Author Archives: Shakiba Rahmani

Questions to explore:

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As I observed the class this week, many questions came to mind. After recess, two friends began to cry over a sweater. One thought the other person had stolen her sweater after seeing her wear it and demanded that she give it back. The person wearing it refused to take it off because she fully believed it was hers. However, the other girl believed she left it at her house after a sleepover. As it turns out they both had the same sweater. I observed the teacher handle the situation and I wondered if it was possible to prevent this type of situation from happening again. The teacher had to skip her lunch break to call the parents of the students to find out if they each had the sweater or not. She also had to take the student out one at a time and speak with them. Would it be possible to speak to them at the same time even though they were both very sensitive at that time? Is there a way that we can help students step away from forming assumptions and accusations?  At this age, students are beginning to form accusations and don’t fully grasp the idea of perspective taking. Although this is important for all age groups, this class in particular is in desperate need of understanding others point of view. This is a topic that I would love to further explore and find new and creative ways to help students with these issues. This ties in greatly with SEL as well as it helps them manage their emotions and have respect for others.

There is this one student who has a very difficult time following instructions or paying attention. He is a bright student who enjoys participating in class discussions and always has a brilliant idea to share with the class. He can read, write and spell accurately and in accordance to his grade level, but when it comes to following instructions and doing work, he has a difficult time following through. He does have an Education Assistant that sometimes helps him stay focused but I wonder what other ways we can motivate him and other students with similar difficulties to do their work and stay on task. I was trying really hard to get his attention during a library session and I stood beside him and called out his name approximately 10 times or more and he did not reply or even look towards me. He continued talking to his group members and pretended that I was not there. It was hard to believe that he wouldn’t respond to me calling his name even though I was 10 centimetres away from him. I am hoping to get to know him better and find different strategies to get his attention. He is very talkative and very good at expressing his emotions through words—so it’s difficult to know how to motivate him.

Another question I have involves how to be more inclusive of students who have learning disabilities or are antisocial in the classroom. How can we ensure their voices are being heard and their presence is being appreciated and welcomed in the classroom? When students are at such a young age and are still learning about empathy, how can we ensure that they respect every student in the class regardless of culture, ability, and colour? Although many strategies are being implemented on a daily basis for students, I find that one or two students are continuously being isolated and usually work with their Education Assistant while others are working in partners. This student with an EA is fully capable of working with other students (with supervision from their EA) but for some reason, the student is not allowed to participate in cooperative learning like their peers.

I am looking forward to developing more questions as I further observe the classroom during the next two weeks!

 

Observation Week Three:

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Today I spent the entire day at a grade three class which will also be the class that I will be teaching for my practicum. Although they are difficult to manage, I really enjoyed observing that class and I look forward to getting to know the students and learning more about the classroom community. We went to the computer lab in the morning and the students were playing a game to help them learn currency for math. The students really enjoyed the game and I felt useful going around and helping the students with their work instead of just observing. I think the students are starting to realize that I am going to be with them for a while as a teacher and are beginning to see me as an authority figure. A few students asked me if they could be given permission to use the washroom or drink water instead of asking their regular teacher. To be honest, that was the highlight of my day because I was afraid that the students wouldn’t see me as a teacher and would not treat me like one so I felt a sense of relief after being treated in that manner.

We went down to the library after recess. Before students were allowed to look for library books, I was very impressed at how the librarian/educator was able to teach the students about appropriate behavior in the library through inquiry. At first she mentioned that she was really proud of how the class had behaved during their last visit in the library but however, some important behaviors were still missing. Then she asked if the students could tell her what those behaviors were and they responded with “being more quieter” or “not running around” or “sitting down in a line after borrowing a book as to not disrupt other people who are still searching for books” which were all true and honest responses. The educator was able to make the students think about their own behaviors rather than telling them herself so that they could understand it, internalize it and perhaps change it on their own. After she discussed this, she asked if the students think they could use those behaviors during this visit. She asked them to raise their thumbs if they are going to do that this time so that they could all be well prepared for lunch. To my amazement, all the students raised one or two thumbs in order to portray their approval of the behaviors that were discussed.

I think classroom management is crucial for any primary grades. It will be very difficult I witnessed to help students learn if they are not able to pay attention due to distraction and other factors. It’s very important to make sure they are attentive and listening respectfully while a lesson is being taught if an educator intends for them to obtain information. While the students were participating in show and tell, the educator thought it would be a good idea to allow the students to pass around the object that their classmate just presented so that everyone got a chance to look at it up close. However, soon after the first object was being passed around, all of us realized that it was a very bad idea. They were so intrigued by that one item, and would not stop talking about it with their classmate next to them that it was impossible to get them to listen to the next presenter or pay attention at all. One student had to restart his presentation three times before anyone actually payed attention. The teacher decided to get all the presenters to put their objects away as soon as they were done so that the class could respectfully listen to the next presenter. Although we did not know what to expect the first time, it was nice to see how the educator was able to handle and transform that chaotic situation into a calmer one by being flexible and changing up the rules. Many of the signals, words, and gestures that we had learned in our inquiry and practicum class were used to get the students attention. It was amazing to see it in practice and witness its magic. The educator used the clapping hand gesture, where she would clap a rhythm and the students would clap the same rhythm back while simultaneously settling down. The “pregnant pause” was also implemented quite a few times when it was nearly impossible to get the students’ attention. This was usually done when the educator was standing in front of the class and waiting patiently for the students to notice her and settle down. This was most common while the educator was trying to transition from one lesson to another which is sometimes difficult for primary students. Using “ssshhh” and “quiet down everybody” were also other ways to grab their attention.

Second School Visit:

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In my second school visit, I observed teachers based on how they scaffold students and what type of questions they ask their students.  Before starting a lesson, the teacher would ask the students if they have heard about the topic before and to name any words that may be associated with the topic. For example, they were learning about energy and the teacher asked them to recall what they already know about this topic. The teacher also asked them to look at the picture and to look at the caption and title to get some ideas about the topic.  After the students would look at the picture, the teacher would use scaffolding techniques such as “I am wondering how this picture has anything to do with the topic, what are your wonderings?” This way students would feel the need to think about a wondering and say it out loud. The teacher would also repeat the students’ responses in order for everyone to hear it and to ponder about it. When the students were not on task or their hands were not on the table, the teacher would ask them “why” instead of directly demanding them to listen.

For younger students, the teachers would ask them if they “remember” doing an activity and insuring that everyone understands and then moving on to the activity. Other scaffolding questions asked were “Is that true?” or “Does that make sense?” To help understand empathy and sympathy the teachers would ask “You wouldn’t appreciate that would you?” or “You would be upset, wouldn’t you?” The teacher would also express emotions such as “that makes me sad” to help students understand that even teachers could feel sad after reading a sad story or watching a sad video.  To help motivate them to participate and to give them some autonomy and choice, the teachers would ask students “Do you think you can do that?” Some other questions used to scaffold students learning were: “What do you think will happen?”, “Can you take a guess?” and “Can you think of one reason this would happen?”

I successfully acquired a lot of really good ideas on what types of questions to ask students while observing the teachers. I noticed how helpful those questions were for the students and really helped them to think critically and pay attention. It also helped them inquire about the topic and use their imagination. I am glad I was able to witness that and cannot wait to apply it in the future.