RDG 323

Observation


SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
Michael Torres
Im interning at Bogle Junior High this semester, teaching 8
th
grade Social Studies. My intern
mentor teacher is Ms. Weaver, who has been teaching for nearly 18 years. Her teaching style is
basic, she relies on students engaging with each other rather than note taking. The classroom
layout is a simple layout with two rows of six desk near the door, a back row with 7 desk, and a
row of three with seven desk in each row. There are an average of 30 students in a class, and 31
in the class I observed.
My intern teacher also uses technology/multimedia in the classroom. She shows each class
Student CNN, which is a ten minute video on the daily news. The students write down what each
story is about, and at the end of the week they turn it in. I would use this same technique in my
classroom also, due to the fact the students will know whats going on around the world. My
intern teacher also incorporates other video clips for the subject the students are learning, to keep
them engaged in the subject.
Theres also a lot of discussions going on in the class due to the fact eighth graders cant say still
in their seats. They occasionally do a lot of writing in each unit theyre going over. They have to
gather valid sources and bring them to class before they start an essay on a certain topic. The
students have a general understanding on why theyre learning about a certain topic, although
you occasionally get those students who believe they will never apply these skills in the real
world.
My intern teacher does take the prior knowledge the students have into account in each unit plan.
She will give brief overviews before each lesson, sort of like a refresher for the students. My
intern teacher does read aloud to the class to ensure the class understands the basic concepts for
their assignments, to ensure they have the knowledge to proceed with their work not just in the
classroom, but outside of class as well. My intern teacher also has the passion for teaching
history. She always engages the students with past events by correlating them with current
events, to make it more relevant for the students in todays world. The students are also
encouraged to ask questions in the class, she has always stated that there are no stupid
questions so that makes the students comfortable in the classroom. She has a very laid back
classroom environment and it seems like its the most enjoyable class for the students.
When it comes to alternative materials in the class, she does modify some lessons for the English
language learners in the class, such as modifying homework and tests for them. The other
students often help out the English language learners, as well as help each other when theyre
having trouble on a lesson.
One thing I also observed in the classroom that I thought was interesting was she had the class do
breathing techniques before she started class. I felt it was a way to calm the students down, due
to the fact they seem to always hyper when entering the class. From what I observed, when she
does the breathing exercise, the class seems to be a little calmer, and they seem to pay a little
more attention.