Most of the observations I made were what the teacher did that demonstrated effective classroom management. I observed many instances when the conversations among students were encouraged and guided without the teachers “telling” them what to think. They asked many follow up questions, and I was surprised at how engaged the students were in the topics after giving some gentle direction. 

I could go on and explain these teacher moves in further detail, but as these are included in my full field notes, I would like to focus on the examples of when connections between behavior and cultural backgrounds were observed. There were a lot of these! Not as much between behavior and culture (as the classrooms of the three videos I watched were relatively homogenous with a majority of white students), but more so between behavior and personality/individual experience. What stood out to me most was in my third video, where students presented their photography to the rest of the class. One of the questions they were encouraged to respond to during their presentation was “What did you do that was special?” I really appreciate this idea, as it invites students to share what aspects about their collections of photos are personal to them, or what they are most proud about in their work. They were also encouraged to share what it was like when they took the photo, who was there, what happened, what the setting was like, what they were feeling during the shoot, etc. Simple ways like just providing room, time, and an invitation for students to talk about themselves definitely recognizes the student as an individual and honors their experience as they can bring aspects of their culture, beliefs, feelings, and stories about friends, family, and even their beloved pets into the classroom. 

I also noticed how much more engaged the students were when listening and responding to their peer's presentations and stories about their work. When students shared their artwork, they were laughing, complementing, and pointing out their observations or favorite parts of the artwork to each other, which was awesome to see. I think that the classroom environment was as such, because students were sharing artwork that was personal to them and each student was able to take a glimpse into their classmate’s lives. 

I chose option 2 for the focused field notes assignment, but as I am reflecting, I wish I would’ve taken the chance to get out into the community and observe some authentic interactions. Instead, I watched ATLAS videos of band instruction but the students were not allowed to talk very often which led to only a few instances of social collaboration, and both classes were homogenous which led my cultural observations to be limited. Despite the students spending the majority of their time either listening or performing subject related tasks, both band directors  had seemingly established a low-risk learning environment (although their were some questionable moments) and good rapport with the students who often laughed at their bad jokes. I also noticed a couple instances where the band directors linked old and new learning by referring to ideas or techniques that had been used in previous pieces to activate prior knowledge and help the students understand what it was they were asking them to do. 

The energy and level or engagement was noticeably lower in the zero period concert band because it was early in the morning and due to scheduling issues, it was comprised of students from 2 different ensembles. It was easy to see that the level of community seen in the other video just wasn’t there because even though the teacher was the same, the students didn’t really know each other. Musically, this translated into an unbalanced ensemble that wasn’t playing together as well as they might have otherwise. (I posted this before Wednesday but the assignment link didn't work so I fixed it today 10/24)

In this Atlas video, an ELA teacher poses open-ended questions to students to analyze literary themes in T.S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock". Below I noted instances from the video for three of the six classroom practices:

A. an example of when the teacher demonstrates rapport with and respect for students

Case #949

https://atlas.nbpts.org/cases/949/ 

This case shows a teacher assessing students' and fostering their analyses in small groups and students sharing their rhetorical analyses of Lady Macbeth's argument in Act I, Scene 7 with evidence from the play and real life.

C. ways that students demonstrate their understanding of content

 

Evidence of Productive Classroom Practices: This video demonstrates a teacher providing positive low-risk learning environment by using marshmallows as a medium to explore air pressure and density. Students are familiar with the properties of marshmallows (squishy, light, puffy) and it is very entertaining to watch the marshmallows expand when put in a vacuum chamber. As students observe air being sucked out of the chamber, they can easily observe and commentary on how the marshmallows are affected. The teacher then challenges students academically by having them explain what they are observing in academic vocabulary related to physics. Students demonstrate their understanding of content in their ability to connect what they have observed to academic content. Lastly, this lesson is universally designed because all students can participate in observing the marshmallow and connecting what they know about pressure and air from their personal experiences. In doing so, the teacher supports the needs of diverse students within the classroom community.

This teacher did a wonderful job of designing a lesson using a UDL framework. All students were very engaged and the teacher helped bring in students’ background knowledge into the lesson multiple times. First, the teacher used mediums in the vacuum that students were familiar with such as marshmallows and a 2 liter bottle. She also asked students to comment on their understanding of pressure and where they have encountered ‘pressure’ in the class. The students respond with ‘tire pressure’ and so the teacher uses that as an example to explain more complex chemistry concepts involving pressure in ways that relate to tire pressure. Students are asked to design their own experiment using (mostly) familiar tools, like marshmallows. The teacher clearly lays out the instructions for group work and within the explicit instructions, student groups still have a large degree of freedom in how they want to design an experiment to test the relationship between pressure and volume.

0:15 Teacher laughs with students after someone makes a joke to “eat the marshmallow” to test if it is a normal marshmallow (Example of how teacher demonstrates rapport with and respect for students)

3:39 Teacher engages students in inquiry by asking them “what do you think will happen when I turn off the compression?”, she then listens and responds to students with “okay, let’s see” (Example of when the teacher challenges students academically)

4:10 Looking at the kids faces you can tell ALL of the students are totally engaged! (Example of when the teacher supports the needs of diverse students within the classroom community)

5:06 Teachers ask the whole class “Outside of class, where have you heard of ‘pressure’ before?” then students answer “Tires” and they talk about pressure in terms of tires, which is familiar to the students (Teacher provides a positive low-risk learning environment)

6:33 Teacher outlines academically challenging task into clear steps for students to follow “Step 1” and etc. This gives students freedom to explore and inquire while demonstrating their understanding of content 

8:26 Teacher says “Talk to your group about it” to help students share ideas among themselves and discuss their ideas with peers collaboratively. (Collaborative peer work)

15:24 Teacher asks class academically challenging questions and leads student-centered classroom inquiry (Teacher challenges students academically)

One great example of when students engage in collaborative work with their peers is the manner in which students are assigned roles within their group of 3-4. While working in these groups, each student was assigned a role of either facilitator, recorder, or technology specialist. The facilitator read questions aloud and kept the group on task. The recorder was the only person allowed to have a pencil to record answers on the group’s final worksheet. Lastly, the technology specialist was the only person allowed to use a calculator. Having these roles made it necessary for all group members to collaborate in order to complete the task. 

In the video notes for ‘Converting Exponential Equations to Logarithms’ (Case#289) it discusses that one behavioral challenge is that boys are more eager to participate in class, whereas the girls are more reserved. Girls may be more reserved in math class for fear of embarrassment or due to detrimental socio-cultural stereotypes of girls having inferior math abilities. This teacher has helped facilitate more peer-to-peer collaboration by having boys and girls work together in groups where each member has a designated role of facilitator, recorder or technology specialist. Also, this lesson has many components of UDL. Having a portion of the lesson specifically focused on the pronunciation of log functions, the teacher helps emergent bilingual students in the classroom and pays special attention to their growth in reading mathematical notation. 

0:13 - Student asks “Can I use my calculator?”, teacher directs student to the group’s technology specialist (Example of students engaged in collaborative work with their peers)

0:52 - Teacher motivates students by saying “Keep going, you guys are doing fantastic (Example of when the teacher demonstrates rapport with and respect for students)

2:57 - Teachers is fostering group dialogue and maintains dynamic structure by having the “facilitator” read the problems to the group instead of the teacher reading the problem (Example of students engaged in collaborative work with their peers). The teacher also demonstrates positive rapport by saying “oh, you’re the professor, that’s a good role for you” to a student.

3:43 Teacher challenges students academically by having them conceptually think about log functions and asks students to explain their understanding of what happens when a log result is a fraction or negative number. Teacher asks “Why does that make sense?” and actively listens to student answers.

10:03 Teacher says “That’s a really good insight” in response to a student explanation. (Example of when the teacher demonstrates rapport with and respect for students)

11:13 Teacher supports the needs of diverse students within the classroom community by having a lesson with clear academic vocabulary and practice problems for reading/pronouncing logs correctly. The teacher kneels next to a student and support an emergent bilingual student to solidify their understanding of log pronunciation and formatting. 

(ITP 511 - Focused Field Notes)

a.            an example of when the teacher demonstrates rapport with and respect for students

·         Uses affirming words

·         Gets down to their level

·         Uses positive body gesturing

·         Displays student work

·         Waits to make sure that all students are on track before moving on

b.            ways that the teacher provides a positive low-risk learning environment or a positive challenging learning environment

·         Focused more on exploration than on being exactly correct

·         Group work so that students that aren’t as proficient get help

·         The students were challenged by the work, but were excited to work through it

c.             ways that students demonstrate their understanding of content

·         The either prompted or were prompted by the teacher to do so

·         They did this through words and writing equations and checking through technology

d.            examples of when the teacher challenges students academically

·         Through the lesson she gives initially

·         When she asks them to explain their reasoning or steps to get to the next part

e.            examples of when the teacher supports the needs of diverse students within the classroom community

·         She supports them by checking that every person is on the same page

·         By having them work in groups of varying proficiencies (which we learned is an ELL strategy) 

f.              when students engage in collaborative work with their peers

·         They do this the entire time because they are working in groups

a.    An example of when the teacher demonstrates rapport with and respect for students

-          She doesn’t say much, but when she does it only helps the conversation positively

-          Has obviously had good rapport with students previously to create an environment that they feel comfortable engaging

b.    Ways that the teacher provides a positive low-risk learning environment or a positive challenging learning environment

-          The inner and outer circle made it so that all students got to participate and be heard

-          She had a positive challenging environment because the students disagreed and they had to respectfully explain how their reasoning differed

c.     Ways that students demonstrate their understanding of content

-          The whole video is each student comparing, contrasting, and explaining their thinking

d.    Examples of when the teacher challenges students academically

-          In math, the most difficult thing to do is to clearly explain to others your reasoning and thought process, understanding other’s reasoning, comparing, and overcoming the fear of not being wrong (and that was the whole video) 

e.    Examples of when the teacher supports the needs of diverse students within the classroom community

-          I couldn’t see anything specifically, but there were students of all different races and I’m sure proficiency levels and all students felt comfortable participating (and did)

f.      When students engage in collaborative work with their peers

-          The whole video was them discussing their reasoning collaboratively

g.    An example of when the teacher demonstrates rapport with and respect for students

-          She seems not to have a strikingly positive attitude, but I realized that she was just being real and herself and that the students took that positively

-          She would pick out students that she saw were having a more difficult time and give them extra care

-          She would provide positive feedback and share good ideas that groups had with the whole class

h.    Ways that the teacher provides a positive low-risk learning environment or a positive challenging learning environment

-          Group work where people could feel free to discuss

-          Didn’t make people feel bad for being wrong (mostly)

-          The lesson was challenging, but the more the students discovered, the better they felt and grew a sense of self-efficacy

i.      Ways that students demonstrate their understanding of content

-          By matching the correct cards

-          By explaining their thinking to each other and the teacher

j.      Examples of when the teacher challenges students academically

-          This lesson wasn’t producing the correct answer from an algorithm, but rather had to show a conceptual understanding of the material

k.     Examples of when the teacher supports the needs of diverse students within the classroom community

-          I couldn’t see anything specifically, but there were students of all different races and I’m sure proficiency levels and all students felt comfortable participating (and did)

l.      When students engage in collaborative work with their peers

-          The whole video was them discussing their reasoning collaboratively

Title: Analyzing the "Fire" Motif and Theme of Government Control in "Fahrenheit 451"

Description: This case shows a teacher facilitating and students responding to questions pertaining to the fire motif, government control, and censorship in the novel "Fahrenheit 451”.

Title: Applying Critical Race Theory to the Analysis of Three Poems

Description: In this case a teacher facilitates a whole-group discussion in which students collaborate in order to evaluate the degree to which W.E.B. DuBois' critical race theory is applicable to poems by Phyllis Wheatley and Langston Hughes.

Students would try harder after being complimented.

Students were in matching uniforms.

On the wall in the Gym/cafeteria there were signs that reminded students of healthy foods to eat. 

The class was great at being in orderly fashion during instruction 

The class had a lot of volunteers when asked a question. 

The game has monsters and trick or treaters which suggests Halloween may be coming soon.

Teacher only used male volunteers. 

The “monsters” tried exceptionally hard to tag other students

Another student fell and another stopped what they were doing and helped him. 

“Black circle” was an identifier for students to come and receive instruction. 

Students clapped for the monsters and their hard work despite just getting eliminated by them.(sportsmanship)

Has students checked heart rate and asked what a fast and slow heart rate means.

Teacher asked how they can get their heart rate up at home 

She then changes the rules to make everyone a monster at some point.

Safety is a main priority and is often reminded to students

Clapped for students who didn’t get tagged

Demonstrated how the ballon activity is applicable to many sports practice

The teacher also told students that they will be doing sports their entire lives (proactive)

Students were able to stand in straight line

Some kids were punching it the whole time while others were using multiple body parts 

Teacher explained combo motions students can use

Students were unified in their responses to teacher (most would repeat or respond)

Has students set goals with the balloon to make it something more common

Teacher was super positive when students shared

Has students set their own patterns to show active learning

Used partner exercise to build teamwork

Teacher explained how accessible the game is and examples of who they can the game with

Teacher picked partners (included all students)

Reminds students the rules and to self regulate by starting over on them game 

The Teacher gives warm feedback such as “Good Job” and “Excellent” throughout the entirety of the lesson. 

The Teacher and peer coaches are present to guide and coach students and provide scaffolding when needed (whole lesson)

Students follow scripted scenarios and demonstrate CPR and communication skills. At 8:30 the teacher approaches a group and asks them additional questions are they are working to check their understanding. 

At 3:20 the students switch groups/scenarios. They are required to take on a different role from their past role. At 4:30 students are read a scenario and must recall their prior knowledge to take action. 

Students and Peer coaches are leading and conducting their own lesson. The Teacher is present, but has released the responsibility to students and giving control to the students. Students are continuously communicating and working through scenarios throughout the video. 

The Teacher always refers to students by their names. 

5:30 Teacher is checking in with students during their turn and share 

8:14 very enthusiastic, encouraging students. “You can be a more efficient runner!”

10:58 as he watches students running form saying “Nice” “good!” give constructive warm feedback after everyone finishes 

Students feel very comfortable speaking out and participating in class. 

Students can run and practice their form without feeling judged. 

6:16 Class discussion of analysis of Usain Bolt running form. Teacher takes notes on the projector for all students to see and contribute to. 

7:22 teacher asks student to expand on their thought asking “What do you mean by that?” Allowing student to contribute and think, rather than the teacher just giving the answer

12:31 gives drills that can be performed by all skill levels. Gives verbal guidance and clear instructions as well as demonstrates himself. 

Students do a turn and share at 5:11

The teacher greets students as they enter the room, stays before/after class to talk, hosts office hours every day, and does community building activities/daily check-ins at the beginning each class. They make themselves available to the students in as many ways possible.  During office hours, some students come to ask for help with their instruments, but many of them come to talk about what's happening in life, show the new art project they’re working on, or discuss what happened on The Mandalorian,
 2. ways that the teacher provides a positive low-risk learning environment or a positive challenging learning environment

The teacher never calls out individual students to unmute their microphone and demonstrate their playing in front of the class. This is especially impactful for the youngest group who are in their 1st year and currently a bit self-conscious about their playing. The teacher creates a low-risk environment by treating all questions (that are related to class) like good questions and praising the asker for speaking up and asking for help.

For the students who have their videos on, the teacher can visually see when their bows and fingers are in the right place and gives them positive reinforcement by addressing them by name and validating their work. They frequently check for student understanding of the content informally by having students show thumbs up/middle/down or putting 1-5 in the chat. The teacher uses Kahoot! to differentiate instruction and check for student comprehension informally and SmartMusic to check formally.

The teacher challenges students academically by teaching concepts in small chunks, thinking aloud, and asking leading questions to try to get the students to connect the dots for themselves, rather than being spoon-fed the answer. They present new pieces that are just out of student’s current music level to challenge them to reach the next one.

The teacher creates space for students to share their emotions, allows students to take a break/walk away from the computer screen when necessary, and works 1-on-1 with students in a breakout room to solve problems.They present SmartMusic exercises on Google Meets for specific students who are not able to access or navigate it by themselves.

The teacher uses the breakout room function in Google Meets to create “sectionals” where each group of instruments can go to a room and work together on their parts together. The teacher encourages them to work together and figure out how to solve tricky passages by themselves and occasionally pops in to check their progress and make sure they're on task.

Evidence of Productive Classroom Practices: 

0:00 Video starts with student working through a problem in front of the class on the overhead projector

0:05 Teacher uses questioning to connect background calculus knowledge of function rules

1:20 Teacher provides “a moment to think” as private think time before moving ahead with the lesson

1:40 Teacher encourages students discussing math in a small group to share their idea with the whole class and says “I love what you are talking about”

3:22 Teacher directs peer to peer dialogue by asking a student to turn and speak directly to their peer to explain their reasoning

5:06 Teacher asks “can I clarify your question?” to better understand what a student is asking to connect similar questions recently reviewed

6:05 Teacher says “we have some beautiful math conversations going on, can we bring them all together?”

8:48 Teacher asks a specific student to share their work and provide the next step to the solution

9:40 Teacher summarizes class discussion in a concise manner 

11:30 Students clap for the student that completes their presentation of work to the class and the next student is eager to present their work

13:30 Students share alternative solutions, compare work, and reason peer to peer

 

0:05 Teacher walk up to small group and casually asks how the group of 4 students is doing

1:35 Teacher reviews student work and says “I like that” before elaborating on the student’s thinking

2:33 Teacher asks student to repeat their question to the group to encourage peer to peer dialogue

4:13 Teacher validates a student’s reasoning by saying “I really like what you said, that was really really well put”

5:15 Teacher commends student effort in applying calculus to a physics concept

9:58 Student says “Oh, I figured it out! That’s why we use the angle”

10:45 Teacher moves to another small group and kneels down to talk

12:10 Teacher says “explain to me why you thought it was wrong”

13:10 Teacher asks “what do you guys think?” and make sure that other students in the group have an opportunity to clarify their understanding

14:11 Teacher calls on a student by name to answer a specific question that is conceptual

Title: Analyzing “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” Through Discussion

Description: Teacher poses open-ended questions and students engage in whole and small group discussion in order to analyze literary techniques and themes evident in T.S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.”

Title: Building Students’ Understanding of Effective Essay Writing Through Peer Critique

Description: Teacher observing a class discussion and students providing critique and constructive feedback on a classmate's essay to help improve the structure, content and use of diction.

Option 2)

*Case #1186

Learning to Depend on Others for Optimal Mental Health)

Quoted from Atlas “This case shows a teacher helping students learn about the need to take care of themselves when helping others with serious emotional and mental issues, turning to adults when necessary, and students playing a game of dependence on others and learning about suicide prevention.”

@7:50 time-teacher voices (instructs) and builds empathy with students by stating “I heard what you said,” hearing the student’s voice and giving recognition allows for the building of the student-teacher and class-teacher relationship.

During this atlas video, the teacher engages the student in a team-building exercise, which includes knot tying and untying as a community-building tool/analogy. This team-building directly referred to the content area of suicide because of the important role of team-building in suicide prevention. I felt that using a rope/knot tying as a team-building excise for suicide was inappropriate and other team-building skills could have been used i.e. role-playing or telephone.

group conversation @8:35, showed the student’s popcorn style talking about their views on this exercise and what they as individuals (students) took away from the exercise. One of the themes of this lesson was knowing when and how to ask for help. Most importantly knowing when to offer help, and when i.e. keeping in mind the safety of oneself before others.

Academically the teacher engaged in engaging classroom activity (knot tying/untying) and group discussion. Having students’ voices be heard on what they took away from the activity vs its analogic message of asking/seeking out assistance from others.

(continued below, pg. 2)

@1000 teachers emphasize taking care of self first before helping others. This is a key component of safety and was strongly referenced through group activity. The video shows the student grouping up in a herd during this exercise and it was challenging to see the teacher’s involvement in the exercise, however often one could hear the teacher’s voice during instruction.

The student engaged with peers and a handful of different students engaged in classroom discussion. I observe multiple students’ non-verbal communication as well as small side talk + humor to validate what the teachers were saying when answering questions to the class as a whole. The majority of this clip had the students up and out of their seats, engaging with one another.

*Case #1188

Learning Consequences of Sexual Behavior and Developing a Personal Plan)

Quoted from Atlas “This case shows a teacher interacting with students about an awkward topic presented in a skit and students identifying consequences of sexual activity, using that knowledge to make informed decisions about their sexual health.”

@1:58 Teacher gives praise to students who performed a skit in class. This demonstrates a strategy of how to establish a good report with students in a classroom setting. Clapping is also another notable non-verbal way to express satisfaction with students’ work. Also using the ticket system and submitting a ticket when verbally sharing with the class demonstrated positive reinforcement of inner classroom discussions.

@2:24 the teacher uses the strategy of think-pair-share and has the students discuss amongst themselves the verbal and non-verbal communication between the students during the skit. This depicts the skit as being the source of information through a group learning process.

@ 0:28 The video starts out with students’ role-playing a scenario that depicts verbal cues that may occur before sex.

During the small group discussion @ 3:13, the classroom became very loud. So loud that it may have been distracting for many of the students to engage in mindful discussion though it appeared there were not any issues.

@4:35 the teacher asks random students in the class to share their personal views using the discussion strategies of “why or why not” which gives the students the opportunity to voice their own opinions and compare them with others in the class. Having the students write on the exit ticket and then turn it in when they talk is a positive way to include everyone in the class. Having students facing each other, especially in small group discussions fosters healthy relationship-building skills.

@0:01 skit + student-student, teacher-student conversation during this clip demonstrated different interpersonal communication skills driven by the content area of Sexual relationships with peers. This video did an excellent job of demonstrating how a teacher in a Health classroom would utilize inclusive, engaging classroom activities and discussion. Using a ticket system (throughout the clip), for students to voice their opinions/questions were spot on, as it enabled better communication and engaged each of the students and the class as a whole. I also liked there was time for students to think and share in small groups, and as an entire class. Having students engage in a small scripted activity to start the class, stimulates more conversation between students-student and student-teacher throughout the class. The way the classroom was set up was perfect because there are students on either side of the teacher, this way students are facing one another and demonstrating engagement. Having a guided board that has the topic for discussion would have been beneficial as the girl @6:45 points out she forgot the question and was guided by another student.

As an ST, viewing the role of my CT and then adapting his strategies to mine  as the primary teacher has shifted my focus on teaching management. This adaptation has allowed me to adjust my own teaching style and pedagogical methods for classroom management. Addressing the needs for all in the classroom, by providing adaptive technologies and classroom expectations can help to better enhance a more managed and engaging classroom. My goal as a teacher candidate is to enhance classroom expectations and to provide a calm and centered working environment for all students. There are many challenging issues for in person classrooms and even more and slightly different challenges for online classrooms. In the future I would assume that more hybrid models will be adapted to better fit the needs and safety for all.

Unfortunately the full online model will continue and I am hopeful that students will continue to adapt to the new changes the best ways they can. Through my students' teaching experience so far, I have found often that student engagement is quite different than as it would be in person. Also, having cameras on, does not always result in active engagement of the students. Looking holistically at the online classroom, utilizing breakrooms, chat features as well as other technology i.e. pear-deck, Edpuzzle, can foster a more inclusive  classroom and promote students self-management. It also encompasses the components of the universal design for learning, as we learned about last term. Not all students are able to manage themselves, at the high school level, many of the students I teach demonstrate many ways of self management i.e. not talking over one another and speaking their truths respectfully. This includes following classroom expectations and norms of not speaking over one another and being respectful and mindful with comments are placed in the chat.

Having breakout rooms during the beginning of class to allow students to start the class by talking amongst themselves has proven to be a successful classroom management tool. Giving students options I found has worked in my favors. Needs for addressing individuals and their different sensitivity adds a humanizing quality to the classroom. When going over sensitive material I always enter the lesson with a sensitivity warning. 

My goal as a Health teacher is not to retraumatize students from either previous traumatic experience or issues that may bring up sensitivity. I have shifted the mindset to learning about these topics to provide information for self care and to emphasize empathy. Self-harm, Suicide and ACE lessons, as well as all components of  mental health are key areas in health that students may be extra sensitive to. I feel that having a humanizing and empathetic approach has worked best from myself as well as for my CT. Addressing lessons and content about health that informs students of cultural differences and the different ways other cultures view mental and physical health has been a key point in all of the lessons taught.

Communication in the chat was at times been more challenging. Snarky/rude comments sometimes made in the chat i.e. “Fine, what I do is none of your concern,” I find to be rude and distracting to others in the class.  I try to focus on how both myself, and the students impact one another. This comment, I saw as negatively impacting the other students. I handle it by ignoring it, as it was below a level one incident. By ignoring it (as I could have stopped class, or talked with the student after class) allows for this kind of behavior not to be disrespectful to the entire class. Though ignoring is not the best option, I felt at the time that it allowed me to stand my ground  and move forward with presenting the content of the lesson. What I was able to find after comments like this are made, which is not very often, is finding ways to adapt this negativity into something possessive. At the next class I revisited the class norms about speaking truth respectfully and this changed how the student used the chat. It actually sparked something inside of the students and now the student uses the chat more professionally and asks more engaging questions that are about  content related material.

By handling this chat in a mature way, it allowed for me to demonstrate leadership, which in turn led to collaboration of the students asking more thought promoting talk and others were able to benefit from that. Teaching from a non-authoritarian standpoint allows for students to take responsibility and act more professionally.

I will be doing conferences on 11/23 and I have been working on generating student grades and finding which assignments they are missing. Using methods that promote positivity in what each student is doing and how they have or have not reached out of assistance can be crafted in positive ways in which family/guardian may also better assist the student.

Students demonstrating their content knowledge through fully completing their homework and engaging in class allows for a more holistic approach to the learning process. Strategies of using ed-tech (breakout rooms etc.) and collaboration with student preferences enable learners to learn in ways which are best for them. I have often found myself asking the students for their opinions on the amount of homework assigned, or if they would like to incorporate music in the lessons (music for relaxation). 

Students have demonstrated how to access a variety of resources and have been able to explain why the information getting is reliable and valid. This is a crucial part of learning because it allows students the control in learning and researching information in ways that work best for them.

Health 1-LHS google meet, week 8

Option 1)
I have been at my placement place for just about 9 weeks. Each week I have been teaching as the main instructor with my CT assisting as needed. I gathered my self observations and notes for this FFN entry and use information from my ST log. 

I performed two separate ethnographic observations in my field placement at LHS during our google meet.

3 classroom practices that I took note of were:

*Different ways to engage adolescent learners i.e. work around (Camera, Mic, Chat).

*Options for different ways of learning (Joy Jar)

*Giving praise and recognition for when students do engage i.e. follow up comments/emails.

The best part of this lesson that I observed was the comment the students made about my example of coping with depression. The example of a coping strategy was: One way that I have found coping with depression to assist patients of mine is to have a "Joy Jar," yes I know that this may sound silly at first by I have found it very helpful for individuals with different mood discords to cope with depression. This Joy jar can be made out of anything, a recycled bag, a hat, or a coffee can or envelope. What you do is when you find something that brings you joy, you write it down and put it into the joy jar. After a while, your joy jar will start to fill up with a paper with things that have brought you joy and this can spark the feeling of joy all over again. It can be helpful to write the date on the piece of paper along with the statement so that you may recall the thing that brought you joy more clearly.

After I brought these ideas up at the end of class, I was able to have many of the students turn on their cameras and use the chat to say how they would use or adapt this in a different way.

It is important when talking about sensitive material in the health classroom to find a way to bring joy, art, and creativity to brighten the days of these students, especially during these challenging and stressful times.

Right out the gate this teacher demonstrates Rapport and respect with his students. He harkens back to the previous lesson where they used students' names for a musical example. Then calls on another girl to answer a question about what they went over last time. When he asked his follow-up question, many students raised their hand. This is a perfect example of the rapport that this teacher has developed with these students, as they're all willing to participate and be a part of class. his teacher also is constantly checking in with his students by asking them to silently raise their hand to make sure that they are understanding the material that he is covering. In doing this, he is making sure that his students are constantly engaged and a part of the lesson. The teacher is using a smart board to give the students examples from a story that they read in the previous class. He gives all of the students a chance to read through and make sure that they understand all of the words that are in the patterns that he has put up on the board. This ensures that all of his students are included and a part of the process. The teacher also gives all of his students ample time to understand the transitions that they are going through. For example, part of the way through the class they switch to working in groups of two. The teacher gives them their next set of instructions and then counts to five for them to find a partner. If they have not he gives them a partner. During this activity it is obvious that he has cultivated an accepting and nurturing classroom, because students are willing to raise their hand and ask for help during the activity with their partner. Students are working with a partner, they give their own examples based on what was covered when they were in a whole group , and make their own versions of those patterns. As the students are working through this activity, the groups that are getting it done move onto the next step. It makes it so that everyone is still involved, but the students that need more time are able to take longer and still get something out of the activity. 

ATLAS Video #2: Case #1240

The teacher is using a book that they have previously read to go over beats and rhythms. It seems that the teacher has cultivated an environment where the students feel that they can speak freely and give their opinions. This is evidenced by how quickly and freely they raise their hand and give answers as well as participate overall in class. For example, when the teacher starts a steady beat on her knees while she is reading the students quickly catch on and copy her movements. At 2:00, Teacher is positively reinforcing the actions of her students, who are quickly answering her questions and eagerly awaiting it to participate in the activities she has for the class. one thing that helps with the management of the students in the classroom is the confidence that the teacher has with every one of her actions. Every single example that she gives was thought of ahead of time and is purposeful. At about the 2-minute mark when the students seem to not understand how many note heads are for each syllable, the teacher reviews that concept and looks for a visual cue from the class to make sure that they all seem to understand this concept after the review. The teacher rewards her students with positive reinforcement when they are eagerly asking to be a part of the exercise that is on the board. The teacher is using this activity to make sure that the students understand the difference between sound and beat. She has multiple examples, that way the students have multiple chances to prove audibly that they understand this concept of sound vs beat. When reviewing the example that the students have created through this activity (at 3:50), the teacher visually shows how the exercise should sound on their knees for students who may be visual and/or auditory learners. This teacher also does a good job of giving all of her students the necessary information during transition periods to be successful. She also reminds them that if they use their time wisely they get to use “the big drum” which all of the students seem excited about. When starting a new activity, the students get distracted and the teacher is able to quickly remind them of their proper classroom etiquette with a simple clapping rhythm that they are supposed to repeat. This is a useful classroom tool as it helps students instantly know what they should or should not be doing. While building their own rhythms and waiting their turn to play on the big drum, the students play through their rhythms together to see how difficult they have made them. This gives them the chance to tweak their version and hear others attempts with the rhythms given.

For the full Notes Click Here

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1djGwL8vNi1EQgnAQbJwj3KGgkxktJKWhdotsB_2zi5E/edit#

A couple examples from the videos

A. An example of when the teacher demonstrates rapport with and respect for students. 

In one of the lessons, the teacher has one student give him a helping hand for his demonstration to the rest of the class when assembling his example art project. This was a really neat way to pull a student into the lesson. I will have to remember this for when I do my own demonstrations. It is possible that this student may need a bit of extra attention staying on task or motivated, but even if this was not the real reason for this, this would be a great way to incorporate students with diverse needs in the classroom. I think including the students as a part of art demos can build a connection between a teacher and a student and make them feel welcomed, respected, and trusted.

B. Ways that the teacher provides a positive low-risk learning environment or a positive challenging learning environment

I saw a really cool strategy in this one! After a whole group discussion about formal analysis (aesthetic critique of art), students had the opportunity to practice terminology from this lesson and participate in a “gallery walk.” This consisted of the students walking around several pictures of artwork and select one that they felt inspired by. Once they selected their favorite, they sat down at the table the picture was located, this formed their groups. Then they practiced doing formal analysis on that piece of artwork. The teacher reminded them  “And it doesn't’ matter who else is in your group, because you all have the common ground of liking the same example”. I think this made for a comfortable group dynamic and environment where students could collaborate freely. 

C. Ways that students demonstrate their understanding of content. 

I really liked one part from one of my videos. In this example students are analyzing past student examples of the project they are about to begin. The teacher is asking questions about their analysis and checking their understanding of the project. Students are supporting their reasoning with art terminology, and offering suggestions on what the artist could have done differently. This serves as both a way to remind students what content objectives they should be considering when making their projects. 

D. Examples of when the teacher challenged the students academically

In my first video, the teacher asks follow-up questions when visiting small group discussions. “Tell me what you learned” and then would ask follow-up questions in order for students to make connections. In this example, the students in this group made their lanterns to represent Cubism. Teacher asks “Do you think what you made represents the cubic style? Tell me more.

E. examples of when the teacher supports the needs of diverse students within the classroom community

In the first video, the teacher encourages students to share a bit about their perspectives and experiences by asking for metaphors regarding what the significance of the art project could mean to them. He asks a group to share their metaphor with the class “ how does melting candle wax serve as a metaphor for something in your life?” This is a great question to have students respond to. It relates content to their personal relationship with art and its meaning. 

F. When students engage with collaborative work with their peers. 

In every video I have watched so far, this has been a significant part of each lesson. There is more detail provided in my full notes. 

I see a lot of similarities between the work that the teachers from the ATLAS videos are doing, and the work my CT and I do. At the forefront of both is our flexibility and desire to support our students. The main difference is that we are online, while these videos are in person. Supporting our students and being flexible takes on a whole new meaning being online.

In both videos, the instructor creates an inclusive learning environment for different learners through understanding individual needs and using scaffolding techniques. In the first video, students participate in class discussions about T.S. Eliot's poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” The teacher does a good job balancing the needs of his students, while also challenging them to reach higher standards. He scaffolds the lesson by breaking up the activity into different formats. The observation begins with a whole-class discussion of major themes in the poem. After breaking these down as a class, the instructor asks students to engage in partner discussions. This provides a low-risk learning environment for students who feel apprehensive to share with the entire class, while also challenging everyone to engage meaningfully with the text.

Meanwhile, in the second video, the instructor pairs students off in small groups to analyze Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Beyond creating positive low-risk environments for discussion, the teacher also stops by each group to help work through questions they have about the text. He calls upon students who haven’t contributed yet to help answer additional questions, while also jumping in to offer suggestions. The use of small groups is an excellent way to facilitate engagement and participation among students, as well as better address individual needs that might not be observed in whole-class discussions.

Reflecting on my own classroom experience with my CT, we’ve taken similar approaches to addressing the needs of different learners. At the beginning of the year, most of our classes revolved around whole-class discussions, but after some reconsideration, we’ve started using breakout rooms and the chat to open up the floor to more participants. It is important to recognize that while classroom discussions might seem productive if students are speaking up, they don’t offer all students a chance to contribute. By opening up responses in the chat and among small groups, this new approach allows for more equitable participation. 

When considering leadership and collaboration, both teachers in the videos help lead their classes in collaborative learning. In the first video, the teacher motivates students to participate in the discussion as a collaborator. His words of encouragement and appreciation honor the hard work students are putting into the learning activity. Additionally, the instructor helps facilitate discussion by asking open-ended questions and challenging students with clarifying questions to expand on points they make. His role as both leader and collaborator of the class discussion helps guide students through their analysis of the text.

In the Macbeth video, the teacher plays a similar role as leader and collaborator for group discussions on the play. While observing student-led discussions, the teacher asks clarifying questions and offers prompts to help guide their analysis. Additionally, he asks for input from more passive students, who haven’t contributed as much to the discussions, in order to facilitate equitable engagement. By making stops at each group to check-in, the teacher does an effective job of facilitating group discussions. 

Again reflecting on my own experiences, this hybrid role of discussion leader and collaborator is one I enjoy playing in our classroom discussions. My CT and I like to give students room to work out their analysis and ideas about the texts covered in class, so we structure our discussions around essential questions and open-ended analysis. By allowing students room to explore and investigate different analyses in class, it helps them grow independently as learners, while also allowing us to assess their understanding of key concepts. After leading discussions with prompts, I often jump in to confirm, clarify, or correct students’ analyses and facilitate further discussion with questions. I’ve found the instructor’s role to be much more useful as a facilitator of student thinking and exploration, rather than as an answer key or one-sided lecturer for students to follow. 

For my Field Notes I watched several Atlas videos of teachers in an art classroom, which are described in detail in my Focused Field Notes #1 and Focused Field Notes # 2, which can be viewed by clicking the link posted above. I think what really was the most impactful was seeing professional practices in action. I noticed that many of the practices I was impressed by fall under the category of C. Leadership and Collaboration (“The teacher demonstrates leadership by taking responsibility for student learning and by collaborating with learners, families, colleagues, other school professionals, and community members to ensure learner growth and development, learning, and well-being.”)

Through my observations I noted several times where the instructor paid much attention to collaborative learning. This came in the forms of whole-class and small group discussions and one-on-one collaborations with the teacher about artistic ideas related to art assignments. I would like to incorporate some of these methods into my own art classroom and encourage students to have art discussions using academic language in addition to making art projects. One of the most inspiring lessons was from my Atlas Video #4. This lesson included many different aspects that made an exciting experience, full of collaboration. This lesson was broken up so that all students were working on different parts of the project and collaborating with their peers about different aspects about the topic. For example, some were working on the project construction itself, some were critiquing past student examples together, others were doing research, and finally one group was having a discussion centered around the question “what is art?” I really liked how the teacher broke this lesson into components, so all students were getting a unique learning experience, full of challenging ideas that allowed them to use their voice and share their thoughts and feelings. I think diversifying the activities in a lesson will be something I try out in my classroom to  keep things fresh and give students more of a feeling of individualism. The teacher demonstrated much leadership and played the role of a guide and a facilitator of learning, rather than an authoritarian conveyer of messages for students to absorb and regurgitate at their whim. 

From this activity, one lesson really stood out to me. I thought that the way the teacher conducted a lesson where students presented and critiqued their work, was truly exceptional and allowed for diverse learning and growth among students with different personal experiences or cultural backgrounds. In this example the teacher’s attention to A. Learning Differences was greatly considered. This can be read about more in Atlas Video #3, in my detailed field notes. To summarize, students presented their photography to their class and responded to questions about their project. The teacher encouraged students to share about what their experience was like when creating the photograph, and also why their art was personal and meaningful to them. I greatly appreciated the inclusion of the question “What did you do that was special?” This allowed for students to share with their classmates what aspect they were most proud of in regard to their photography. I want to make my critiques like this too, as showing personal artwork can be intimidating for many students. I think deemphasizing conversations about how “good” or “bad” the art is, and instead what the student’s experience was like making it. I will have to make sure I do not focus only on what is visually valuable in the traditional sense of the word art, but place priority and attention to the components about the art that is most valuable to Them, its original creator, the student. I think celebrating this, and allowing room for students to bring some of their personality, cultural background, and experiences will do wonders to make a more inclusive art classroom which will meet the needs of a group of diverse learners. 

B.Professional Learning and Ethical Practice: (The teacher engages in ongoing professional learning and uses evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community), and adapts practice to meet the needs of each learner.)

In regard to this objective, I believe all the teachers keep this in mind. They have to find out what works for them, but more importantly what works well with their students. I could tell that the teachers put much thought into their lesson plans in order to create more streamlined, but meaningful learning experiences that are impactful to students with a diverse range of skills, backgrounds, and personalities. I liked how engaging these activities were. In nearly every video, students had the opportunity to bring some of their feelings and emotions into their projects, which the teachers considered when making their lesson plans. It will be important for me to consider this question often during my practice as an educator “Are students learning from this art project, or am I just repeating it, because it is always in the curriculum?” I will have to keep coming up with relevant and relatable project ideas that are engaging to my students, but also academically challenging in order to best meet their needs and hopefully create an environment where many young students find their identities as artists.

 

Learning Differences: The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards.

 

There is a wide range of socioeconomic statuses and is a very multi-ethnic classroom. She has students that are, “Exceptional needs and abilities include 12 students who are listed as Academically Gifted in Mathematics, 5 students with other health impairment, including 3 ADHD students and one student who is visually impaired.” These facts influenced her planning by seating the students in teams of three with one academically gifted and one low level learning student in each group along with different learning styles.

 

 

Leadership and
Collaboration: The teacher demonstrates leadership by taking
responsibility for student learning and by collaborating with learners,
families, colleagues, other school professionals, and community members to
ensure learner growth and development, learning, and well-being.

The teacher collaborated with the Physics teacher. This assignment was about finding quadratic equations that fit the model to complete a level of Angry Birds. The follow-up assignment was to take the equations that they made and use them in a real-life scenario. This is not only math, but the math used in physics. With her colleague, she discussed some of the solutions to the problems the students had dealing with angle of trajectory, force from the sling shot, height of the trajectory. The teacher also collaborates with the learners as they are investigating and actively assesses and applies this knowledge to better support and scaffold the student’s learning.

Learning Differences: The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards.

 

Although this class is mostly comprised of AP Calculus students that are half Caucasian and half Asian-American, the teacher made several accommodations to support individual differences and ensure inclusive learning environments that helped the students thrive. Two of the students had 504 plans and he mentions that he not only makes sure to meet all of their necessary accommodations, but makes sure to give them extra time and support this assignments and checks on their moods daily. Before the lesson, the teacher identified 6 students that needed extra practice identifying maximums and minimums of functions and offered one-on-one help, which some came in for. The teacher also previously identified each student’s learning style and made sure to cater to each in this activity.

 

Leadership and
Collaboration: The teacher demonstrates leadership by taking
responsibility for student learning and by collaborating with learners,
families, colleagues, other school professionals, and community members to
ensure learner growth and development, learning, and well-being.

This teacher circulated throughout each group, stopping at regular intervals to discuss with groups what they were doing and why. This becomes a real-time collaboration with students as the teacher is able to do a real-time assessment of their knowledge and progress and actively change his methods and scaffolding to fit the needs of each student. The teacher and the students also work together to create an all-important positive classroom community and environment by continuously showing respect to each other and spending time outside of class together furthering their learning by choice and improving their well-being.

These field notes have helped me better understand and identify effective classroom management techniques. The teachers in these ATLAS videos were able to lead engaging and collaborative lessons in math/science. In the classrooms where a teacher knew their students by name and had developed authentic, student-centered relationships, it was clear that the students were more invested in the learning environment. I have also observed in my field experience that when students feel included and valued in the classroom they are more likely to ask questions, share ideas and work collaboratively with peers.

Many teachers used their classroom’s physical setup to engineer student focus. When students worked in small groups, their desks were grouped together in pods with group members oriented towards each other. In lessons where the teacher or a student presented to the classroom, desks were faced towards the presenter. In a digital classroom, breakout rooms and screen sharing is the best way to engineer student focus. It is important for students to have clear expectations while working in breakout rooms and I’ve found that going over classroom agreements and peer feedback prompts is a great way to emphasize that it takes everyone to create a safe and inclusive experience. Briefly re-iterating expectations for conduct and what students should be working on before sending them into breakout rooms is critical to ensure collaborative student success. I believe that whole-group community building is also very important to make students feel more comfortable working together in breakout rooms of 3-4 students. Much like teachers circulate the classroom to provide feedback while students work in small groups, my cooperating teacher and I cyclically join breakout groups to check on student progress. When I join breakout groups, it is an opportunity to build additional rapport and encourage students to stay motivated in developing their conceptual understanding of academically challenging material. 

One of my favorite ATLAS video observations was of a science classroom experimenting with marshmallows in a vacuum chamber. This lesson was designed to meet the needs of diverse students and offered differentiated opportunities for students to engage in the lesson. The teacher provided a low-risk learning environment where students made observations about how the marshmallow reacted to different levels of air pressure and developed their own hypothesis about how materials react to changes in air pressure. Students were given a large degree of freedom in creating their own experiments and ways to demonstrate their understanding of the science lesson. My most successful lessons have also been those which allow students to demonstrate their knowledge in multiple ways. For example, in my field placement we are learning about Venn Diagrams. The best way for students to demonstrate their understanding is to draw a Venn Diagram from their own background knowledge and explain their drawing. It is easier for me to understand student thinking and help formalize their understanding of Venn Diagrams in this type of student-centered activity. Lessons that incorporate student background knowledge and identify are oftentimes the most fun and equitable!

Leadership and Collaboration: 

Each teacher in the ATLAS videos has a unique teaching style, yet each of them was able to provide effective leadership and collaboration in their classrooms. Some of their techniques were simple, like directing students to ask questions to each other instead of the teacher. Many times, the teachers would say “[Student Name] has a great question, can you share that with the class?” or “That’s really interesting how [Student Name] is thinking about the problem, can you explain to the class how you got there?”. I’ve also incorporated student questioning as a priority in my classroom so students can develop in their reasoning and communication skills. These questions also help be better understand student thinking to provide responsive feedback and support scaffolding to the next level of academic curriculum. In my classroom, my cooperating teacher and I often “hide names” and share classroom work to showcase student work. We then ask for volunteers to explain their work or compare their thinking to others. During this part of class, I am proactively encouraging and validating student understanding for all students. I keep track of student progress individually and make sure to provide feedback on each student’s private work while grading daily assignments. 

Another way I am trying to improve my classroom management is by developing more student voice during lessons. I would like to experiment with using group roles to enhance student participation and collaboration. One ATLAS video was very helpful because this teacher had students in small groups where each student maintained an interdependent role of ‘facilitator’ who read questions to the group, ’technology expert’ who was the only one allowed to use a calculator, ‘recorder’ who wrote down answers for the group and sometimes a ‘moderator’ in groups of four to keep everyone on track. I think allowing students to choose these roles which compliment their strength would create more participation and comfort for my students when they are asked to work in breakout rooms. It also aligns with an asset-based pedagogy by playing to students’ strengths and giving them more choice. It was clear that successful teachers took a leadership role in fostering an encouraging and engaging learning environment where students had clear instructions on their learning task and plenty of freedom to explore their understanding of the lesson. 

In this case the teacher demonstrates an understanding of learning differences by providing a variety of options for comprehension. One technique that stood out to me was asking, after each student shared, if another agreed or disagreed with what they said. This allows an opportunity to build off the reasoning, perhaps taking it further, or finding a low entry point to join the conversation. In addition, she was consistent with positive reinforcement and full responses to show that she was in fact listening and thinking about what each student had just shared. 

Leadership and Collaboration:

This teacher was frequently walking around the room and checking in with students informally to get an insight of their understanding. She provided adequate time for students to talk to their groups as well, allowing them to build their original ideas with their peers. Rather than talking at students, she discusses with them, allowing them to lead the conversation. In two separate instances, a student [different students] asks a question that is not a complete thought and she continues to prompt the student and build an example of what they are questioning together. Once it is clear what the question is, she encourages and invites other students to join in on the conversation, again creating a collaborative classroom rather than responding to the question herself. 

The band classroom had a somewhat different approach, which is likely largely due to the limitations caused by playing instruments; if you want the students to be playing their instruments, they cannot use their hands for other movements. The band teacher supported multiple learning styles and aimed for effective communication mostly by using a combination of motions and sounds to make it clear exactly what he wants. For example, when starting the band playing, he would do something like counting out loud as well as conducting. He did not do any modeling or show any visual examples during the lesson, but he did describe the tone and articulation in the music he was going for using metaphors and abstract ideas, so the students have another way to visualize in their minds what the goal is. I particularly liked the auditory component he incorporated, which went beyond just playing and listening to the music. He used his voice to comically imitate the instruments and the type of sound he wanted, so not only is he modeling the music in that way, but he is also engaging the students through humor.

The confident, effective methods the band teacher employed especially was a good demonstration of leadership in the classroom. He kept the lesson moving to ensure as many sections as possible got the individual attention they needed while leaving enough time to practice the music all together. He gave them reminders to make notes in their music to minimize time spent reviewing later. And he owns up to his mistake as soon as he makes it. To me, all of these instances showed he was taking responsibility for the learning of his students. In terms of collaboration, since the videos are just a brief window into one lesson, there is no evidence of collaboration with families, colleagues, or communities. There is also minimal direct collaboration with learners beyond the act of making music together. Again, this is just based on these short examples, but one way to incorporate more collaboration into the lesson in these cases would be to invite students to conduct the group. Any student leadership opportunities would improve the collaborative element, as would checking in with the students more often during the lesson to hear what they need or to take suggestions from them.