Observation #3

The classroom that I was in for observations was a class of about thirty students in a large, urban high school. About half the students were female, the other half male. Only about six or seven students were Caucasian, with the rest being either African-American or Hispanic. All of these students were in a smallish room together for about an hour and a half when I observed their class. I feel it is important to know this information before I discuss classroom management in this particular classroom.

I was not there for the very beginning of the class, so I was unable to see how the teacher got students seated and beginning to do their work. When I walked into the classroom, the teacher already had that day’s PowerPoint presentation up on the screen and was lecturing to the class. She broke off briefly from lecturing to come speak with me and take attendance.

Over the course of the class period, students were paying attention to the lecture and taking notes. They did, however, talk a lot about topics not relevant to the lesson and were often loud and disruptive. This general misbehavior and off topic discussion was dealt with in a number of ways. Especially if she kept trying to start speaking and was being interrupted, the teacher would give the offender(s) a stern look without saying anything before resuming her lecture. She would also sometimes ask for quiet and if the students did not listen the first time, she would ask again more forcefully until the students actually quieted down and she could resume teaching. The teacher would, at times, also shush the class or try to talk over them if they got too loud. The last technique she used to try and control the volume and off topic discussion in her class was telling the class that they would not be able to move on to something new until they quieted down.

Student success and participation (though limited) was acknowledged through a number of short phrases, such as “nice”, “good job”, or “thank you”. While these small verbal acknowledgements are nice little recognitions of student success, I think that perhaps something a little more meaningful or with more substance would help students’ sense of self-efficacy and may reduce behavioral problems in the classroom.

The distribution of papers to students was another task that was handled in a very relaxed and informal manner. The teacher merely walked around the room, handing out the worksheets to the students while she continued to talk and joke with them and while they carried on with their loud and off topic conversations.

At one point, a couple of students asked the teacher for help with their assignments, and the teacher was quick to help the students with whatever clarification they needed. After any student in the room completed their first assignment, the teacher directed them into the next assignment in order to keep them occupied and productive.

Overall, I think that classroom management in this classroom was less than stellar. The teacher and the students got along well, but this made me wonder whether or not the students actually have respect for the teacher as a teacher. I think it also negatively impacts student learning because they are not focused on the material because the teacher allows them to conduct loud, frequent, and off topic conversations. This must be particularly difficult for students who actually want to learn because they cannot escape these distractions and are forced to suffer through them if they wish to take in the material that is being taught. I think that the teacher could exercise better classroom management, which would in turn improve student success and learning.