Monday, September 23, 2013
First Observations
So going through our first observations I noticed something that I think may end causing me difficulty in my life as a teacher. I have trouble giving criticism. So I guess to give context I'll talk about the last observation my group went to. There were roughly 25 kids in that class and a fair number of them weren't paying attention, not to say everyone was, but like a good 5 or so. When it got to that question that asked how many students were engaged or however it was phrased I fought between saying 50 to 75% which it was and the one that was like 76 to 90 percent. I don't know why I just felt kind of bad. Thinking back I find this to be strange, I know that these observations only help the teachers but still I find myself feeling guilty with the idea of criticizing someone. I worry how that will come through when I'm a teacher grading students. Deep down I know that pointing out where they did wrong can only help them in the future but sometimes there is that disconnect between knowing that and wanting to be honest with their work.
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I will say that at first I was a little hesitant to mark off that a teacher wasn't differentiating lessons or asking a proper range of question types, but as we cycled through our observations, I became a lot more willing to do so. The fact that these evaluations are anonymous makes that a lot easier I think. Unfortunately, there will obviously be a time where we as future teachers will be evaluated with a lot of scrutiny over our work, and for that reason, I think we need to take advantage of these evaluations now to better accommodate what we will need to do when we are in the teacher's role. If we are able to identify what real, professional teachers are leaving out of their lessons, we can eventually be better at not leaving that same aspect out of our own developed lessons. As for grading student work, I think that there is a happy medium between grading harshly and grading leniently. If you choose to let grammatical errors and things like that go, the problem is simply passed on to the next teacher. Therefore, it is our responsibility to make sure the problems are fixed; something that can be done through options like multiple-draft papers, and rewrites.
ReplyDeleteAt first, I too felt awkward giving less than perfect marks. However I tried to remind myself that one, the WalkThroughs are anonymous and two, that we were giving constructive criticism that will lead to positive changes. We must remember that the WalkThroughs were implemented not as a punishment system but as a data collection system that benefits both the students and teachers. The first class my group observed was an Art History class taught by a "Model Teacher." Principal J explained to our group that her practices and teaching methods were exemplary. This helped me during the rest of our WalkThrough because I tried to keep her class in mind and use it as a reference point. I was very glad that we observed a number of different classrooms, which allowed my group to observe a range of practices, mostly excellent, others less so. Overall, I felt like the small amount we viewed was varied enough that we could get a grasp on what the WalkThroughs entailed. I really do believe that the more we perform these observations the easier it will become to give realistic, constructive criticisms without the "guilt" associated with a less than perfect review.
ReplyDeleteI also don't like to criticize people, especially when they are in a position like a teacher, knowing that it is not always the easiest to keep students engaged. That's why I like these observations, they are not necessarily to criticize but to get ideas of the trends among the school. Maybe that teacher had a bad day, or need some suggestions to re-invent their lessons. I'm sure these observations will probably get easier as time goes on and we participate in more of them.
ReplyDeleteI think you need to look at this less as criticizing and more as being a second pair of eyes for the classroom teacher whose class you're observing. Maybe you'll see something that they haven't noticed, or it might be something that they can do differently. Remember, these teachers are aware of what we are doing and, from what we've been told, have been accepting of this idea. It's just important that you're honest, because in the end that will prove to be most helpful. I think we all understand, including the faculty at the school, that this is the real world, not a made for television movie. No classroom is going to be perfect, and there will always be things that can be done better. If, for instance, through these observations students not being actively engaged appears to be a common occurrence, I'm sure that will be discussed and they'll work to fix it. So, in the end I feel nothing but positive things can come from this.
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