Reflections in Terms of Education (Questions and Answers)

Education Questions

1. Your own observations, experiences and/or memories, characterize the "classroom reality" of one class that have been observed. What type of powers were used? How was the language? What was the expectation that set the tone for the class?

The 'classroom reality' I have seen is characterized by a general power of authority due to a combination of experience and discipline. The teacher was educated and considerably experienced, and was able to provide a classroom environment that involved quality interaction and respect for the instructor. The language used in the classroom was very basic, with the students generally mindful of class rules and organization. Observing the teacher-student interactions and behavior of students as they worked, there was a good understanding of expectations and coordination of activities. Students were aware of what they were supposed to do, and the teacher ensured that no confusions remained as the class transferred between activities. The teacher tried to use a language that was simplified as new concepts were introduced, providing a good example of concept-building. Students were reminded of concepts learned throughout the year, and how the concepts newly introduced applied to these concepts. The teacher maintained the power of activity selection and controlling behaviors in the class, with students communicating too loudly or apparently deviating too far from the coursework reminded to stay on task.

From these observations, the extent that teachers and administrators play a role in the nature of classroom reality was evident. The classroom environment was established through a combination of a strategically designed curriculum (including a wide range of activities to be completed throughout the day) and resources allocated to the classroom. The students seemed to be operating efficiently and effectively, self-guided with the teacher available for assistance as needed. The classroom reality appeared to be exemplary for traditional classroom environments, as the students seemed more engaged and more effectively processing information in comparison to the average lecture-based course.

2. Your own observations, experiences and/or memories characterize the usage of cooperative learning in schools that you have observed. Is it used in a meaningful way? Is it used often? What suggestions would you offer the teachers that you have seen using it?

I have seen cooperative learning used in a series of group exercises and activities. Sometimes this involves students pairing up for certain types of work, and other times it involves groups getting together to make decisions regarding some type of conceptual development or demand for organization. This approach to learning seems effective for multiple reasons, as it allows students to engage with each other as they seek solutions in a teamwork environment. This promotes their capacity to work effectively in teams, improving communication skills alongside the applications of activities to the concepts taught in the course.

The most meaningful ways I have seen it used involved pairs or small groups where the students were to accomplish objectives together. Activities have ranged from city planning to conflict resolution, and the meaningfulness of the exercises was optimized whenever students were requested to present their final results to the class. These opportunities had the students working in groups using both individual research skills and teamwork skills, and combining this with presentations seemed to facilitate the highest levels of interaction amid a diversity of cognitive exercises; these opportunities were richer learning experiences compared to the traditional teacher-led presentations or even many of the question and answering sessions. The frequency of these types of learning exercises was too infrequent to optimize the benefits that were received from them, used only four to six times per full-year courses and two or three times in a half year course. It appears that the students would benefit most from having some type of cooperative learning exercise one or two times per week. I would suggest that students participate in a cooperative learning exercise that involves some kind of group presentation at least once per two weeks, and participate in some type of cooperative learning exercise (even if it is short and does not involve any kind of presentation) at least once weekly.

3. Think about this. Try to react to something that you have observed in the past days or weeks that has significantly affected you. Elaborate.

A child at an elementary school near my hometown set a fire in a bathroom, causing a substantial amount of damage, and requiring that the school be evacuated. This affected the students, faculty, and myself, as the community was shocked that a student would do such a thing. Apparently the child had managed to get ahold of a lighter, and lit some paper on fire in the bathroom trash can. The flames caused damage to the bathroom, while the amount of smoke generated caused damage throughout the building. The school was closed for two or three days, and parents across the community were wondering both how the child got ahold of a lighter and what would motivate someone of such a young age to cause that kind of damage. Someone I work with assumed that the child must be very bored to cause that kind of problem, while others assumed that the child may be seeking attention (to feel 'cool' from doing such a thing while gaining a sort of respect from peers, or feeling that negative attention from authority figures is better than no attention).

I personally hoped that the student was acting in a light hearted manner without actually trying to cause significant damage to the school, acting as sort of a 'Bart Simpson' character, rather than being a developing psychopath. I am continually affected by this as now I am concerned that such an incident, or a worse one, could happen at any school which I have some connection to. Fortunately, no shootings have occurred at any school that I have a connection to, but the frequency of such events combined with an elementary school student causing a school to be closed for multiple days has made me more mindful of such possibilities.

4. Your own observations, experiences and/or memories characterize the use of student testing that you observe taking place. Are the testing methods matched to the instructional targets? Are students well served by the testing being used?

The testing I have observed has seemed fairly matched to the instructional targets. The areas covered in the testing are relevant to the curriculum and what the students are expected to know. As the methods of assessment and predictors of results have seemed fairly accurate, the students have appeared to be well served by the testing used. Some tests have effectively measured the performance and capacities of students, which are in turn used to measure their strengths and weaknesses for the optimization of future activities. General testing that have followed traditional best practices have seemed generally fair for measuring student performance and ability, with the grading systems used for these contributing to an accurate representation of student learning and effort. Some partial credit systems which I am aware of could be improved, as I have observed students getting the majority of a problem correct (or even fully correct), with insufficient partial credit (according to the stated system) not being provided due to minor errors (or uses of techniques not provided in lectures). This can be particularly problematic if a student is well aware of the core concepts and demand to apply methods, but is not even passing the course without due credit being provided. This needs to be improved when it is an issue, while another area that is in need of change are tests which 'expand' upon concepts for brand new material in testing. This seems to be coming more common in science and math-based courses, where students are taught straight out of textbooks throughout the duration of pre-test lectures, then problems with completely new designs demanding unique approaches are provided on tests. Students should not be graded on their ability to apply new methods and concepts 'on the spot' after they are simply taught how to interpret textbooks; such methods do not serve students.

5. Your own observations, experiences and/or memories characterize what you see as the types of teaching methods taking place in schools. What are your reactions to these methods of teachings in school? What would you do differently if you were the teacher?

The overwhelming majority of my observations of teaching methods in schools have been the observations of traditional lecture-based teaching, with teachers using chalkboards, dry erase boards, or overhead projectors to provide students with information. It seems that these are not ideal methods to use with students on such a regular basis. Students appear to learn better from teaching methods that are more engaging, or at least involve materials aside from the book readings. Many lectures commonly involve teachers simply reading the book to students, or otherwise reviewing concepts they can read themselves. Book reading is commonly assigned, and it appears that students commonly choose to either not read the book, pay little attention in class, or both amid this teaching method. Changes should be implemented when such problems exist, especially when the teachers are testing on concepts which are not taught in the class. As explained above, some classes test on students' creative abilities to make conceptual applications, and this new use of concepts amid the stress of the testing situation is sometimes used as the basis of a student's grade. In these classes, more importantly than others, the teaching style needs to be changed in order to better serve the students. Students should be assigned to read the required parts of books, they should be requested to assert understanding or reveal confusion regarding any topic, and should be engaged in teaching methods more frequently than they commonly are. This does not demand that students necessarily be involved in group exercises for the majority or even half of all lectures, but the teachers should be more engaged with students; here, they could discuss new applications of the reading material, ensure there is no confusion, or conduct engaging exercises.

6. Bring to mind a student that you seem to have difficulty understanding and/or relating to, then one for whom you seem to have a natural affinity. Do you think learning style has something to do with how well you relate to each of these students? If so, what implications does that have for your teaching?

Learning style may very well have something to do with how well people relate to students, and this appears to have legitimate potential for how I perceive the students 'Eric' and 'James.' Eric appears to be a hard worker and good communicator, but often appears stressed and uncomfortable when working diligently. This seems to affect those working with him, but Eric overall is a relatively high achiever and commendable for his efforts. On the other hand, James is a decent communicator with an average work ethic. He appears more relaxed and easy to work with, but his independent levels of achievement appeared to be lower than those of Eric. James appears to thrive better from truly independent projects, where other people are less likely to 'get in his way,' but he does not appear to get in the way of others either. Eric has a potential to slow other people down amid control issues and a more independent mind frame, which could be ideal in group environments if the other individuals had a low capacity for independent achievement. These two people appear to benefit from different learning styles, with James more likely to learn quickly from simply reading the materials himself, and Eric preferring to have a better awareness of the emphasis or relevance of the topic as conveyed by the teacher. James appears to have more attention issues than Eric, but Eric appears to be more easily stressed in basic academic duties. If I were teaching such students, I would ensure that there was a balance of teacher-led information channeling and engagement, so that students could have a more balanced time learning from their teacher as well as independently.

7. Select one class from your observations, experiences and/or memories, and test how well the teacher did in meeting the student's needs. Did the pedagogy promote internal locus of control, a sense of acceptance and belonging, and a mastery orientation?

Selecting a class from memories, in a lecture based course with between 15 and 20 students, the teacher provided an improvement over the prior teacher in addressing many key areas. The course had previously been taught by an individual that would effectively write the book on a chalkboard as his lectures, and then provide brand new materials on the tests. Many students failed his course, and were forced to repeat it. Two years prior to the course examined, he failed approximately two thirds of his class, refusing to 'curve,' while he failed approximately half of the class in the following year. While he still refused to curve, the dean was willing to change F grades to W (withdrawal) grades, and the professor ended up deciding to leave the university. The now ex-professor argued that he would also not mind providing all A grades to the students, if they were able to earn them, but compared his course to MIT lectures. The new professor provided a course that was on par with the difficulty of prior courses, ensuring that he did not provide a 'weed out' course which coaxed students to change majors well into the program. His replacement provided a course that was more engaging in the lectures, and although the testing involved new applications, there was a manageable partial credit system; fewer students failed as a result of this. This premise created a better sense of belonging while facilitating improved internal loci of control, as well as mastery orientation. The latter was more facilitated by the tests than the lectures, and future courses should ensure that students become more familiar with such experimental attempts without their course grades depending on it.

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