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I observed Dana, Toni and Anita. They are all excellent teachers. Their students respect and listen to them. I enjoyed seeing their instructional strategies such as group presentations, round table discussions, and group work. They transitioned well, and supported their students. I am definitely going to take some of their ideas and use them in my classes.

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I observed four English teachers the morning of February 6th: Jess Stovall, Sarah Rosas, Erin Leuschel-Perzov, and Glynis Kinnan. Overall, it was really helpful and instructive. Halfway through, I thought, "why don't we do this more often?" So,  I really appreciate the opportunity (thanks, Bill!).

I was impressed with how different but equally effective four approaches to teaching English could be. I saw in some cases a tremendous amount of structure, classes that were planned to the minute. I also saw more organic, free-flowing stretches of instruction that did not have a clear end point but resulted in really valuable discussions.

The thread that connected all four teachers together was how they approached and interacted with their students.  A care and kindness was pervasive throughout, no matter the task or the tenor of the conversation. I found great value in being able to step away from my practice and watch others interacting with kids, a nice reminder that all those countless interactions are, in essence, what we do everyday, all day.

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Johnston Observation of Sana Jaber's Math Class 

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Johnston Observation of Sana Jaber's Math Class 

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I chose to observe a teacher outside of my discipline as Sana has been my instructional coach throughout the year. My main focus was to gain some ideas on classroom management and increasing student engagement. Sana does a great job of reminding the students the purpose activities. For example, for the "Do Now" activity she reminded them to see what they know, not their peers. She constantly walks around to monitor progress and can stop to help a struggling student without making it obvious. I really liked that she used a timer throughout class and if the students need more time she will say, “If you need 3 minutes hold up 3, if you need 2 hold up 2, if you need 1 hold up 1” --- resets the timer for the majority --- GREAT IDEA! Other ideas I got from Sana were: using peardeck to help maximize participation and reach the students who tend to be more quiet. During partner work, she chooses one person to check off their row’s work with a stamp. Kids enjoyed that. She has the entire class give a clap for the students who helped check off the work, which is a great positive reinforcement strategy! Example together and then they will do two examples on their own, and reiterates the goal of the task, which sets the students up for success. She uses popsicle sticks with students’ names on it to increase class participation. Helps reach students who are quiet/don’t like to participate. I loved this idea and plan to implement it into my classes. Observing Sana encouraged me to go to a lunch and learn she was hosting on the app "Plickers." I LOVED this idea and hope to bring it into my classroom soon!

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Tarantino Observation of Limberg US History B

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Tarantino Observation of Limberg US History B

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Dana had posters set up around the room and the students did a gallery walk and left post its with their thoughts on each one. The students were engaged and it seemed helpful for them to see examples of the content. The class is lively and Dana manages the class effectively with patience and involves all students in the discussion. It was nice to see this class as the other US History B teacher and to see her strategies with engaging students and aiding their understanding. Dana read aloud with the students and they were noticing connections between the reading and the posters. The lessons showed the content to the students in multiple ways, and it was also nice to see the students moving around. Overall I was impressed with her planning and management.

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Tarantino Observation of Pena World Studies 

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Tarantino Observation of Pena World Studies 

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This class was presenting skits where they created a talk show that discussed who they thought was responsible for the death of Romeo & Juliet. It was very engaging for the students and it was nice to see kids in their element and having fun while showing evidence of what they learned. The presentations were creative and each had a persuasive tone. I would totally steal this idea in the future. Emmanuel and his coteacher had a friendly rapport with the students and it was a welcoming environment, especially with a large group of kids

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Tarantino Observation of Stephen US History A

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Tarantino Observation of Stephen US History A

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Mike has a friendly rapport with the students and it was a nice environment for the students to feel comfortable but also be challenged. The students were in groups according to perspectives. Each group answered questions about imperialism from the perspective of their assigned group. It was good practice of point of view and applying what they learned in their readings. The students worked well together and the class expectations seemed clear with working with groups (they all turned to face each other, etc).

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Co-taught Geometry (Wright/Bracey), Co-taught Algebra (Fotzler/Terreta), Co-taught Pre-Algebra (Fried/Parenti)
Each of the co-teaching teams I observed did an excellent job working together! As an observer in the room, you couldn't tell who was the special education teacher and the content teacher. Each pair had a great working relationship! They supported one another to aide in the fluidity of the instruction. For example, one teacher would be introducing a new topic while the other teacher would be surveying the room to see that students where on tasks and assisting them individually. The students seemed really enjoy the class and liked having two adults to support them. All teachers seemed to have develop a great rapport with their class. It was a great learning experience for me. It was nice to get out of the self-contained SED classes to see what was occurring in the other math classes throughout the building.

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I followed one of my morning students through the rest of her day to see what OPRF looks like from a student's perspective.  I observed Tim Fischer's US History class and was wowed by how engaged the students were and by the use of political cartoons to discuss colonialism.  Tim's use of different strategies throughout the period (partners, groups, radio reporting) kept the pace quick and the students engaged.
I observed Kristin Wirtz's Algebra class and felt like I was watching my own classroom.  Kristin and I share mannerisms, check for understanding techniques, and classroom routines.  It was amusing to see--and reassuring to see that students were as engaged in her class as I feel like they are in mine.
I observed Elizabeth Fox's English class as she tabled the lesson plans to discuss the Florida shooting.  I was heartened to know that some teachers do make sure to give students time and space for discussions like this.  The students were very engaged and shared thoughtful responses to the event and what they read together about it.
Last, I observed Jessica Howell's French class.  I was interested to see the different technologies and techniques used in language classes than in the science and math classes I am more familiar with--French class has come a long way since my high school days!
It was fascinating to follow one student and see how she reacted differently to different teachers, techniques, classmates, and subjects. It was also a reminder to me that a few minutes of transition at the beginning of class is probably a good thing, as students are jumping between very different experiences in just five minutes. Maybe building some transition routines into the "bell to bell" time is helpful...action research topic?

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Eakley - Teacher Observation - Elements of Reading P7&8 (Leuschel-Perzov/Collins)

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Eakley - Teacher Observation - Elements of Reading P7&8 (Leuschel-Perzov/Collins)

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This class is so well organized and expertly run - there was no question that students knew what was expected of them and even those who tried to stay off task, were quickly redirected by staff, peers, or self-redirected as no one reacted to their behaviors. All of the expectations were posted throughout the room, as well as the daily agenda and progress monitoring charts. I loved the individualization of the materials with student's pictures on them. This class split into 3 groups, all going over the same information. I think this was so effective because the classroom is so spacious, it was hard for students to interact with other groups. This class also had two teachers and a classroom aide, so the additional support staff was essential to the flow and productivity of the class. I think it would be difficult to replicate this type of environment in my own classes as I don't have the space or the support staff to ensure this schedule. I did get some great ideas for personalizing materials so that students can take some additional ownership of their materials. I would also love to have an aide with the specialized skill to conduct REWARDS.

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Eakley - Teacher Observation - Literacy Connections P6 (Godinez/Smolek)

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Eakley - Teacher Observation - Literacy Connections P6 (Godinez/Smolek)

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This class was on a slightly different rotation despite being the same class - I love the alternating schedules which were clearly explained and outlined on the board. Both Jeri and Melissa moved around the room to have 1:1 meetings with students about various topics during SSR - what a great time/way to check in with individual students without losing the whole flow of the class! Melissa passed out portfolios in preparation for their next activity. Students worked on NoRedInk to practice previously-taught apostrophe rules and the level on engagement was magical! Their classroom aide rotated around to do a few REWARDS activities. I loved the idea of having staff move and students stationary; it saved SO much time during transitions. Even though two groups were doing the same thing, the separation kept off-task behaviors to a minimum - LOVED the idea!

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Eakley - Teacher Observation - Literacy Connections P5(Godinez/Smolek)

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Eakley - Teacher Observation - Literacy Connections P5(Godinez/Smolek)

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The class started with 10 minutes of SSR. I loved how Melissa read with the students to model appropriate behavior. When a student had a verbal outburst toward another student, Melissa removed them from class for a 1:1 conversation, and without missing a beat, Jeri jumped in to support the other student and then gave directions to the class. Both co-teachers have seamless transitions of teaching vs. supporting. Jeri went over the directions for the next activity and reviewed the theme and expectations. I loved how they had visuals posted around the room to reinforce expectations. Melissa used a lot of positive reinforcement to promote on-task behaviors and used the phrase, "I want to have a conversation with you," when a student was continuously off-task. Both teachers referred to the visuals multiple times. Then the students completed a graphic organizer to support their reading. At the end of the period, one student filled in a digital copy of the GO with shared answers from the class. This was a large class with a lot of needs; these two teachers did a great job supporting a variety of skill levels and personalities. I am definitely going to incorporate some of their strategies into my own classes!