Week 6 Observations

This week, I observed a 7th grade class during a quiz and lecture. The nice thing about
this weeks observation is that I could compare it to my experience with a different teacher last
week, during a quiz and lecture. I asked the teacher, if I could see a copy of the quiz and looking
at it, I could immediately see the differences in the quiz design. This teachers quiz incorporates
both pictures and words for the quiz, allowing her students to use different strengths, or convey
the answers in a way that they are most comfortable.
A few weeks ago I observed this class, and had noticed there was some issues with
behavior and acting out in class. This time though, I noticed that the teacher had changed some
of the ways she structured her class, and the attitude issues seemed to have dissipated. I noticed
immediately that the teacher had created more opportunities for breaks in her lesson plan. She
had broken up the tasks into smaller groups so that the students had a chance to change gears and
not get burned out on one thing. Another thing I noticed immediately was that she gave the
students the opportunity to choose which of the tasks they wanted to do first, but reminding them
that they were going to do them all at some point during the class session. This gave the students
a sense of control, and they were less resistant to the lesson because they had chosen which part
they were doing.
Towards the end of the period, one student did start to act out, and the teacher handled it
much differently than the first time. Instead of calling him out in front of his classmates, she
approached him quietly, and talked to him. After I asked her how she handled it, and she said
she lets the student know that the behavior is disrupting the class, and the student gets the
opportunity to explain their behavior. She then lets them decide whether they want to try and
correct the behavior or if they would like to accept the negative repercussion.

References
Teacher Behavioral Strategies: A Menu. (n.d.). Response to Intervention. Retrieved October 10,
2014.