agenda (which describes the content to be discussed) no bulletin boards have mathematics content information. In my opinion (and no offense to my mentor teacher) the classroom does not possess mathematical energy. Classroom rules and information is displayed very well but the room is not alive. I want to create a classroom environment that is more friendly and fun but not distracting to students.

Project-Based Instruction What teaching and learning tools are evident? Does the physical environment show evidence of laboratory investigations? Classroom has rulers, calculators, and a large graph chart. Classroom does not show evidence of laboratory investigations. Are there computers in the classroom? If so, do they have access to the Internet? If so, what is the ratio of students to computers? No computers in the classroom (with the exception of the teacher computer). Draw a sketch of the location of the desks, computers, overhead projector, projector, whiteboard (or chalkboard), smart board, and other content-related resources including safety equipment. Label the different areas and write a brief statement about whether you believe this room supports inquiry learning and project-based instruction.

Diversity and Equity

Project-Based Instruction To some degree, there is diversity in all classrooms, including the often unspoken difference between the teacher and the students. Maintaining equity in education means that teachers recognize this diversity and act on it by creating an environment where each student has an equal opportunity to interact and understand the content being presented. If equity is to be maintained, then all teachers must accept that they will be designing learning opportunities intended to reach a diverse set of learners. Recognizing the extent to which the diversity of the learner impacts their ability to learn is why the choice of instructional strategies can be so important. As part of this observation, you must: Identify as many diverse learners in the classroom as possible, some more obvious than others. Identify how the teacher may or may not have designed a learning environment that provided multiple opportunities for all students to learn. Discuss how the implementation of a PBI unit can provide an environment that actively addresses the issue of equity and provides for diverse educational opportunities. Class Demographics Number of Students Present: Period 4 22 students, Period 5 - 19 students, Period 6 24 students Student Ethnicities Class Period 4 5 6 # Caucasian 6 10 12 # Latino /Hispanic 3 3 3 # Black / African American 12 6 7 Teacher # Females 13 7 12 # Males 9 12 12 # Asian 1 0 2 # Other 0 0 0

Student Gender Class Period 4 5 6

Ethnicity African Black

Gender Male

1. Observe the class as a whole. Do you notice any differences (language, dress) that might also indicate a diverse student or group? Describe this group. A majority of

Project-Based Instruction students dress very similarly. Buchholz High School (and the rest of Alachua County) has a dress code students are required to follow. The dress code includes polo t-shirts, long sleeved shirts, or Buchholz labeled shirts for the tops and slacks, jeans, shorts, or skirts for the bottoms. Neither tops nor bottoms can have embellishments or decorations of any kind. Clothing must fit properly and cannot be too baggy. For girls, skirts and dresses must be at least mid thigh. In regards to language, students, especially teenagers, often have their own slang words and phrases they use to express themselves within a particular group. I have not witnessed any specific instances in these classrooms (but I very may will in the weeks to come). 2. Looking at the overall seating of students in the classroom, do you observe any pattern(s) in the distribution of the students? How do you think this influences how the students interacted in the classroom? It looks as though students are placed according to behavior and attention levels. If students are misbehaved or distract other students regularly they are placed at the back of the classroom. Some students are placed in the front rows if they need extra assistance. By watching the students interact I honestly do not believe the seating arrangement affects the interactions. No students are purposefully excluded or pointed out due to their seats. 3. In the lesson that you observed, did all the students participate equally? Were any groups obviously excluded by the type of lesson? Give examples to support your answer. Some students are more willing to participate and others are not just is the case in any classroom. A few students in each class raise their hands to participate. The teacher calls upon both those students who raise their hands and students who do not. No group was obviously excluded by the lesson. Overall I believe that the teacher tries to have all students participate, whether they willing and enthusiastic to do so or not. 4. How did the teacher interact with students that were participating and those that may have been less inclined to participate? How did the teacher address those students that were completely disengaged from the lesson? The teacher calls upon both groups of students those who willingly participate and those who do not. He encourages all students to input their answers. When students are completely disengaged from the lesson, the teacher addresses them to try and understand why they are not participating. If the behavior is affecting the lesson, the teacher manages the issue immediately and then continues with the lesson. 5. Are there any special needs students (physical impairments, learning disabilities, ELL, etc.) in this class? If so, how were these students accommodated during the lesson? No students in the three classes have physical impairments of any sort. No students are considered English Language Learners. Several students have learning disabilities and have IEP plans. These students are accommodated accordingly to the elements listed in the IEP plans. Such accommodations include preferential seating, repeat directions, extended time on tests and assignments, using a formula sheet on exams, and read test aloud. Most of those students also

Project-Based Instruction have an additional class called Learning Strategies that addresses test-taking strategies and helps them to complete their assignments. 6. Discuss how the implementation of a PBI unit can provide an environment that uses the teaching strategy to exploit the diversity in a classroom and therefore promote equity. Using a PBI unit to teach will promote equity in the classroom because it allows lessons to be taught in non-traditional ways accessible to the wide variety of students, each from their own diverse backgrounds and sets of interests.