Personal Reflections

All in all, the entire experience was very rewarding. It really helped me to obtain this experience because I have an idea of what being in the classroom consists of, and what the lesson planning of class deals with. It was great to see first-hand how the students would respond to the teacher and the lessons. The experience also helps me to create my own management plan that will be effective in class after seeing that my mentor teachers' management plan was so effective in improving the students learning.

Instructional Planning

The teacher that I observed was utilizing the 5E learning cycle method for lesson planning. I thought that they lessons that she prepared were very effective and really helped the students to learn. She always had something to engage the students in the lesson which were mainly questions and conversations about how the lesson tied in to the real world. Since it was summer school when I did my observations, the yearly plan was not employed, however she was constantly monitoring students progress because it was crucial for them to obtain the credit for attending summer school.

Interactions with teachers and students

The mentor teacher was very open to the idea of having pre-service science teachers observe her classroom. She would give us copies of the assignments and materials needed to follow along with the lesson. I felt that she was really interested in helping us and providing us a useful experience that would help us to become effective teachers. During a lesson on tectonic plates, students were creating a foldable that displayed the changes that earth has undergone since the beginning of its existence. However, there was a student that the day before had been very disruptive and not interested in the lesson. When the class started the activity he was hesitant to participate until I asked if he needed help. He was quick to say no, but as I walked away he called me and asked how he would start the activity. As soon as I began helping him, I noticed that he was very attentive and really focused on the activity. When the foldable was complete he continued to ask me questions about what was needed to go to the university and what it was like to continue an education. He was very interested, when the day before he had been very restless and refused to pay attention. I realized that all he wanted was to know that somebody cared and didn't just ignore him because they thought he was the type of student that didn't like school. I believe that I was successful in helping him that day, and I really hope that he continues the same way.

Technology Integration

During my observations, computers that are assigned for student use were not in the science classroom because it was summer school. However, during the school year they do have computers available to students for further research in science topics. During the lesson, the teacher would involve technology primarily by placing the question of the day on the overhead screen for the students to see. She would then incorporate articles or pictures dealing with the lesson by using the search engine on the teachers' computer. Also, the teacher would show students videos on Brain Pop on different subjects depending on the lesson planned for the day. They are very informative but appealing to the students which helps them retain the material they learn. At school, students are allowed to use the computer for academic use, however if they did try to utilize it for anything else the filter that the school placed on the computer would not allow it. I would definitely use technology for my teaching purposes, it is very effective and it helps the students. I wouldn't promote websites like facebook and twitter to students because it can be dangerous for them even if the websites have restrictions when it comes to looking at people's pages. I would implement the use of a form of blackboard because students are able to use the resources when the teacher is not available to ask questions to directly, and if they did need to ask a question, they could just send a mail through the website. It is a website that is strictly dealing with academics and therefore does not pose a threat to students. There are also other websites that I would recommend to students like Brain Pop and Discovery kids, which have alot of information for students of their age on different subjects that are interesting to them.

Classroom Management

The routines that were enforced by the teacher were the following: At the beginning of class as students walked in they were to obtain their notebooks and sit in their assigned seat, during class students had to follow dress code and tuck in their school shirts. Also, if they needed to step out of their seat, they were to raise their hands and ask for permission. When assignments needed to be handed out to students, the teacher would call on students to help pass them out, otherwise they would remain in their seats. Students were not required to hand in all the assignments that were given to them, however, they did have to paste them in to their notebook to keep an organized folder of all their assignments. If they were required to hand in an assignment they were to include the appropriate heading and turn them in to the teacher when told to do so. During lunch time and at the end of the day, the teacher instructed students to put their notebooks away and clean their designated areas. Once students were done, they remained in their seats until the teacher dismissed them. The method of enforcement that the teacher utilized was that if any student would misbehave and get their name written on the board, the entire class would not be able to participate in the lab activity that was scheduled for the day. It was very effective, because students would ask each other to behave because they did not want to spend all period listening to lecture, they wanted to work on hands-on activities. If by any chance there was disruptive behavior, the teacher would give students three warnings before getting their name on the board, if the disruptive behavior continued they would have to sign a discipline form that would be sent home. The discipline form consisted of three levels: the first was a teacher-student conference, the second was a call home, and the third was sent to the principal for further discipline.

Lesson Observation

The lesson that really caught my eye was that of Mitosis. In the introduction, the teacher started by getting the attention of the students by asking them if they knew how they would grow. Second, she informed the students that the reason they would grow was due to mitosis, the division of cells which was gonna be the lesson for that day. To stimulate the recall of prior knowledge, she had an oral discussion on the phases of mitosis which were concepts that they had previously learned during the school year. To present the content, students began reading a book on cells as a class. After the reading, the teacher led a discussion of mitosis and the phases of it in detail. To provide learning guidance, the teacher showed students diagrams and pictures of what the phases looked like, and had them draw the pictures on their notebook using different colored markers. To elicit performance, students were given a quiz to assess their new knowledge of cells. During the entire lesson, the teacher continued to walk around the room and provide positive feedback on students' progress which helped students become more confident while they were working. Nonetheless, during my observation period, an assessment for the lesson was not given. The final exams that were to be administered were not going to take place until the end of the summer school period.

Students

During my field observations I was able to observe the same teacher two different periods, each with a different class. However, the first period was a class of six students, sixth and seventh graders. The academic performance of these six students was average, they were very well behaved and payed close attention to the lesson, however outside of the classroom they were very different, which in turn meant that the teachers' management plan was effective. The students completed all their work and were constantly working, however the assignments that were given to the students were not very challenging. When I would see the students outside of the classroom they would act very differently, and even during class you could see that they wanted to act out or do something to gain attention but they would hold back because they knew the rules and that it wasn't acceptable. However, students were very respectful to the teacher and showed the respect every single day by following procedures, behaving, and completing their assignments. The most challenging moment was in the second period that I observed, it was hard to get the students to accept my help, they were just not used to having somebody there to ask them if they needed help individually. At first, students quickly said they didn't help when they actually did. However, the second day I went, students were all asking me questions and for my help. The most rewarding moment would be the turnout of the challenging moment, students continued to call on me for help and told me that they understood the way I was explaining concepts to them. It was great to see that I was helping them and that they saw me as somebody that they could go to for answers. There were several funny moments when students wanted to act out but they would stop and you could see in their face that they really wanted to but they would more than likely get in trouble. The entire experience with all the students in the teachers' classes was memorable, like I stated earlier, i realized that I truly am capable of changing a students' life.