This classroom observation was a much different experience than last week's observation. Both were good experiences. Last week I saw a side of teaching that was a little mundane. I saw well behaved students taking notes. It was procedurally fine, but I wasn't sure if it was the most effective because I saw little feedback from the students. I think I want a class with more going on.
This week, I got what I wanted and observed a more participatory classroom. The students were moving between three classrooms (a class with desks and a projector, a computer lab, and a shop). They were learning about alternative fuel sources and CO2 cars. There was a lot going on, and more than I could handle. I felt uncomfortable in the classroom. The students were yelling out and the teacher's tactic was to ignore it and move on. The teacher responded once with a snide comment. The teacher has a policy to not give out homework, so everything had to be finished while they were there and in front of him. As a student, I think I would have preferred to do some research on aerodynamics and get different ideas for car shapes on my own before designing my CO2 car, but the plans had to be finished in class. Everything was such a time crunch there there was little conversation about the "big picture" of the projects they were working on. We came on a transitional day between two units, so that may have been the source of some of the confusion on my part.
The teacher has the curriculum that I want to teach and he has access to all the resources, but not the sort of classroom management that I want. There were about a half dozen really aggressive students that were constantly talking. They were disrespectful and almost offensive at times and the rest of the class was silent. The aggressive students were participating. This is where is becomes a little tough for me because although it was loud, the students seemed to be participating. Granted there was zero participation out of some, but my point is that perhaps the behavior should take a distant back seat to education. Maybe this teacher has learned over the years that if he disciplines the students, then they stop listening and then they aren't excited about the projects.
I think I am realizing a major flaw for me as a teacher. I don't think I will be very patient with behavior issues. I will send the students to the office. I will address every issue. One thing that I learned in a classroom management class is that ignoring the problem is an acceptable tactic. If you can ignore it and it goes away, then addressing it in front of the class is only causing more problems. That will be difficult for me. After class, I asked the teacher we observed today how his teaching style has changed over the years because I wanted to talk about behavior and he said, "I'm easier than I used to be."
His easy going nature is impressive. No matter how loud or rude the students were, he never deviated from the lesson. It was like he was going to teach it no matter what. I worry about the students that quietly did the work. Perhaps he speaks with them one on one or they get more time on other school days, but there were some students who stared blankly, trying to tune out the aggressive students, waiting for the bell to ring.
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