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Teacher: Mr. Smith
Subject: Physics
Grade: 9th
Session: Summer Program

Observer: Ms. Vitiello

Pre-conference date: October 26th
2015
Observation: November 2th 2015
Post-conference date: November
10th

Teacher Introduction:
Mr. Smith is a mid-aged, Caucasian, physics teacher who is
currently employed at Panther academy in the Paterson Public School
District. His educational background includes a bachelor and a
masters degree in physical education both from Rutgers University.
Prior to working in Paterson, as a recent graduate from college in 2002,
Mr. Smith worked as a physics high school teacher in Old Tappan, New
Jersey. Although his experience in Old Tappan was pleasant and
enriching, due to personal circumstances, he was forced to seek a
position closer to home. After applying to several different districts and
receiving job offers from a few, Mr. Smith decided to accept a physics
position at Panther Academy in Paterson. He chose Panther Academy,
despite getting better incentives in other schools because he grew up
in Paterson. He felt that the Paterson School District gave him the
foundation necessary to attend college on a full scholarship. For this
reason, when faced with the choice of a where to teach, his decision
was easy. He knew he wanted to give back to the community as a
professional. Mr. Smith has been teaching for ten years at Panther
Academy.
According to Mr. Smith, his teaching style varies depending on
the needs of his class. He explained that every year classes have
different chemistry and students have different abilities. Therefore, he
tries to adjust his teaching to fit the learning style of students. Having
said that, he tries to use a constructive teaching style. He described
this instructional style as one where students are active participants in
class activities. He reiterated that in his class, students are expected to
ask questions. Through an inquiry-based approach, students formulate
their own understanding of difficult topics. He emphasized that
students have to be active thinkers instead of passive thinkers. He
admitted that physics is a difficult subject for students to grasp, for this
reason; the only way for students to internalize information is to have
them build on prior knowledge and discover information independently.
He also mentioned that with new evaluations in place, there is growing
pressure to teach using hand-on activities and group work.
Pre-conference

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This marking period, Mr. Smith taught incoming freshman
students in a program called Upward Bound. This program is federally
funded and intended to prepare high school students to complete
secondary education and pursue a college education. Upward bound
serves students from low-social economic backgrounds and from
households where neither parents has a college education. Since the
program in usually housed in state colleges, and since Mr. Smith was
assigned to teach at Passaic County Community College, the preconference took place in the small teachers lounge. The meeting place
was chosen in collaboration with Mr. Smith because it was one of the
few rooms available. The only room that offered the most privacy.
The pre-conference took place October 26th at 8:00 in the
morning. Mr. Smith arrived on time and his demeanor was friendly and
conversational. I began the meeting by assuring Mr. Smith that the
information obtained through both pre and post conferences, as well
as, through the observation of his class would remain confidential. I
also explained that a pseudonym would take the place of his name and
the name of the school. Mr. Smith seemed satisfied with the
explanation and proceeded to make jokes about knowing me for nine
years and feeling comfortable about sharing information with me. At
this point, I tried to gear the conversation from casual chitchat to
professional discourse. I wanted Mr. Smith to feel comfortable, but at
the same time to view the pre-conference as a serious meeting. I did
not want him to think of me as his colleague of nine years but instead
as someone capable of leading a master teacher like himself. I felt it
was of vital importance for me to acquire as close of an experience to a
real observation. Mainly, because this was the first time I was engaging
in a leadership role.
Since, I knew Mr. Smith was identified as a highly effective
teacher at our school and taking into consideration that he won the
teacher of the year award, I did not want to begin the pre-conference
session with a question regarding how he could improve his lesson. I
wanted to avoid implying that his lesson needed improvement; rather,
I wanted him to assess his own practice and find areas that needed
strengthening. Therefore, I tried to use a more subtle approach to ask
him questions regarding his instruction. For this reason, I prepared
focus questions in advance to identify his concerns about instruction.
The questions were: (1) How has your teaching been going? (2) Do you
find you are having more success in one area than another? (3) What
aspect of your teaching should we take a look at (Gall, 2011, p. 139)?
When asked these questions, Mr. Smith responded that teaching
was going well. He shared that he enjoys teaching in the program
because, contrary to the general population of students in Paterson,
these students were more discipline and respectful. He inferred that
better disciplined students were partly the result of more parental
involvement in students who attend after school programs. Parents of

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students who are accepted in Upward Bound make a commitment to
attend meetings. Furthermore, the supervisors of the program do an
excellent job facilitating communication between teachers and parents,
particularly if a problem arises. He added that during classes, he has
more success with discipline because classes are smaller in size,
attendance is better, and student who attend this program are more
motivated to complete assignments because they are there on a
voluntary basis. At the same time students are aware that they can be
expelled from the program. He also felt that it was easier to
differentiate lessons to target the needs of each student individually. To
explain his response he posed the example of a student in the
program, he described how he has to devote more time planning for
this student because he want to make sure he pays attention. Likewise
in class he has to provide constant one-on-one support. In a small
setting he is able to invest more time in each student than in a large
environment.
Even though during the summer he is more successful with
discipline and reaching all students, there were other aspects that he
felt were more inconvenient. For instance, he mentioned that there
were limited resources. During the regular school year, he has
textbooks and access to a printer. At the college, everything was
limited. One of the things he felt was most disappointing was the fact
that he did not have access to a SMART Board. He felt that a SMART
board allows for more interactive lessons. At the same time, the week
was too short. Students only attend classes Monday through
Wednesday.
After listening attentively to his response. I tried to redirect him
to pick a lesson he wanted me to observe. At the same time, I tried to
elicit a response about the aspect of the lesson he felt needed
improvement. The abbreviated conversation went as follows:
Supervisor: Mr. Smith have you thought about which class you would
like me to observe?
Mr. Smith: You can observe tomorrow or anytime this week.
Supervisor: Tomorrow works well for me. Which period would you like
me to observe? Please keep in mind that it should be a period that you
want me to observe and offer some advice regarding an area you feel
you want me to take a look at.
Mr. Smith: I think first period is the best choice.
Supervisor: What is the objective of the lesson? Is this a new, review,
or extended lesson? Why do you think this class is the best choice?
Mr. Smith: Students are learning the difference between displacement
and movement. I think this class is the best one for you to observe
because students are unmotivated and unwilling to participate. Im not
sure how to motivate them to participate or urge them to show interest
in the class. The class consists of only six students, but they appear to

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be asleep first thing in the morning. At school, I have more resources to
engage them, but here, materials are limited.
Supervisor: Why do you think students are unmotivated? What
behaviors do they display?
Mr. Smith: They never volunteer or raise their hand. I always have to
call on them. Sometimes, even when I call on them, they give me short
answers or no answer. Lately, they have not been completing
homework and class work is of poor quality.
Supervisor: In your opinion, how do motivated students behave?
Mr. Smith: Well, from experience, students will attempt to answer
questions even if they are wrong. Sometimes, they consult each other
or they ask questions. Most of the time one can tell a students
motivation based on facial expressions. The least they will do is raise
their hand. Also, when asked questions, they will try to answer instead
of staying quiet.
Supervisor: Do you think its possible for students to be motivated
while keeping to themselves and not participating? Can you give me an
example of the behaviors they displayed on a day you felt they were
motivated?
Mr. Smith: Yes, its possible. However, I think its strange for all six to
behave in this manner. I dont think Ive seen them display signs of
motivation or engagement this entire summer.
Supervisor: what do you think you can do to motivate them?
Mr. Smith: Normally, I would try to plan more interactive lessons. The
SMART Board is a great tool for interactive activities. Unfortunately,
resources and time here are limited.
Supervisor: Is it possible to motivate them using other means?
Mr. Smith: I can try to assign questions for tonight and ask each
student to be ready to share answers tomorrow. I can also ask them to
work in pairs and give them time to share responses. I could offer
points to the team that participates the most.
Supervisor: That sounds like a good plan.
Toward the end of the conversation, I reviewed the focus of the
observation. I reiterated that I was going to concentrate on students
lack of motivation and that the observation was aimed to provide
advice and not to judge. We also reviewed his plan for the following
day. According to Mr. Smith, he was going to assign questions for
homework that each student would be responsible to share. The day of
the lesson he would assign group work. At this point, we worked on
identifying an observation instrument that we both felt confortable
utilizing. Mr. Smith did not have a preference regarding the type of
instrument he wanted us to use. Therefore, I suggested using a wide
lens approach. I asked him if he would mind if I audiotape the lesson. I
explained that this would be a good tool for both of us to analyze
student interaction and to collect data to formulate a plan. I also told
him that I could take notes in the form of anecdotes to share with him.

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I explained that using both methods would give us a better perspective
on student participation and motivation. Mr. Smith liked the idea of
audiotaping the lesson and listening to it together. Our meeting ended
in good spirit, and we planned to meet the following day.
Post-Conference
The post-conference was scheduled to take place the day after
the lesson at 8:00 in the morning. The day before, I listened to the
audiotape and transcribed the notes gathered during the lesson. My
plan was to show Mr. Smith the notes and have him listen to the audio
before asking him to discuss the lesson or giving him my opinion.
Surprisingly, the minute Mr. Smith walked into the teachers launch, he
expressed his disappointment with the outcome of the lesson. He said
that he did not feel that students participated enough and that he still
felt that they were unmotivated. Based on his facial expression and
pitch of voice, I could infer that he was frustrated. Furthermore, I knew
he was waiting for my reaction to either confirm or contradict his
opinion. Although I was tempted to give him my opinion, I withheld
from doing so because I wanted us to analyze the data together. I told
him that I was going to give him my opinion as we listened to the
audiotape.
While playing the tape, I was careful to pause it during strategic
points and tried to ask him some of the following questions: (1) what
do you hear in the observational record that you would repeat if you
taught this lesson? (2)What would you change? (3)What would a
student want changed (Gall, 2011, p. 152)? A portion of the
conversation went as follows:
Supervisor: Base on the student responses of the assigned questions,
how do you think they responded?
Mr. Smith: They responded with with short answers and tried to speak
as little as possible. I had to remind each that their turn was coming
up, but their answers were correct.
Supervisor: Yes, although my understanding of physics is limited, I
understand enough to know that the answers were, for the most part,
correct but short. Do you think there might be a better way to ensure
students answers are developed? At the same time, is it necessary for
the answers to be longer if students understand the concepts?
Mr. Smith: Well, I guess I can ask students to explain the way in which
they deciphered the answer. I guess if students understand the lesson,
perhaps its not necessary for them to give me long responses.
Supervisor: Based on this activity, it looks like they are not eager to
participate. But its clear that their lack of participation does not affect
their learning. What would you change about this lesson?
Mr. Smith: I guess rather than modeling the distance I traveled from
one point to the next, I can ask for volunteers to come up and move
from one place to another. Maybe getting them out of their seats would
engage them more.

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Supervisor: I agree. I think when you modeled for them and changed
the pitch of your voice students were paying more attention than when
you were asking them questions. I feel that getting them out of their
seats is a good idea. Perhaps, you can try the four-corner strategy. This
is a strategy that will get students out of their chairs. Another
possibility is to bring in manipulatives that students can use to move
from one place to another. What do you think a student would want
changed?
Mr. Smith: I think they hated the fact that I raffled whom they were
going to partner with. Maybe next time, I will let them pick their
partners.
Supervisor: I think that is a good idea. Maybe if they chose their
partners, they would have felt more confortable working with one
another. At the same time, it is important to understand that all you
students except for one are of Hispanic heritage with the one student
being Asian. The luck of the draw paired your only Asian female
student with the only boy in the class. I noticed she felt uncomfortable.
Its possible that their culture or upbringing frowns upon collaboration
with the opposite sex. This is also something to consider. At the same
time, all of your Hispanic students are of Mexican roots. In Mexico
teachers are regarded with respect. Perhaps, they are just too shy to
show over excitement.
Mr. Smith: You have a point. I did notice that Kathy and Brandon were
uncomfortable working with each other. How does the four-corner
strategy work?
Supervisor: I think this strategy is most commonly used in language
arts. However, since I recorded most of my classes last year as an
experiment. I happen to have a video of how it worked for one of my
lessons. If you have time, I would be more than happy to share the
video with you.
Mr. Smith: Yes, I would like to see it. Last year, I enjoyed viewing your
shared inquiry video.
Supervisor: As a last thought, I wanted to point out that although
students were not raising their hands and bursting with desire to
participate. I do feel that there was some motivation. Students showed
signs that they understood the lesson because they were able to
answer most of your questions. Whenever you checked for
understanding by asking them to use the thumbs up, thumbs down
technique, they all responded with thumbs up. At the same time, they
were all making eye contact and directing their attention to your
explanation.
Data Analysis
During the post-conference, Mr. Smith and I listened to the
audiotape and read the notes. We both agreed that students were not
raising their hands as often or taking initiative to participate. However,

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when asked to answer questions that tested their knowledge students
answers were correct. After listening to most of the tape, Mr. Smith
noticed that he was lecturing most of the time. Unconsciously, he was
moving away from his constructive teaching approach. He admitted
that it was difficult to engage students during a six-week program that
only runs from Monday to Wednesday. He also pointed out that he was
trying to teach them too much in every lesson. He felt that slowing his
pace would help him plan more hands on activities. When, students
were paired, he felt that rather than have them figure out answers on
paper, they could have shown their answers by modeling their
response or by playing a game where they gave each other directions.
For example, the classroom floor had tiles, students could have marked
the starting point and move eight tiles forward, back, to the right or
left. This could have been a more interactive activity. It is important to
mention that at the end of the data analysis, Mr. Smith had changed
his mind. He did not think his class went as bad as he thought. He
understood that sometimes what we perceive as signs of motivation
might not necessarily depict students true motivation
Action Plan
After analyzing the data and sharing opinions through a
collaborative approach, Mr. Smith and I constructed an action plan for
the two remaining weeks of the program. First, Mr. Smith is going to
have a private conversation with each student and emphasize the
importance of participating in class and completing homework. He will
also communicate this problem to the supervisors of the program so
that parents are made aware that students are not handing in
homework and are not participating. Then, Mr. Smith will establish a
routine were students are expected to participate a minimum of four
times throughout the period to get full credit for class participation
each day.
At the same time, Mr. Smith is going to adjust his instruction by
facilitating more interactive activities. For example, he plans on giving
students time to write down responses on paper and asking them to
hold their papers in the air as opposed to speaking. This activity would
count as class participation. At the same time, he agreed to view
activities such as the four-corner strategy and gallery walks used in
other disciplines to find ways on how to adjust them to physics. In the
absence of a smart board, Mr. Smith is going to use Web 2.0
applications to project students responses on the board. Some
applications like pollseverywhere allow students to use their cell
phones to project their responses on the board. Also, Mr. Smith is going
to allow students to choose their partners when working in groups to
ensure their comfort. He also agreed to bring in manipulatives for
students to use in future lessons.