Observations in Newark 3

Today’s lesson was a review of the previous 2 days in which Mr. N was absent. In 3 of the classes Ms. P was there and she taught the material so they were ahead of the other classes. The lesson was PowerPoint based with guided notes provided by Mr. N and a worksheet that became homework if the students weren’t able to finish it in class. I noticed a few classroom management techniques that Mr. N did that weren’t very good. First, he didn’t have something for the students to do when they entered the classroom so that they could transition from the social setting in the hallway to the academic setting in the classroom. Another thing was that he talked over student’s conversations in the beginning of the lesson to try and get them to listen to him. He would raise his voice and call out students individually to get them focused. In one class he actually took out a ruler and started tapping on the students desks to get them refocused, I did not like that. The pace of the class was very fast with a lot of distractions, which led to many side conversations amongst the students when they were supposed to be working. By the third class he added an activity that reinforced the lesson and kept the students a little more focused and allowed for Ms. P, Mr. N, and myself to work with each group individually to help them through any difficulties. As the day went on the classes were more focused and he incorporated me more into the classroom.

            During the prep periods he had me make the lesson for Monday. I enjoyed this because it gave me a chance to plug into what the students were doing in the class and allowed me to become more involved in his class. In period 7 Ms. E, the department chair, wanted to speak with me. I had prepared a short evaluation on the material that the students may encounter when they take the NJBCT at the end of the year. She was impressed with my work and offered me the chance to lead the department in the student’s preparations for the test. I accepted and have begun preparations for this Friday’s lesson. Teaching to the test is not something I condone but the students performed so poorly on the test the year before that she felt something had to be done. This responsibility includes making lesson plans for the entire department beginning this week in preparation for the test. I begin teaching my own lessons on Friday and I couldn’t be more excited.