Case Study: Mr.

Roth

Leonard Martinez

March 30th, 2022

EAD-530-O500
Observation Reflection Questions:

Which overt activities by Mr. Roth established a positive rapport with his students?

 There's a strong sense of proximity and classroom management. There is constant tread

on talking and I'm guessing facial expressions as well between students and the teachers

to feed off one another's energy in class. From greeting them at the door, we know that

Mr. Roth has taken the time to establish a positive relationship with students which in

return build a positive learning environment. 

How would you describe the classroom environment and climate?

 As previously mentioned, the classroom environment is a blend of safe anxiety and

positivity. It is evident the teacher has the right to be heard and engage the students in a

relationship daily in discussing their personal lives. Doing so, he supports a culture and

environment of participation and collaborations through the day. The climate is a safe

positive safe anxiety where students are constantly engaged doing one thing after another

and working hard. There's a town of collaborative feedback with room for engaging with

their peers and the teacher. A lot of refinement, a lot of discussion and participation as

well as literacy skills. 

What instructional strategies were utilized during this lesson?

 So there was a lot of peer learning for collaborations. He also seemed to walk around and

interview students. We got some sensory learning going on and a lot of feedback for

refinement of strengths and weaknesses. There's think pair shares and literature practices

with going over the article for information. There is strategic grouping accompanied with

the comprehensive activities like literature groups and bell work and exit tickets. 
Describe the student engagement strategies utilized by Mr. Roth and discuss their

effectiveness.  

 The engagement stretches begin at the door with informal discussions to carry out

participation in class. I’m class there are various prompts and promotions for critical

thinking, engagements, and collaborations. The guiding questions the teacher provided

open up a variety of interactions and ideas from peer sharing with peers. His diligence to

walk around and use proximity to make sure students are on task keeps the students on

their toes to promote and contribute to their groups. His calls for sharing allow the class

entirely to engage with one another and hear everyone’s thoughts. He calls on people and

uses volunteers, his feedback promotes others to contribute voluntarily as well. 

What strategies, if any, were used to differentiate instruction during this lesson?

 He used strategic grouping to have students speak and teach one another. He uses a

variety of methods to deliver content to various types of groups of students and their

collaborations. All learning types are catered to as observed. He used traditional methods

for digesting text but also scanning methods to differentiate instruction and easy

instruction. Although not shown, it can be determined that the article was purposely

chosen to be challenging with the method of digesting together using the classroom

culture of collaborations and critical thinking. 

Identify the elements of this lesson that required students to use higher-order thinking

skills.  

 There are various opportunities to interpret a text and rationalize the analysis to

summarize. The challenger to give substantive response and contribute to class. The

process of highlighting and analyzing the text for keywords require higher thinking as
 different level kids observe higher or lower than others. The opening bell work question

even requires students to use higher order thinking and recall previous learning with

current connections of the modern world. They are constantly asked for their opinion,

their thoughts, their thinking and observations. The questions asked to the class require

higher thinking to make connections. The exit ticket requires them to rationalize what

was learned with a connection to today's world.

How did Mr. Roth use technology? Was it effective?

 No technology usage. Very traditional instruction but effective. Pen and paper. 

Post-Conference Preparation Questions:

What questions might you ask Mr. Roth to determine his evaluation of the lesson?

 What were areas of strength or positivity in this lesson

 What could we have better? Refinement? Or challenges? 

 How would the promotion and usage of technology enhance this lesson? 

o Or would it not?

 There were a few and very minor distractions, was their thought on stressful grouping?

What positive feedback would you give Mr. Roth regarding this lesson? Why did you select

to share this feedback?

 Very excellent usage of Kagan Strategies. Think pair shares initiate the process of

thinking to develop thought, then they pair with a peer for collaborations and then share

their thoughts to compare analysis which in return provides the practice of critical

thinking (Kaddoura, paraphrase, p.4). Breaking down text using key terms and peer

feedback allows students to get observations from each other. It allows for amazing
 critical thinking skills to happen all around the classroom including the process of sharing

responses for even further comparison among the classroom and students. Difference

lenses caters to diversity and the usage of a safe classroom environment to share. There is

safe anxiety, students seemed busy throughout the entire class. Students were actively

listening and participating and when they were, your classroom management skills were

seen in action and students knew where to stand in regards with your and their role as a

student. There was valuable evidence of learning taking place in the entire lesson.

What constructive feedback would you give Mr. Roth for this lesson? Why did you select to

share this feedback?

 Usage of technology is essential for students of the 21st century. “The whole ‘21st

century’ mindset is more than technology itself. It’s the confidence teachers have to

effectively use it in class” (Miners, pg. 36). The reason we want to promote this on

campus is not because you're a bad teacher or because you do not know better, it is

because the times we live in require an adaptive approach of learning to the environments

of which our students are coming from daily. There is also a variety of learners in th

class, how can we cater to all learning styles? Using simple things like maybe some

google slide or PowerPoint with images, videos, text, sounds, can help improve

engagement and cater to all learning styles. There is heavy kinesthetic and social skills

learning which is excellent but let's not forget the students who struggle with reading

(how are they catered to) or your visual auditory learners. Can we use more 21st century

technology to assist in such? If we empower you to use technology, I want to develop

your self-efficacy. Using technology can help us achieve engaging students who are not

motivated, not engaged (although it may seem like they are), or even those that are too
 chatty or unmotivated adjust by the simple aspect of using a tool that engages them than a

traditional tool (Dixon, et. al., 2014).

In addition to the constructive feedback that you gave Mr. Roth, how might you suggest

incorporating technology to enhance student engagement?

 Portraying guiding questions on the board, suggesting to use Peardeck for a variety of

feedback assessment forms. With a gamified experience We will “see digital devices that

incorporate game design elements into innovative lessons as tools that can engage

students, enhance classrooms, and nurture new forms of learning” (Rizk, et. al., 2021).

Although your skills used in class are exceptional and deliver results, the reality is that

the communities to which students will be released to will require students to be

technology fluent. We want to provide our students the equal chance to learn such

technologies and use them. A small suggestion used around campus is PearDeck.

Peardeck can provide a variety of assessments for feedback to see if students are learning

or not. We can drag items, vote, write responses, and many more things to assess if

students are grasping content.  

What additional questions or comments might be appropriate for this post-conference?

 Very excellent teacher full of awesome effective instruction. 

 What resources can I provide you with that not only make you comfortable with

technology but equip you to use it?

 It might help to plan strategic grouping for kids that need extra help, for advanced

students to lead special groups, to avoid classroom management issues. 

 Comment: you're an exceptional exemplary teacher. I would like to bring teachers to

observe you on the way a class is run and how learning takes solace. 
 Will you be open to having other teachers observe your teaching style and daily routine

for an exemplary model on campus? 

Dixon, F. A., Yssel, N., McConnell, J. M., & Hardin, T. (2014). Differentiated Instruction,

Professional Development, and Teacher Efficacy. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 37(2),

111–127. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/0162353214529042

Kaddoura, M. (2013). Think Pair Share: A Teaching Learning Strategy to Enhance Students’

Critical Thinking. Educational Research Quarterly, 36(4), 3–24.

Miners, Z. (2009, April 1). Classroom technology integration: having technology is one thing--

maximizing the investment is another. District Administration, 45(4), 35.

Rizk, J., & Davies, S. (2021). Can Digital Technology Bridge the Classroom Engagement Gap?

Findings from a Qualitative Study of K-8 Classrooms in 10 Ontario School Boards.

Social Sciences, 10(1), 12. MDPI AG. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/socsci10010012