Observations and Reflections

Donetha Groover
Perspectives in Math and Science

Observations and Reflections

To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe.
Marilyn Vos Savant
If that is true then by now I must have the wisdom of sage, or close to it. This semester
in Perspectives I have done 20 hours of observing teachers in a variety of schools and
classrooms. I have had additional hours of observing student teaching this semester. I
have learned some excellent things to do, and not to do as well.
First I observed at McClellan High School in an AP biology class. This is a public
school that is in a high need area and it was scary. I always thought that those schools
seen in movies (you know, the ones with the teachers who go to low income areas, lots
of crime happens, but they make a difference) were only in movies, or only in places like
Los Angeles. I was wrong. McClellan is rough, with as much security as is seen at
airports nowadays. There were only 6 students in the class. A small class size is great,
but that is tiny.
All of the equipment was old and beat up. There were computers in the room, and a
SmartBoard, but not a lot of other technology. That day's lesson was on DNA
replication and meiosis. Ms. Lusk did a good job of trying to engage the students, but it
was hard. Some students came in late, without notes or excuses. Some were
unprepared and without paper or pencils. So even with such a small class size, lots of
time was eaten up with preparation time.
After class I talked to Ms. Lusk for awhile about teaching there. She said the
administration has been nice and supportive. However only one other teacher has
bothered to talk to her at all. There is no collaboration going at all. The students at this
school have a great number of behaviour problems, and fights are a daily occurrence.

Also, there is a problem with students filming the teachers. Ms. Lusk said it is both
good and bad. It is good because some students were doing it to show that she
actually taught them something, bad because they filmed her breaking up a fight and
tried to use it to get her in trouble. Overall, this is not a school I want to be in.
Next I went to Cabot Freshman Academy. This school was built because studies
have shown that 9th grade is the most important indicator of if students will graduate.
We started off the day with a PLC meeting. A group of teachers (english, math, science,
a counselor, and the vice principal) who have the same students come together to
discuss strategies, integration of studies, and if there are any students that need help.
They also point out when students have improved and take note of actions taken.
This was a new school, so was all bright and shiny. They used
TV/projector/computer combo to display information. I observed Ms. Taylor pre-AP
chemistry classes. They were held in a large room that was lab on one side, and
classroom on the other. There were Chromebooks on the tables, one per student. Ms.
Taylor used a microphone to make sure that she could be heard. This lesson was a
review for an upcoming test on Bohr models and electron configuration. There was a
little bit of lecture, followed by a digital assignment for the students on their
Chromebooks. I have to point out that I loved Ms. Taylor's attention getter. She would
say Marco, and the kids would respond Polo. It was fun. There was one thing she
did that just struck me the wrong way. She wrote on the whiteboard the names of all
students who were missing homework. Ms. Taylor said that it worked because friends
and boyfriends/girlfriends would get after each other. I do not get that. If it was me, I
would just shrug it off. Many people I know would have just laughed and said whatever.

Others would have been mortified and ashamed. What if a student could not help it?
What if there home life is such that they could not get the work done? Now they are
being shamed for it. That just felt wrong to me.
Cabot Freshman Academy seems to have the collaboration part down. It was great
to see the adults of the school sharing their concerns for the students and making sure
that none fell through the cracks. However, it concerns me that this is not done for any
grades beyond 9th. What happens to those students when no one is around to notice?
What if they end up at a school like McClellan where the teachers do not talk to each
other? I loved this school, but I think it needs to be scaled up for all of high school.
For my next observation I went to Holy Souls school. This is a Catholic school that
goes up to 8th grade. We got a tour of the school before observing classes. This
school is very hands on and crafty. They have an entire area for art and each grade
gets to do a large art project that is then displayed in the school. I will admit that I was
extremely curious about this school and wondered if I could teach there since I am not
Catholic. Turns out you do not have to be Catholic to teach there.
We observed both a 7th and 8th grade science class. This was the first year that the
teacher had been at this school and was really going by the book, so as to not offend
anyone. Once again the lesson was a review for a test on blood and diseases. This
was the first school I had been in that required uniforms and did not allow any
backpacks. Students are allowed to go to their lockers after every other class. This
seems unrealistic. There has to be a better way to go about that.
I seem to have neglected to get his teacher's name. After classes I did talk to her a
bit about what it was like to work at Holy Souls. For 7th and 8th grade there are only 4

regular teachers: math, science, english, and social studies. Yet there is no
collaboration going on at all. How hard can it be for 4 people to get together and say I
want to do this next week, can you guys add to that in your classes?. I did like that this
teacher made sure give tips on how to study and build good study habits. Sometimes
students need a helping hand on learning study skills. I could see myself teaching here,
but only with some improvements in the atmosphere.
Forest Heights STEM Academy was the next observation point. I went into Ms.
Lungfords 7th grade science class. She was actually late to class because she had
lunch duty. Would it not make more sense to have teachers who do not have a class
right after lunch do lunch duty? Otherwise you end up with students waiting in the
hallways until their teacher shows up to unlock her classroom. These students were
well behaved, though talkative, so there was not any trouble. The point is there could
be.
There was no real lab space in this classroom, just 2 counters with sinks. On the
walls were tons of student work, which was nice to see. Once again the students were
doing review for a test. This time it was review for the SOAR test. They were going
over graphs and data interpretation. Students at this school get Chromebooks with
cases that they can take home. I can see the good and bad side of that. These
students also had to wear uniforms. However, apparently the school is not real strict
because I saw a wide range of styles and personalization of uniforms. If uniforms are a
necessity (I say they are not) then this would be the way to go. If I was planning on
teaching middle school (which I am not) I think this school may be a good one.

By far my favorite school was England High School. It is rural school with small
class sizes. I started out in a geometry class, then went to Mr. Loves 10th grade
anatomy class, followed by his 9th grade physical science class. This school has a
large budget for science. They bought a 3D printer! There are tons of anatomy statues
in the room.
Along the sides of the classroom were lab stations. The stools for the lab stations
were way to high and uncomfortable though. In the middle was the desks. This was
the first time I got to observe a lesson that incorporated an actual inquiry activity. In the
physical science class Mr. Love gave each pair of students a baggies with a battery,
paper clip, and light bulb. Then he just gave the instruction Turn on the light bulb. It
took about 15 minutes, but all the students figured it out. He then gave a short lesson
on circuits and then moved onto lightening. I even learned something in the class. Did
you you know that lightning you see actually goes from the ground up?
According to the teachers at England High School the administration is pretty hands
off in regards to the daily routine of teaching. Only when there are complaints by
students or parents are things looked into. If a teacher is doing a good job they do not
interfere. Mr. Love had parking lot duty after school and we went with him to help out. It
was nice to be able to see that side of a teacher's duties as well.
Last, but not least was AMSA, a school in Hot Springs that is for 11th and 12th
graders and is really a college prep school where the students can earn concurrent
credits. I think the concept of this school is fabulous. An academically rigorous school
concentrated on either science, math, or art sounds ideal. In fact, it is the first public
school I would be willing to let my homeschooled children go to (and my daughter really

wants to go). However, the teacher we observed was really a let down. I neglected to
get his name, but it was a chemistry class. Essentially, he gave the students s short talk
on safely using lab equipment, gave them a packet of papers and said head to lab and
do this. He then sat at the front of the lab and watched the students.
The facilities were fantastic though. There was a completely separate classroom
and lab with tons of lab equipment to be used. Unfortunately most of the chemicals
were not stored properly. Lids were not on some chemicals, some that react when
mixed were stored right next to each, and so on. These students may be more
advanced but they are still teenagers and given the chance will mix chemicals to see
what happens.
In order to teach at ASMA you must have a masters degree in the subject area.
Which is understandable, but it was stressed that they want teachers with more content
than pedagogy. Once again I feel that people do not quite understand how teaching
works. If I do not know something about my subject I can look it up and learn it. You
cannot look up how to teach a subject. Some of the most brilliant minds in science
cannot teach. Having content knowledge does not guarantee you can teach it properly,
as was evidenced by the teacher we observed. I talked to those who observed the
physics teacher and said he was boring and spoke in a monotone. So it is a great
school in concept, but does not seem to be delivering like it should be.
All of these observations, plus others I have done, have given me many things to
think about. I have definite ideas of what I think an ideal classroom and school should
be. Realistically I know I will never find somewhere that meets all those expectations,
but I think that wherever I end up I can help. So what do I want, ideally?

First, let us talk about the time school starts. I am not a morning person, so having
school start at 9 a.m. would be good, 9:30 a.m. even better. This is not just for my own
personal benefit however. Studies have shown that teens do better in school when they
get adequate sleep (Park). Since my ideal school is a high school for grades 9-12 this
study caught my attention. Having a day that starts later, even by thirty minutes, greatly
increases a student's ability to concentrate. Combine this with year around school and
you have an excellent platform to do some real, meaningful teaching.
In my own public school career I got to experience many different types of year
around and traditional schedules. One of the best versions was where at the end of
every quarter we had two weeks off. This gave everyone a break without letting the
information we had learned drain out of our brains. So much of the beginning of a
traditional school year is built around review to bring back concepts that students have
lost over the long summer. Using this quarter schedule helps eliminate this.
Classes should be done in a block schedule. I had the chance to experience this
and realized that it is extremely helpful, especially in a science class. Having an hour
and a half to do a lab and teach was amazing. We got so much more done, and were
able to go so much more into depth than in a traditional 55 minute class.
Of course in an ideal school the administration will allow teachers to teach their way
and give them the support they need. This includes allowing teachers to form
organizations that can help better the students and school as a whole. One thing I want
to have in place is an awareness program to teach teachers, parents, and students the
warning sign of depression in teens. Along with this would be a training program for
people interested in being a safe person for those who are suffering to come to. Teen

depression and suicide is on the rise again and we need to combat this at the place
where teens spend most of their time - school.
Depression often stems from bullying and exclusion. There will be a no tolerance
policy at my ideal school. All students would be responsible for taking an online course
about bullying both online and off. This would be required every year, of every student.
I would also love to be at a school that just had private bathrooms with no gender
specified. They would be a lot like bathrooms found at home, with one toilet and a lock
on a door. The walls and door would totally enclose the toilet so there would be no
chance of someone peering into the stall. Sinks would be public.
Teachers would be encouraged to teach in the way they do best. Students would be
allowed to choose their teachers. Some teachers and students do better in certain
types of settings than do others. This gives both a chance to do their best.
Administration would step back and let the teachers do what they need to. When
questioned administration would support the teachers. On the other hand, if a teacher
is in the wrong steps would be taken to fix that. The main job of administration would be
to run interference between the teacher and parents and to deal with discipline.
Any discipline problem (from dress code violations to fighting) would be dealt with by
the administration. They would be responsible for giving detentions or in school
suspensions. In my fantasy world this would not be a strenuous task because the
students would mostly be getting in trouble for small things, probably mostly for dress
code violations.
My school would not have uniforms. Teenagers need to be able to express
themselves. Expressing themselves with clothes and hair is easy. Taking away this

method of expression leads to students to express themselves in ways that may not be
healthy. This does not mean that there is not a dress code. Students cannot be
allowed to wear clothing that borders on the obscene, or that says offensive things.
One of the biggest things I learned from all of these observations is that I would love
to have something like Cabot Freshman Academy does. Having teachers share
students and get together to meet about them and collaborate on lessons and strategies
for helping students seems like an awesome idea. I do not understand why more
schools are not doing this. It would eliminate so many problems that people have with
our education system today. Students are less likely to fall through the cracks.
It would be fantastic to teach at a school where you had a separate classroom and
lab that were next door to each other. It would be so much easier to do a science class
if students could have that separation and space. Of course ideally the budget would
be big enough to allow for lab equipment and awesome experiments. Oh, it would also
allow for a field trip each year and guest speakers. Bringing in speakers from the real
world to talk to the students about how what they are learning translates to the real
world would greatly increase the sense in students about how important education is.
A classroom should be a place where a student feels comfortable expressing their
opinions and asking questions. I do not think that students should always be silent, or
that they need to raise their hand to speak all the time. That is not how the real world
works. I like to call my classroom style organized chaos. It gets loud at times, and it may
seem like nothing is getting done, but there is a plan in place. Students are exchanging
ideas and learning to work together (which according to a 2013 Forbes article, The 10
Skills Employers Most Want In 20-Something Employees, is the most valuable skill an

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employee can have). Connections are being made between the theory and concept
being taught, and the practical application of those.
Organized chaos means being flexible. It means allowing students to follow
through on an idea if it serves to further their knowledge, slowing down to explain more
in depth if the students want that, or speeding up if the students get the concepts right
away. There is a lot of informal assessment going on using discussions.
Through organized chaos infinite connections are made possible
especially for children who are different and those who do not achieve well in
conventional classroom teaching. (Somerville, 2011). Using this type of learning in the
classroom allows students to create their own understanding. Each group of students
can be working on the same project, yet doing it in a way that is meaningful to them.
Howard Gardners multiple intelligence theory really fits in well in this kind of classroom.
Musical learners could be turning the information into a song, kinesthetic learners could
be turning it into a dance, visual learners into a poster, and so on.
While my teaching style may be organized chaos, my classroom will not be.
There needs to be dedicated places for things, and a system in place for everything. An
unorganized classroom means time spent searching for things instead of doing things.
That does not mean a sterile, cold room however. I want the students to feel it is truly
their classroom. I want them to make subject appropriate posters, write poems, or
anything else that can be used as decoration in the classroom or in the school as a
whole.
Project based learning is also important and fits in well with the organized chaos
classroom. One of the most important parts of project based learning is to make the

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learning meaningful and related to the real world these students are living in. When this
approach is used student test scores go up and absences go down (Edutopia, 2015).
If students feel both physically and emotionally comfortable in a classroom
learning will come easier. Using many different approaches, or differentiated teaching,
to teach a concept (hands on activities, lectures, crafts, labs, puzzles, etc.) will help
ensure all students, no matter their learning style, receive knowledge (ACSD, 2015).
Building bridges between what is learned in the classroom and how it can be applied to
the real world will make the learning easier because it will be seen as useful. Students
need to be engaged and teachers need to be flexible so that learning can happen.

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References
Adams, S. (2013, October 11). The 10 Skills Employers Most Want In 20-Something
Employees. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/10/11/the-10-skills-employers-most-want-in-20something-employees/
Huebner, T. (2010, February). Educational Leadership:Meeting Students Where They
Are:Differentiated Learning. Retrieved from
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb10/vol67/num05/DifferentiatedLearning.aspx
Lenz, B. (2010, September 20). Evidence that PBL Works | Edutopia. Retrieved from
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/project-based-learning-findings-study-bob-lenz
Park, A. (2014, August 25). Teens Should Start School Later, Says Pediatric Group. Retrieved
from http://time.com/3162265/school-should-start-later-so-teens-can-sleep-urge-doctors/
Quotes About Observation (269 quotes). (2016). Retrieved from
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/observation
Sands, D., & Barker, H. (2004). Organized Chaos: Modeling Differentiated Instruction for
Preservice Teachers. Teaching and Learning, 19(1), 26-49.

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Somerville, M., & Green, M. (2011). A pedagogy of organized chaos: ecological learning in
primary schools. Children, Youth and Environments, 21(1), 14-34.

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