This was a second
period Honors World History class taking place on November 18, 2004, towards
the end of a unit on the Middle Ages. There are 28 students in the class.
Before
the bell rang, I was in the doorway greeting students as they entered and
addressing any private issues or questions individual students had. After
goofing around in front of the camera for a second, the students got into
their seats and took out their notebooks. All of the students were in their
seats when the bell rang (except for one late student who handed me her pass
and sat down immediately). Class opened as the bell rang, with me greeting
the class and reminding them to get started on their journal question.
It
is clear that the students are accustomed to working on journals as soon as
they come in and also that they are expected to be on time. I handle administrative
matters like taking attendance while the students are working on their journal,
and collecting the homework from the night before. Each day, the students
expect that I will collect their work early on, during the journal writing.
They also know to look at the board for a list of the schedule for the day and
the journal questions, as well as the homework for tonight.
I
try to prepare students for transitions by asking for their attention,
explaining what will happen next clearly, and then passing out the required
materials or instructing them to get into groups. In this lesson, there was a
transition between discussing the notes on the plague and towns during the
Middle Ages to our reading of Canterbury Tales. I finished notes with some background
on Canterbury Tales, and then I explained the sequence of what would follow to
the students. I gave them a choice about reading aloud or to themselves and had
them vote. As I passed out the texts they were to read from, I counted the
votes and explained that we would read as a group and then stop to answer the
questions on their sheet. I asked for volunteers to read, and they signaled
their intentions by raising their hands. During question and answer sessions I
am more flexible about raising hands if the students have the answer, although
I will indicate to the students if it is getting out of control and I need
their hands raised.
During
the journal entries and independent work, I tolerate a little bit of talking,
as long as it is not distracting to other students. However, during class
discussion and whole-group activities I expect there to be very little talking
apart from the class activities. I make sure that everyone is staying on task
by circulating around the room; I do this even when I am giving notes. Because
of this, I am not able to see all of the students all of the time (the video
catching a student taking a Frisbee out is proof of this!). However I shift
from one side of the room to the other and keep moving so that students will
know that I am likely to come by them at any time. I also shift between asking
for volunteers to answer questions and just calling on people, so that students
know they need to keep up with what is going on. In this lesson, I used this
technique as students were reading aloud and while answering questions, to
make sure people were keeping up.
I
started with a focus activity to get the students thinking about the plague.
They had to answer a few questions about the painting 'The Triumph of Death'
that was projected onto the screen. After a few minutes of silent writing
time, I took the opportunity to have the students share their comments about
the painting. Above all, I wanted them to realize the omnipresence of death
during the Middle Ages. This transitioned nicely into a short lecture on the
plague and life in towns. Highlights
of our discussion included lots of student questions about the plague, one
student prompting me to share the story of Ring-Around-the-Rosy and its connections
to the plague, and lots of student interest in the process of becoming a masterworker
in the guild. Then we started reading through a section of the Canterbury
Tales together. As we read through the Tales and stopped to answer questions,
I would hold up their question sheet and point out where they should be filling
in information. Thus they had guided practice with me, before they were left
to finish the story and answer the final questions on their own. While students
were working independently, I handed out their progress reports, which were
due out that day.
The
pace of the class seemed interminably slow to me, when I reviewed it on the
tape. However I think I adjusted the pace of what was going on to the class's
needs very well. For example, when discussing the plague, the students had
a lot of questions about it, prompting us to spend considerably more time
on the lecture because of their questions than I had anticipated. I enjoyed
the questions though, because I felt very comfortable answering them and because
they brought up different aspects (like the 'Ring Around the Rosy' song that
I had forgotten to mention. When the kids are asking question and contributing
their own ideas the class is much more entertaining and fun to watch on tape,
and it gives me the sense that they are really absorbing and thinking about
the information that they are given.
I also stopped to repeat myself and wrote difficult words up on the
board for students so that they would be able to get all of the information
they needed into their notes. Similarly with Canterbury Tales, I stopped the
reading aloud at appropriate intervals to break up the [what can sometimes
be monotonous] sound of students reading aloud to make sure that everyone
was keeping up.
Other
things I noticed about my presentation of the material and appearance while
teaching include having a strong and clear teacher voice, smiling a lot, and
alternating between using my hands a lot when I speak and folding my arms.
I like that I look like I am enjoying myself while I am teaching, and that
I am having a good time with the students in my room. However, I noticed that
I cross my arms a lot. I'd like to be more comfortable holding my arms at
my sides, so that I appear more open and relaxed. I think my body betrays
some discomfort at being in front of the class that my mind and face don't
register anymore. On the flipside, I use my hands a lot when I talk. I think
this shows energy on my part and also keeps the kids a little bit more interested.
I am often using them to count out points or shape things with my hands in
the air, to illustrate things that we are discussing.
Another
issue made apparent when watching the tape, is how much we covered in one
day. In creating this unit, there were a lot of interesting (and important)
events I wanted to include—much of the culture and political atmosphere
of modern Europe is shaped by events of the Middle Ages. As a result, some
of the lessons may have included too much. I think that the students were
able to absorb all of the information, but I think it was probably more difficult
for them to see why, or how, all of those topics fit together. In the future
I will put more thought into choosing and perhaps, limiting, content.
Perhaps
the best part of having my class taped was that I could see some of what students
were doing that I don't always get to see. Most humorous to me, of course,
were the students intrigued by the presence of the video camera, who sneak
glances at the camera occasionally and smile. I was relieved to see that most
of the students look engaged and are busy writing in their notebooks or listening
to the questions and answers that people have. One thing I noticed is that
perhaps I should make a greater effort to repeat the questions the students
ask in a louder voice, because sometimes the classroom cannot always hear
what the student has directed to me. There were also times that I noticed
students towards the back of the room drifting off somewhat (like the one
student who got his Frisbee out). I think this may be because, while I circulate
around the room, I often don't go all the way back on that end, because of
the location of Mrs. Annas desk and because that is the U. S. History side.
I also noticed on the tape that I find myself turned to the left side of the
room often, so I have begun making a conscience effort to turn to the right.
Part of this is because the students on that side of the room ask more questions,
which makes it more of my responsibility to ask other students who don't participate
as much, to jump in. Otherwise, student participation is very balanced by gender
and race, something that I am proud of.