First Observation 9/19

While taking part in our first day of observations, I made sure to take notice of items on the walls in each classroom, as I feel these things set the tone for what the type of learning will take place within that room. A bare classroom usually means a bare, dull lesson. Fortunately, I didn't see any of this during my time at the school. I was happy to see many visible prompts that were there to assist the students. In an English class, I noticed question stems on the walls. This was great. If a student needed some guidance, he or she could look up and get the assistance needed. Not only is this a great way to improve the students' reading comprehension, it allows them the opportunity to take part in self-guided learning, which I feel is important. They develop the ability to work through problems without the assistance of the teacher. I feel this can have just as many phycological benefits as it does educational. Another thing I found in this classroom was a board of vocabulary words that were meant to work as prompts to induce higher-level thinking. While I was familiar with the questions stems, this was something new to me. Both of these prompts work to do what I feel the H.S is really pushing towards: trying to build higher-level thinkers. Another thing I found useful in many of the classrooms I entered was having the objectives for that days lesson listed clearly on the board in front of the class. Students can't learn if they're not sure of what they're supposed to learning, and while it's the teachers job to make this clear throughout the lesson, having these objectives listed in class allows the students to reference them at anytime. Overall, this day was a success. I was able to see these techniques used in a real world environment, which, as a prospective teacher, is extremely valuable.