Teaching Observation 2 1

Max Freedman
EDTE 255
Dave Teja
11 November 2023
Classroom Observation #2
The student population in the classroom that I observed was entirely female. This class is
primarily Caucasian, with only a few people of color. Judging based on their clothing and
classroom environment; the students seem to be somewhere around the middle to upper middle
class. These students all seem very capable in this class and actively listen and do their best to
contribute to the conversation. Overall, I don’t visibly see any extreme variety in socioeconomic
differences or languages spoken. These students all seem like they have different personalities. I
see several more timid and shy students and several on the other side of the spectrum who are
louder and more outspoken and dominate the conversation. And there are several students
between those marks, but their personalities seem diverse.
The teacher engages all of the students in this lesson by making sure everyone who wants
to have an uninterrupted platform to voice their thoughts as well and this teacher makes sure to
not force anyone to speak if they wish not to. I feel like in this lesson, not all the students seem to
be fully invested but for the most part there is engagement and passion towards this lesson. This
lesson doesn’t really give an outlet for a diverse group of learning styles. This lesson primarily
catered to social and audio learners because this was a collaborative lesson where these students
were talking to each other. However, despite this lack of diversity in learning styles based upon
the topics they were discussing I feel as though it would be inappropriate to try to incorporate
many other kinds of learning. Since the topic these students were discussing called for a more
serious learning style, I think that the learning styles used were the most effective and even if I
didn’t mesh well with these learning styles, I think the lesson is compelling enough to balance
out the lack of diversified learning styles.
These students seemed to be not terribly involved in the learning discussion, but this is
most likely due to the topic that the students were discussing. These students were talking about
racism in media. This topic can be very scary for students to discuss because students worry that
they may misspeak and say something that was unintentionally problematic. So, I can see how
this social pressure may have caused students to be hesitant to participate but as the discussion
continues it seems as if there is tension that is relieved, and more people feel comfortable
participating.
The teacher did try to get some of the more hesitant students to participate not by
volunteering them but by trying to encourage them with eye contact and allowing them to speak
by asking leading questions to encourage them to participate. But overall, it seemed as if the
teacher didn’t have to worry about working with too many kinds of students since her class
seemed to be around a similar level of learning.
From this observation it seemed as if the teacher didn’t have a rigid lesson plan. This
teacher seemed like she had some key points that she wanted to make but for the most part the
lesson was adapted based on how the students conversed with each other. The students’
conversations piloted the lesson more than the teacher, which allowed the students to talk about
things that they found interesting.

The teacher did a great job at keeping everyone engaged as well as she could and meeting
the needs of her students. This teacher seems like she has set good boundaries with her students,
and this created a safe environment for her students to have these meaningful conversations
about the world.

Reflection
What personal challenges do you think you’ll face when teaching a diverse group of students?
- I think the challenges I will struggle with the most when teaching a diverse group of
students is doing my best to figure out the best way to meet all of their needs without
neglecting any student and their needs. This balancing act seems very difficult for an
inexperienced teacher and so this seems like something that I will face for a while until I
have more experience under my belt to prepare me for the hardest parts of teaching.
What did you learn about diversity in the classroom?
- Diversity in the classroom comes in many different forms and is something that is in
every classroom. Being able to teach to a wide variety of students is difficult but it is a
necessary part of the job and so learning to embrace and adapt to the diversity of your
students is very important in order to become a successful teacher.
Consider strategies used to engage diverse learners. Based on your prior field experiences and
your current placement, compare and contrast the strategies observed in these settings.
- The strategies that I have observed from readings, lectures, and other observations have
varying degrees of similarity because these strategies change based on the group of
students you are teaching. But being able to come up with your own creative ideas to best
support your students is a prevalent theme. But many ways to engage diverse learners
stem from being passionate about both the students and the subjects they are learning.
Because if a teacher is passionate about their students and lessons then the students
understand that, and they become significantly more willing to learn and engage in the
lessons.
What ideas will you take with you?
- I think ideas I will take with me will be to use these less structured lesson plans in the
classroom more. This is to allow the students to be able to have a say in what they want
to learn and discuss. This allows for a refreshing way to learn and gives them the freedom
they are craving. From the ages of 6 in kindergarten to 18 a senior in high school students
are craving freedom and this is a great way to give these students freedom where they
least expect it.
What would you do differently in your own classroom?
- In my classroom I think I would try to get more students to talk more frequently to keep
the conversation fresh and ongoing. This would provide more engagement and overall
allow more students to have a deeper learning experience. Besides that I think the ways I
would change the lesson would depend on what my class was like.

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Max Freedman

between those marks, but their personalities seem diverse.

out the lack of diversified learning styles.

seemed to be around a similar level of learning.

things that they found interesting.

about the world.

What did you learn about diversity in the classroom?

students is very important in order to become a successful teacher.

What ideas will you take with you?

least expect it.

What would you do differently in your own classroom?

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