Learning teaching by AM: grudnia 2019

Practice: Error management

Hello mistakes

There wasn't human being who would manage to live his life without any errors or mistakes made. It seams to be a quality of human race. My first connotation to word "error" are negative feelings like fear and uncertainty. Therefore one of my main beliefs is that we learn best from our experience, which is mistakes mainly.

In my opinion this is one of the most tricky topic of all. The conclusion from the paragraph above is we shouldn't be shared of mistakes but welcome them and treat them as another opportunity to learn and grow.

My practice school

Mistakes in schools are not welcomed, generally. Institution and grading system which gives higher grades for making less mistakes has clear attitude towards theme. I think student naturally learn from the world around them. If they get bad grade and negative comments from the teacher and the parents after making a mistake they'll avoid them and be stressed every time they do something wrong.

In my practice school it looks the same as in typical other school. But, as usually, teacher is the person who can change the way things are in the school environment even if they don't have the power of the principle.

What to do

The history teacher I mentioned in previous posts is an example again. One of her repetitive lesson practice is polling students at the beginning of the lesson. But she is the master here. Students are not stressed on this part of the lesson, they generally feel safe. On one lesson I observed the student who was being polled knew nothing at all as he was absent last time and didn't catch up with the material. Even then he did his best, but didn't get any answer correctly. Reaction of the teacher was simple and natural: she looked a little disappointed and sad but she immediately asked the boy if he want to try again on the next lesson. He agreed and all was clear. I was truly shocked after those events. My student's experience with polling is full of stress and crying. Here the boy made mistake, he didn't catch up and knew what to do. Maybe what was helpful was his personality and attitude but still, I can see great impact of the teacher's behavior.

What not to do

The other day of observation showed me how the teacher shouldn't behave when it comes to dealing with mistakes and errors. It was usual math lesson. Students were given a worksheet and worked individually. They had a lot of questions. Similar situation happened few times: a student raised his hand, teacher came, student asked a question, teacher answered by pointing out the mistake, student tried to correct it by himself. I didn't like the mechanism especially while observing the consequences. Kids were frustrated and mainly lost after asking the questions. They made a mistake and didn't actually know what they did wrong and how to correct it. Teacher's attitude wasn't very supportive.

One more behavior of the teacher draw my attention. Sometimes after being asked a question which she found silly she tend to show it to the student. Either she made o pause while answering that said "you should know this" or even give a comment to shame the student in front of the others. I found it very rude and not supportive at all. Even I felt that making a mistake in front of this teacher is very dangerous and it's better not to try than try and make a mistake.

For the future

I'd like to observe how the teachers deal with talking about the tests and mistakes made there. This is very fragile issue as every student is different, some may be extremely sensible. I'd like to learn how to talk about mistakes, starting with the attitude of accepting them.

Practice: Teaching materials

Teaching materials in one of the main tools of the teacher. Using only your teaching skills is not always enough no matter how good teacher you are. Moreover, the younger the students are teaching materials are more needed, which comes from children development.

Most common materials

On my practice I mainly see worksheets when it comes to the teaching materials. It happen few times that the math teacher showed me her collection of files. There were plenty of PDF files with ready math tasks. She presented them as a core of her teaching method. Before the lesson she goes to the copy machine and prepare as many sheet as needed for her students. She print them in color usually, which makes them more interesting for the students.

Unfortunately, I observed that students are no longer interested in any worksheet itself. If there's a map or other picture captures their attention they may look closely, but basically the main topic isn't something they focus on. I'd say it's very difficult to make the lesson engaging only using worksheets. This is probably the easiest way of teaching for the teacher, just like using only course book. What the teacher need to do is to present the task and check it afterwards. There's no creativity. I don't want to say that all course books and worksheets are useless and boring, but in my opinion they can't be the only teaching material used by the teacher through the school year.

New technologies

I guess you can agree that teachers should move with the times, no matter what subject do they teach. Teaching is not only about giving or presenting the knowledge. It needs to be done in a way which opes students' views and enables them to flourish in general. In my opinions, new technologies are main materials teacher should use these days.

I'd like to present the example of the history teacher from my practice school. She links her subject and using new technologies in a way I want to follow. As history comes with pictures and schemes Power Point presentations and Internet browser are perfect tools for her. She's got presentation on every topic from the curriculum. They are advanced but it's not a problem. For 5th and 6th grade she simply skips some slides she find not useful for her students' age and level of advance.

There's more. She uses video clips. I don't know from where does she take the clips but they are very good quality. They're interesting, colorful, sometimes funny. The students highly enjoy them. This is great opportunity to take a break from usual lesson, for the students and the teacher as well.

What about other materials?

By now I can't think of other materials the teachers used during the lesson. It worries me a little, as there are no games, group work or other activities. But there is possibility that I simply wasn't lucky to see them using something different. Next time talking to my mentor teacher I'm going to ask her how does it look like during the year. My question to you as a reader would be: what other materials than I mentioned in this post have you seen teachers using?

Practice: Instructions

It's all about the differences

During my practice I observe two teachers' lessons. Giving instructions is something you can learn, there are main rules of how to give instructions adequate to your group but I still believe that it each teacher gives instructions differently, even if they follow the same set of rules. Everyone is different and so teachers are different.

The maths teacher

On maths lessons the instructions are given mainly once, that's the main principle of the teacher. She hardly ever says the same command twice. It's natural for the students that if they decide not to pay attention they'll need to ask their college as their teacher won't answer them. Unfortunately, some of them still choose to do something else than actually be on the lesson. Only when the teacher speak directly to them would they change their attitude. And it do not last long.

My next observation is about the volume of teacher's voice. It definitely goes up as the lesson moves on. That makes me feel uncomfortable and a little stressed even as an observer only. Sometimes I perceive the tone as shouting which in my opinion doesn't favor the learning. Students are used to the way their teacher gives instructions. In my perception they don't realize that both sides could speak quietly and it could make them all feel better. For me this example shows that being in your everyday environment easy makes you insensitive for the things you got used to. And an observer, like me on those lessons, can point out important but hardly visible problems.

The issue of talking in English on the lesson won't stop to surprise me. I feel it's not that hard to make the effort in the class I observe to use language two, I'd even say that main purpose of the lesson is to talk in English and listen to English. It's hard to say what percentage of the instructions given during the lesson is in English, still my impression is less than halve of them. I strongly feel that it shouldn't be this way. The main subject, maths, is obviously important too but it's not core.

The history teacher

When I puzzle how to describe instructions given by the history teacher the first adjective comes to my mind is clear. She uses much but not to much words. The words she chooses are easy and close to children. Instructions usually apply to what is the lesson plan as there is no pair work, group work, even individual work. Still, if the students are to write down something in their notebooks or answer teacher's question, they do it almost immediately. They simply know what to do and how to do it.

As to volume, history lessons are pleasure to observe. The conversation between the teacher and the students is interesting, both sides are engaged and there is no need to raise your voice. Only when the discussion become more engaging can you hear louder sounds.

Using English happens often than on the maths lesson, still it's not much, I'd say 60%. Even though, both teacher and students are trying, moreover they talk about talking in English. I really like this idea, it's the teacher paying attention to using English, by this she highlights the importance of that element of the lesson. By talking in English not only does she make the students listen the language, but asking the questions in English makes the students more opened and determinate to answer using English.

Written instructions

During maths lesson the teacher sometimes put the instructions to the task on the board, in English. I really like this solution. Not only do the students practice reading and writing (they put the instructions in their notebooks) but also they can come back to them any time they'd like. If they have questions they can ask about specific part of the sentence. It's easy for them to analyze what they need to do.

To sum up

Giving instructions is not easy task. At the same time, it determinate how the lesson looks like and how students perceive their task. Being a teacher require this ability. You can learn it but you always can improve it. My las t conclusion is that instructions will be different not only for younger or older group, not only if the group is small or big, but basically they need to be adapted to as many group specifics as possible.

Practice: Classroom environment

What's that and why is it important?

Environment is a very wide term. Many factors creates it, everything that surrounds you in the place, every little object, but also every person present in the place, even the temperature or amount of daylight. Nevertheless, all of the factors have the most important, common feature: they affect people present in the place.

Writing about why is it important seams pointless because it seams obvious. I think it's highly important to be aware of environment potential and impact all the time. Only then can you think of a change which could improve the realia. As a teacher you are the leader of the classroom and it's your task to handle it. Moreover, you should listen and talk to your students about it to settle common agreements about your mutual environment as every person in the classroom should be respected in the same way.

In my practice school

I observe lessons conducted in two classrooms but they have common features when it comes to environment. What I really liked are posters on the walls, rather small ones but carrying a lot of meaning. They are simple, one of them hangs near the whiteboard in the maths classroom. There is text "Don't be scared of mistakes" and a clipart of thumb up. The meaning is simple, language as well and the message is very important. I don't know if the teacher spoke to the students about those posters (other say for example: Be better every day; Change is good) but even if she didn't, I believe some bored student reading those sentences can take something beneficial for himself.

The history classroom is also an English classroom. That's why there are a lot of England flags hanging under the celling, a picture of the Big Ben hanging on the wall or a family photo of the royal family. I don't know how the decision about history in English being conducted in this specific classroom was made, many it was an accident, but even if, it was a fortunate one. On one lesson the teacher spoke about the industrial revolution in which England was the leading country. The interior of the classroom was on place on that lesson. Also the teacher tried to talk in English mostly, that is when English decor somehow helped to encourage students to understand her seeking and speak by themselves.

Other characteristics that helps are those which makes students feel comfortable and safe on the lesson. Grade 5th and 6th both have most of the lessons in one classroom. They keep their school materials in their personal cupboards and are able to take anything form there any time of the lesson. I believe this reduce stress successfully.

Placing of the seating helps students to feel more safe. They don't stress out before each lesson only thinking if they get to sit next to their friend or not. They have their usual place waiting for them. This solution have both advantages and disadvantages. Students may feel safe but changing seating place can do some good as well, like make them more open to changes or see the lesson from other perspective.

To sum up, classroom environment is something that you as a teacher should always remember about, and at the same time something that you as a teacher can easily forget. Despite that, my idea to keep that in mind is to create a schema in my mind: I have a problem as a teacher/ I want to be more efficient as a teacher. I think of changes I can make and factors which can be destructive to my students and on my lessons. I change.

Practice: Classroom routines

Main routines

Every lesson begins with checking the attendance. It might appear an easy task, but I saw few lessons when it took ten minutes to begin the lesson because students began to explain why their classmates are absent. I think that teacher shouldn't underestimate the importance of this part of the lesson. My next notice is that checking attendance looks differently depending on the relation between teacher and students, very important factor of teachers work. When they only tick the absence the relation is not deep probably. But more engaged teacher would comment that for example one student is missing a lesson for second time so she can ask the others if they know what's going on.

History lesson

After checking the attendance the history teacher usually poll one student to remind the whole class what were they talking about on the last lesson. I was shocked by this polling. Students are rather relaxed. When I was a student my whole class wold look into their notebooks or pretend they are invisible. But here the teacher says for example: Sam, why don't you volunteer? You don't have much grades and lat time you were very active on the lesson, I think you can do it. And the boy simply says: Well, why not? And starts answering the questions. I saw three students answering like this, two of them got really high grades, one of them was not prepared as he didn't managed to remedy the lack so the teacher let him try again next time as a second and last chance.

Other routine of the history teacher is to write a short but clear note on the lesson's topic. It usually look similar, so that after a year of learning student have valuable notes on every topic they've learned. The teacher not only gives a note to copy, she creates it together with the students and tries to make the students create it by themselves. This way not only the students have high quality note but they also really know what is it about and can learn from it at home or before the lesson. It happened once that the teacher forgot to write the note down on the board. A few students immediately remind her to write it. This means that they really find if useful.

Maths lesson

There are very few classroom routines on maths lessons. I can point only one, it's about the type of activities. Every lesson I observed had the same structure and very similar type of tasks. The teacher wrote some information about the task on the board, there were usually five points. If someone didn't manage to compete all of them he was told to finish at home. It has both advantages and disadvantages. It can motivate some students to work harder on the lesson but some might simply copy from other when the fastest student would finish.

While observing I didn't notice any other routines on this lessons. I think it's not a good solution as children in this age like routine and they feel safe thanks to it. In my opinion the teacher should take care of creating the routines together with the students. Not only would it create a stronger bond between them and make the learning process more efficient but also make it fun. This way children are more motivated to keep focus or for example remember about their homework.

That's why I'd recommend any teacher to have routines in his classroom and I am motivated to remember about it myself.

Practice: Teacher talk- student talk

History in English, 5th and 6th grade

Today I attended a history lesson on my practice for the first time. It was something new compering to the lessons I've seen before for few main reasons.

Firstly, maths and history are very different from one another, not only because of the specific of the subject but also the ways of teaching. If students need to understand, remember and use a mathematic formula they need to be taught in the most efficient way, certainly not the same as if they were to remember dates and names and understand causes and effects of historical events. That's why I decided to write about the importance of teacher talk- student talk. I'll describe how it looks like on a maths and history lesson.

How do they talk on mats

On those lessons, after teacher presents the task, conversation between her and students happens occasionally. These are questions from the students or teacher trying to calm the class down as they misbehave. When it comes to questions, students usually raises their hands, teacher comes over and answers. If the same problem appears few times teacher sometimes decides to speak in the lockstep. It happened few times that teacher didn't give the answer straight away but tried to put the student on the right track. The second type of conversation happens very often. In my opinion it is hardly a conversation. My impression is that there are repetitive scheme of those situations. Students are loud and don't listen to the teacher. Later the teacher shouts and uses different methods to calm the class down, like shouting, counting to ten (if the class don't calm down until number ten teacher gives them a small test) or trying to intimidate the naughtiest student.

I mainly observed lessons with individual work so students wasn't supposed to talk to each other, but they were. Maybe that's why the communication looked like this. When it comes to using English it's different for the teacher and for the students. Teacher tries to talk in English, but it's more or less 40% of the time. She says repetitive commands in English but in new topic or new situation (spontaneous one) she sticks to Polish, so that everyone understands her. Students speak very differently. There are some who speak only in Polish even if the teacher insists on English, there are some trying to use English but mainly Polish, two students talk in English almost all the time and more than the teacher, and finally there are some not talking at all. I think it's impossible to tell which is better and it's hard to say what the teacher should do differently to make her lessons more efficient when it comes to talking in English. But she for sure could encourage her students more, mostly the insecure ones.

How do they talk on history

History lessons have different structure than maths lessons. It looks more like a discussion session. There are moment of teacher's talk, teacher asking questions to the group, teacher asking question to a specific student or general class conversation. As you can see, the lesson is verified when it comes to kinds of activities. I guess that's why the students are mainly calm and don't misbehave that much. This is for certain an advantage of the history lessons, students are exposed to different activeness. They rarely have time to be distracted.

Teacher talk is also very well conducted. The teacher uses projector to show photos, short clips or schemas which enables the students to visualize the topic of the lesson. While talking to students the teacher asks questions related to their experiences, school life or the topic they talked about before. This makes most of the students active and willing to take part in the lesson.

I didn't see pair work or group work in the class, I think this is the missing element of the lesson. Nevertheless, I really enjoy observing the teacher and students exploring topics one by one together.