I completed 30 observation hours this
semester, at two different schools. 20 of the hours were with a special
education teacher, and 10 were with a couple different math teachers (for this
class). The schools I observed at were Niles North High School and Sayre
Language Academy. Both of these teachers
utilized practices/norms and disciplinary practices in their teaching. The demographic
of students at Sayre was 42% African American, 43% Hispanic, 9% White, etc. On the
other hand, at Niles North the demographic of students was 38% White, 9% African
American, 12% Hispanic, 36% Asian, etc.
The Special education teacher I was
observing, Ms. Kilo, definitely used some of the norms and practices we talked
about in class. For example, she had the students, who she wrote IEP’s for, take
guided notes. They were learning about solving one variable linear equations.
With the guided notes, Ms. Kilo had the students learning the vocabulary necessary
to do so. The notes included vocabulary like coefficient, variable, constant,
etc. I noticed that after the students became more familiar with the vocab,
they were able to ask more questions. Before they were just kind of pointing at
parts of the process, they were unable to understand, and it was difficult for
them to articulate what exactly it was that was confusing them.
I observed 3 different teachers at
Niles North. Two of the teachers used literacy practices and one of them stuck
with the more traditional form of mathematics teaching, which was just lecturing
and note taking. Ms. Trapani was teaching Algebra 2 honors class and she used
most of the 42 minutes by using the projector to project her notes on the board.
Students were expected to take notes and occasionally Ms. Trapani would stop
and ask the class a few questions to see where they were at. At the end of the
class she had students work on an exit slip. Ms. VanRoeyen was another teacher
I observed, she used a different method to teach her Algebra 2 advanced class. As
soon as class started, she had students work on a bell ringer with a question
based on what they learned before. After they finished that, she put up a few
problems on the board and had students take control of their own learning by
working in groups.
So am I correct in assuming that Ms. Kilo was from Sayre? Also, is Sayre a CPS school? I think I'm familiar with a school by this name in Galewood...is that where you were? While you describe these students were engaged in the disciplinary practices of Mathematics by working through the terminology, the other part seems to be more related to generalized literacy strategies (i.e, guided notes).
ReplyDeleteAt Niles North, it seems as if you were observing someone doing more traditional based, old school teaching. You don't communicate that the students were particularly engaged. I'm interested in the differences between Ms. Trapani and Ms. VanRoeyan because their teaching styles were markedly different.
After reading your reflection, it's difficult to understand the degree to which you felt the disciplinary practices were represented.