February 23, 2007

Today I administered the pre-assessments to the class and then observed for the rest of the period. I administered it twice and was much better the second time about explaining what a pre-assessment was. The teacher wanted me to explain it showing that they were not use to this format in the classroom. Some of the students felt stressed for time and about not knowing the answers. After certain students were finished with their tests, the teacher had them bring her the test to check it over. She only did this with some of the students which I found interesting. She was definitely more curious about certain students. One student in particular that she picked out has some discipline problems, but is also very bright. After she looked it over she made a sign to him to show he was 'sharp as a whip'. The student beamed in reaction to this. She is tough on this individual, but also encourages him more than other students as well. I think the praise has obvious positive effects on this student, but I was nervous that the selecting of certain papers would single students out and make others feel not as important. The teacher does have a very good and respectful relationship with the students where she cares for each one, so I would not be surprised if she did this periodically with every student.
After the administering, she had them study in groups for their own quiz on the Southwest. She talked them through their notes and then had them take a quiz. She keeps the class very informal. The questions were written on the board and they had to write the four states and their capitals and then name two interesting facts about the Hoover Dam, Monument Valley, and Phoenix. I am not sure how these were graded, but I got the feeling that these grades were useful for her decisions, but would not be graded harshly or carry much weight.
She has created a very democratic like classroom where the students feel they can be the teachers as well. After the quiz, she allowed two students to come up and share the geography trivia quiz they had made for the class. Many of the students were very involved, but others drifted off. I like how she enables the students to take over, but should have monitored the class participation and length of the game.