Classroom Observation

Sheena Tolson

EDTC 600
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On November 16, 2010 I observed two classes instructed by Ms. Linda Crosby at

Meade Senior High School in Fort Meade, Maryland. The school system uses an

alternating A/B day schedule. There are four periods per day with 85 minute classes.

The courses I observed were a Business Management class and a Software Applications

class. Both courses were taught in a computer lab with each student having their own

workstation. The class make-up consisted of students in grades 9-12 and the total roster

was around 20 students or less per class. The majority of the students were primarily in

10th-11th grade.

The instructional resources Ms. Crosby used in both classes were computers

(student and teacher), overhead projector, computer projector, textbook, hardcopy

worksheets, and electronic worksheets accessible on the schools server.

Each student has an account on the Anne Arundel County Public School System

(AACPS) server that they maintain throughout their school attendance. The login allows

them to create and access files and for teachers to monitor student computer usage. This

is also efficient for file storage and for students to manage multiple classes through their

student portfolios. Teachers have a Goody drive setup on the server that houses course

information (i.e. instructions, resources, etc.). This is less bothersome for teachers than

having to prepare and distribute handouts or copying information onto a blackboard. It is

especially useful when lessons carry over onto another period. Students can login to any

terminal within the AACPS system. The drawback, however, is that the student is unable

to access the information from a computer outside of the server. This option would allow

students to complete study resources or assignments at their leisure.

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Ms. Crosbys course was well organized and the computer technology allowed the

class to operate more efficiently. The only information that was displayed on the

chalkboard was the lesson date, objective, drill, and an area that noted pages or other

important instructions for completing exercises later in the period. In both classes she

began the class with a refresher from the previous lesson. The students were assigned a

brief drill question that reinforced a prior learned concept. Ms. Crosby then described the

days objective and began the lesson.

The Business Management lesson discussed the law of supply and demand. The

instructor began with a verbal introduction with definitions and real-life examples.

Students also contributed examples to enhance their understanding. Next, the teacher

instructed them to duplicate the graphical depiction of the laws of supply and demand on

graph paper that was found within their textbook and also displayed on the overhead

projector. The teacher communicated well the location of materials in the assigned

readings, highlighted and displayed pertinent vocabulary on the screen, and went step-by-

step in creating the graph curves. After each step the teacher walked around to answer

questions and to ensure students were on task.

Once the graph model was created the teacher distributed a worksheet with new

data (See Figure #1A in Appendix). The students were to enter the data in Microsoft

Excel, create the graph, and answer information regarding the data. First the teacher

explained the business situation and the data while referring back to the literature. Then

she went step-by-step in the process of inputting and formatting the data in Excel. The

teacher guided the students through creating the graph. Again the teacher circled the

room answering questions and monitoring student behavior. To conclude the exercise
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and the class the students were to independently answer questions regarding their data

using their model, class notes, and the textbook for guidance (see Figure #1B in

Appendix).

As students finished the exercise and there was time left in the period, the

students accessed their previous activity that was stored on the Goody drive (See

Figure#2 in Appendix). The activity was similar to a WebQuest exercise but it wasnt an

online-oriented activity. Instead, the students followed the instructions that focused on

referring to the textbook for explanation. There were useful mapping techniques

integrated in the activity but could have been enhanced through online resources. For

instance, students were to create a brace map for the types of economic systems. The

activity could have been enhanced by integrating an interactive productivity tool. For

example, FreeMind is a free mind mapping software that allows users to create maps that

can be printed, incorporated into a wiki, and so on.

In addition, the lessons could incorporate more web-based research and exercises.

For instance, instead of using the textbook provided application worksheets, the teacher

could have directed students to a website that contained the data or allowed them to

locate their own data to apply the concepts of supply and demand. The exercise could

have been organized into a WebQuest activity completed either independently or within

groups. For example, Szabo (n.d.) created a WebQuest aiming at exploring the concepts

of supply, demand and price equilibrium. The activities include links to relevant articles

with discussion questions, an interactive quiz, and a graphing activity. The students

would comprise their results in a document and upload the file(s) to the teachers
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Blackboard Digital dropbox. These activities could be incorporated into the class and

enhance the utilization of the teachers Goody drive.

The Software Applications class period was organized very similar to the

Business Management class. The class began with a review from the previous class, a

drill question, and a discussion of the days objective. Since the course focuses on

Microsoft Office applications, the curriculum was organized based on the Microsoft

Office suite. The days lesson focused on Microsoft Access. The teacher gave an

overview of the softwares purpose and application then guided the class through a

tutorial of creating a database. First, the lecture material consisted of a brainstorming

activity in which the teacher led students through the database planning exercise given a

specific case example. Students were given a database planning worksheet (see Figure#3

in Appendix) and the teacher thoroughly explained the elements of the worksheet that

would coincide with the functions in Microsoft Access. After completing the model plan,

the students began the creation of their own database with a scenario presented in the

textbook.

I learned techniques to incorporate into my future teaching. Ms. Crosby

introduced the lesson and the objectives with clarity and referred back to the textbook to

supplement her instruction. She incorporated real life examples in order to enhance

understanding. Technology, more specifically, software was introduced in the lesson, but

I would integrate more interactive resources and independent research in my instruction.

For example, the use of WebQuests, video cases, online quizzes and exercises student

motivation is increased and comprehension levels improved. In addition, Ms. Crosby did

not have a classroom website nor was her syllabi online. However, some of the other
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teachers in the business education program posted their syllabi for download from the

school website (http://www.meadesenior.org/d_busedu.php). The student account is a

great method for classroom management and student resource organization. Such

systems would be useful in my future instruction.

References

Szabo, A (n.d.). Supply and demand WebQuest. Retrieved November 22, 2010 from

http://questgarden.com/79/58/1/091007120547/index.htm
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Appendix

Figure 1A Business Management spreadsheet application data and instructions

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Figure 1B Business Management spreadsheet application discussion questions

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Figure 2 Business Management study review instructions

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Figure 3 Software Applications database planning worksheets