I found
Kumar chapter 13 to be very important to us pre-service teachers whose constant
fear is that we will fail. The idea of using a teacher friendly system
observational tool to help improve the quality of our teaching is something we
all will agree with. Many people often talk about being observant in order to
improve the quality of their teaching. Others even mention the idea of
videotaping oneself in order to do such examination. I used to think this was a
great idea, but not after reading the Kumar chapter. In his M&M
observational scheme, Kumar presents us with a three stage activity,
preobservation, observation itself, and post-observation. Just like the phrase
two eyes are better than one applies to writing; it can also be applied in this
context. In the first stage, preobservation, which is often missing in many videotaping,
one would choose a colleague to talk about the focus and purpose of the lesson.
Later on, that colleague will help the teacher analyze the lesson. This is
important because it removes that tendency to be bias but also brings to light
information the teacher could have missed. Based on my experience with editing
papers this step will be very beneficial to me. When I have an idea or
something in mind, unless the error is overtly noticeable, it is hard for me to
see it. I am a type of person that tends to mentally fill in the missing blank.
In step 6 of the M&M, both the teacher and observer exchange information.
This step allows for any misunderstanding between the teacher and the observer.
Because both individual know what to look for, they are more likely to perform
a thorough analysis. This made me think. During the student teacher semester/
year, do the principles obtain a list of the objectives and or focus of the
class before their observation? If not, what is the point of the observation?
The next step in this process is to meet with the students. This is where I can see conflict happening. In order for this step to yield accurate results, the relationship between teacher and students must be very open. If students are scared of the teacher they might give a teacher desired answer which will not beneficial to the teacher. But if that relationship is open, this step can give a great deal of insight into the lesson. A strategy a teacher could employ to reduce this problem is to have the observer do this step. In step nine, the teacher and observer pull together information from the observer, students, and teacher in order create a 360 view of the lesson. This is where everything comes together based on this full picture the teacher can then make effective changes to her teaching style. I am really excited about this observation strategy and cannot wait to try it out. I think as a teacher, it will be very beneficial to do such thorough observation once a month to constantly be in that evaluative mode.
As a read episode 13.1 and read the analysis, it just made me realize how easy teachers can make understandable mistakes. As I read this analysis, I began to make suggestion as to what I would have done different. For example, when the students are confused about the difference between a house and condo, a simple picture could have clarified this misunderstand. Second, I felt that the way the teacher handled the answer “under the bridge” was inappropriate but I can understand why she would do that. In my case, out of pure curiosity, I would have asked the student to explain his answer because one never knows for certain why students bring up topic. But it is very understandable why a teacher could see this as disruptive behavior and brush it under the carpet. The same explanation applies to the teacher’s response to the students who were writing during her explanation. For me, the best way to see what a student is doing would be to ask him/her to share his/her work. This way the teacher could find out what is going on instead of assuming. Also the teacher’s reaction reminded me that we do not teach reading, writing, listening and speaking in isolation. One subject might dominate over the other but is not taught in isolation. The last conflict is in regard to the misunderstanding with the school system. I would have let student 14 to further explain his answer and give the class his definition of what he understood by school system. Then if the problem still persisted then the teacher would jump in. the other step I would have taken would have been to openly ask the student what did he not understand about the school system. For example the concept, the word itself, or the way it’s written etc.
From the Brown chapters, I liked the idea evaluating textbook. Although this process is tedious and time consuming, it does help the teacher to determine whether the textbook aligns with the classroom curriculum and if not what changes need to be done so that it will.
The next step in this process is to meet with the students. This is where I can see conflict happening. In order for this step to yield accurate results, the relationship between teacher and students must be very open. If students are scared of the teacher they might give a teacher desired answer which will not beneficial to the teacher. But if that relationship is open, this step can give a great deal of insight into the lesson. A strategy a teacher could employ to reduce this problem is to have the observer do this step. In step nine, the teacher and observer pull together information from the observer, students, and teacher in order create a 360 view of the lesson. This is where everything comes together based on this full picture the teacher can then make effective changes to her teaching style. I am really excited about this observation strategy and cannot wait to try it out. I think as a teacher, it will be very beneficial to do such thorough observation once a month to constantly be in that evaluative mode.
As a read episode 13.1 and read the analysis, it just made me realize how easy teachers can make understandable mistakes. As I read this analysis, I began to make suggestion as to what I would have done different. For example, when the students are confused about the difference between a house and condo, a simple picture could have clarified this misunderstand. Second, I felt that the way the teacher handled the answer “under the bridge” was inappropriate but I can understand why she would do that. In my case, out of pure curiosity, I would have asked the student to explain his answer because one never knows for certain why students bring up topic. But it is very understandable why a teacher could see this as disruptive behavior and brush it under the carpet. The same explanation applies to the teacher’s response to the students who were writing during her explanation. For me, the best way to see what a student is doing would be to ask him/her to share his/her work. This way the teacher could find out what is going on instead of assuming. Also the teacher’s reaction reminded me that we do not teach reading, writing, listening and speaking in isolation. One subject might dominate over the other but is not taught in isolation. The last conflict is in regard to the misunderstanding with the school system. I would have let student 14 to further explain his answer and give the class his definition of what he understood by school system. Then if the problem still persisted then the teacher would jump in. the other step I would have taken would have been to openly ask the student what did he not understand about the school system. For example the concept, the word itself, or the way it’s written etc.
From the Brown chapters, I liked the idea evaluating textbook. Although this process is tedious and time consuming, it does help the teacher to determine whether the textbook aligns with the classroom curriculum and if not what changes need to be done so that it will.
No comments:
Post a Comment