I think that the biggest thing that
I will be taking away from my observations at CF is the importance of organization
and routine. The classes I observed all
ran very smoothly and for the most part all the students participated. My cooperating teacher believes strongly in
being well organized and following a routine.
Every class begins the same way, he has them copy down a writing prompt
and then they watch CNN student news.
The world history class uses questions that go along with the news
program. After they watch the program,
they discuss the questions that were asked, and then begin the lesson.
The lesson will usually be a
combination of lecture and reading activities. At the end of a section he provides a review
sheet for the upcoming quiz, the class completes it individually an then discusses
it together to ensure that everyone has the correct answers to review for the upcoming
quiz which will be in the next class. I
witnessed a majority of the students complete the reading assignments and
review sheets. I have always observed
the students working on the assignments and in the few instances where there
was a disruption the teacher managed it and nothing escalated or got out of
hand. I never witnessed the use of the “button”
being used and never saw the kids being disrespectful to the teacher. Mr. L would use humor to get the disruptions
to end I got the feeling of mutual respect between students and teacher.
The one thing that really stuck out
for me though would be the lecturing.
The students did not take notes at all during this time and a few would
put their heads down. Curious about this
I did ask Mr. L if this was usual and he replied that it was. He then explained that a large percentage were
ESL students and for them to take notes could cause them to fall behind in the
lecture as they have to translate what is said and then get it on the
paper. This made since to me because of
a conversation my FNED 346 teacher had with us about this issue. The professor’s first language was not English
and he describe to us how he struggled in English speaking classrooms, having to
really think about what he wanted to say and how to say it. He then told us that by the time he was ready
to join a conversation the class had moved on to another topic. To be fair to Mr. L. he did say that as a teacher,
he should have taught them to take good notes, and he did feel it was a failing
of his that they didn’t know how to do it.
But he said that he had to cover so much information that he didn’t
think he had the time to teach the note taking skills. When students zone out during a lecture or
put their heads down I wonder about how effective the lecture is. I need to take notes but I do know people who
learn better from a lecture by just listing and not note taking. I think the thing I learned from this is that
if I plan to use lecture I feel that I should be responsible for teaching my
students how to take notes and listen to a lecture.
Hi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about being organized and having a routine set! I am a camp counselor during the summer, and I definitely have learned the importance of keeping a routine for the campers (or students in a classroom sense) because if we didn’t have the routine it would have been chaos.
Your comments on the lectures are interesting. Is a student really paying attention to the lecture if their head is down on the desk? Yes, some students do learn better by listening instead of note taking, but when it comes to the student taking a nap instead of paying any attention, I don’t think learning is happening at all. I also don’t think that their lack of note taking should be explained because they may be ESL students. Being an ESL student doesn’t mean they can take a nap in class because they don’t want to translate and learn the content. Teachers should take the time to make sure students know how to take notes during a lecture, the same way that Dr. H helped us learn how to take notes during the lecture about lectures.
" But he said that he had to cover so much information that he didn’t think he had the time to teach the note taking skills."
ReplyDeleteAs I read this quote, I think, but if they don't have note taking skills are they retaining any of the information being covered? I think its fly that this teacher was willing to discuss their strengths and weaknesses with you, and it makes me hopeful that he's a growing professional.
This REALLY highlights for me the importance of literacy strategies across all content areas. Even a history class needs before, during, and after reading activities. Perhaps specifically in this case, they need a during activity for the act of listening (which is a kind of reading!).
I really agree with Laura's point about ELLs needing support not leeway.
I love that you end your post by saying that you'll teach your students note taking strategies.