Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Field Observations

For my field observation, I focused on two students who I concluded had very different demeanors while in class. Whether or not they learn the content is still not completely clear however, I feel that deductions can be made. One of two students always stays on task during class hours, during PAWS (a 30 minute period during the day where students are able to seek help from a teacher from another class, work on homework from another class or silently read) I see that Esteban* works on assignments due for the current class or reads silently. Overall, Esteban has not spoken outloud during class, he does not volunteer answers but will answer if spoken to. Typically he works by himself and does not ask for assistance on his work. If asked about his progress, he quickly shows his work as evidence and states that he's doing just fine. The assignments given to students are clearly stated each day and therefore each student are expected to complete each task and therefore hopefully "learn" the material. For Esteban, the eye contact he makes with the instructor and also the notes he takes during class are evidence to me that he his learning. However, if that is not enough, his quiz scores also reflect some kind of knowledge absorption. Yet, the material so far could have been prior knowledge for Esteban and therefore would explain his success on the quiz and would not correctly assess whether or not he has learned anything "new".

The second student I observed has quite the opposite demeanor than Esteban. ChiChi hardly pays attention during class, in fact she talks quite a bit even during lectures. She writes down everything written on the board but hardly maintains eye contact with the instructor. When she asks for help, she needs to be led and she continues to have repeating questions. She makes conversation with the people around her and heckles other students who are across the room. I can't be certian that ChiChi has not learned anything in the class because I have seen her complete some of her assignments and also help her friend with some of the material presented in class however, her quiz scores reflect otherwise. If she is not chatting, I see her eyes wondering through out the room. I feel that she has the ability to complete all the assignments however, it appears that she may lack enthusiasm or motivation for the subject. (This is not an observation, merely an opinion in this case.)

1 comment:

  1. I agree that really getting a handle on individual student learning, during instruction, is a challenge. Howver, I think it's probably the most powerful thing you can do. You probably asked your CT about the two students--what is his feeling, and what is he going on? I look forward to our conversations!

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