Mr. Jeff Buszta
Tuesday - February 25, 2014
Period 1: Government class
8 students (initially - with about 6 latecomers)
Entering the room about five minutes after the bell, I notice Mr. Buszta's student tables are set up together to create one large table. This is a smart design because all learners can face each other for discussions. There are also a few tables arranged in the back of the room for a later class activity.
Mr. Buszta is sitting at the front of the table near his desk. Learning targets and other class information items are located on the front board behind him. Although I did not note the lesson's specific target, learners are using a hand out to discuss basic descriptors of the official branches of government.
Through the lecture, information is disseminated about term length rules, procedures and responsibilities of the House and Senate. Some fun anecdotal notes and interesting social/cultural facts are brought into the discussion (e.g., Dixiecrat, Strom Thurmond's biracial daughter).
Mr. Buszta injects a sense of humor during the talk to keep students involved. He also employs some questioning strategies to keep the lesson alive. Although some students are being disrespectful, he pushes on with the lesson.
Many students are arriving late with cell phones, talking, and other disruptions. Mr. Buszta is treating the students with patience and respect, some times allowing the chatter to die down by itself -- other times, firmly redirecting students to pay attention or put away phones.
After approximately 25 minutes, Mr. Buszta begins a new activity. Students are chosen for a role play activity, apparently in preparation for a mock congress session. The selected students are assigned a political party (Pepsi and Coke) and a role on the panel. Using their hand outs, the group brings the mock meeting to order.
Mr. Buszta playfully guides the panel through the basic process of taking witness testimony during a hearing. Learners not involved on the panel were left as audience members and became restless. To prevent these students from checking out, perhaps the groups could have switched places at some point. The final 10 minutes of class are spent practicing or watching the meeting procedure.
Over all, the lesson was simple, clear and enjoyable. Multiple strategies were used, including lecture, discussion and hands-on activity. Many learners seemed to understand the point of the lesson. I observed that some students were pleased to play these roles because it gave them a sense of power.
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Mr. Peter Elliott
Friday - February 28, 2014
Period 4
14 students
Mr. Elliott - lecturing from the front of the room on Ohm's Law. [The current through a conductor between two points is directly proportional to the potential difference across the two points.]
Today’s lesson is apparently part of an ongoing lesson on circuits, currents, amps, etc. Learners - sitting in groups at double tables. Groups are (initially) figuring out complex fraction calculations from a previous lesson. The counter-intuitive point is made that a low resistance resistor drains a battery faster than one of high resistance.
Learners offer various levels of resistance to the lesson. Some demonstrate a great resistance. Others are somewhat on board. Of course, the lower the resistance, the faster the drain – due to large current flows.
Lecture lasts about 20 minutes, then independent work begins. Pavlov’s famous dogs are mentioned – which is interesting since NSA students hear bells, but they do not toll for them.
Post lecture: “Look to your books and your partners – first – for answers.” Mr. Elliott - moving around, visiting tables. Learners receiving direct instruction and counseling from teacher.
I notice the disruptive, off-task students here are the same students who are off-task in the other classrooms. Behavior issues aside, the learner culture generally takes on a posture of low-energy. Even the students who know how to "do school" exhibit the qualities of reluctant learners -- this, despite the fact that they are extremely bright, connected, and with it.
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Ms. Brenda Corbin
Friday - February 28, 2014
Period 2
10 students
The walls are filled with bright, colorful, positive posters.
Chesks all facing the front board. There is a table toward the front entrance for newly assigned worksheets and papers. Past due worksheets are located in a cabinet at the back of the room.
For this lesson, approximately 10 students are working on a personal journal writing assignment. Ms. Corbin keeps a consistent weekly work schedule (Monday – online assignment, Tuesday – partner work, Friday - in-class "journal work"). Three of Ms. Corbin's classroom policies are worth noting in the context with school-wide policy:
Learners are permitted to use headphones during independent work times.
Challenging students may go into the vestibule area and work, if a "time out" is needed.
Student grades are publicly posted – by student number – so learners may see their current grades.
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Ms. Tina Schaefer
NAAC Visit
Wednesday - March 12, 2014
11 - 11:45
Ms. Shaefer's room is busy -- ending one class and starting another. It is 10th grade English. The students are enjoying themselves and relaxed in the atmosphere. When they get off track, Ms. Shaefer is quick to hold students accountable. When a learner referred to the teacher as "girl," she was corrected. When students would talk or get off-task, Ms. Shaefer would ask for respect. It is clear she holds her learners to high expectations in behavior and academics. Othello is the text being examined. The day's learning target seems to be:
I can use text evidence to support my thinking. It is impressive to hear students give specific answers about the text in their discussions. Ms. Shaefer has taped Othello quotes to the wall. Students are given the task to match quotes to speaker and give context. Being between classes, I did not actually see much of the activity, but it is a fun way to get students thinking in depth.
Ms. Shaefer has poseted a 4-Step Process:
1. Read the question
2. Answer the question
3. Provide text evidence to support your answer
4. Explain how your evidence supports your answer
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Mr. Jeff Buszta
Wednesday - March 12, 2014
12:30 - 1:00
Approximately 30 learners are holding a session of Mock Congress. Mr. Buszta directs from the back of the room. In the front of the room are tables and a speaker podium. Learners are holding a hearing on a breast cancer funds appropriation bill. One student is acting as a presiding officer with a mallet for a gavel. He seems reluctant to use the mallet to quell the chaos, but occasionally does. Many students are talking, laughing -- not paying attention to the proceedings. The purpose and structure of the mock session is not clear, but presumably the participants understand this procedure. Amidst the talking and chaos, one learner takes the stand to speak against the bill and uses some profanity (N-word). Once again, the issues of school culture and general school policies come into play. What language and behavior is acceptable/unacceptable -- and what is being done, school-wide, to support and enforce policy? It would be interesting to see these learners participate in actual "student council" meetings where such issues are directly addressed.
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Mr. Patrick Pelini
Patrick Henry High School
Friday - March 14, 2014
8:50 - 11:00
Mr. Pelini greets me between his first and second periods of the day. He is a gracious host, and he is impeccably dressed. Period 2 is longer than other class periods at Patrick Henry because it begins with 15 minutes of school-wide S.S.R. - Sustained Silent Reading. In the physical space, there are six rows of
chesks facing in to a center aisle. This arrangement absolutely makes the most sense, in that it is most democratic. It is the freest flow of energy. A cart on wheels is used to distribute notebooks. Well-stocked bookshelves and cabinets with boxes of books and magazines line the walls.
There are about 17 or 18 students in the culturally diverse (Southeast Asian and Black) classes. They have just finished reading Steinbeck's
Of Mice and Men. Now at issue: foreshadowing. A worksheet is guiding students to write an essay on examples of foreshadowing in Steinbeck's book. Mr. Pelini's learners are amazingly calm, quiet and disciplined. The teacher has clearly taken the time to develop a classroom culture of high expectations in both behavior and academics. The Learning Objective is posted on laminated paper at the front of the room. Its specificity is straight from the Common Core:
I can write arguments to support claims using
valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient EVIDENCE.
Of Mice and Men independent work assignment description:
40 points
25 points for writing correctness - "complete" and "correct sentences"
Write at least 8 sentences, starting with the Topic sentence, Detail Sentences (Are details
arranged in a way that makes sense?) and the Clincher Sentence. The writing must include transitions between details and at least two compound sentences.
Learners were calmly instructed to work independently and very, very quietly to complete the writing assignment. They were advised that the best work is carefully checked and thus takes time -- but that if they finished, to quietly do some other reading or schoolwork. This visitation was extremely valuable and rewarding because Mr. Pelini introduced me to his students and invited me to work with them and read their writing.
The quality of the writing of Mr. Pelini's students is very high.
Some student work showed a basic grammar mistake or two, but the content clearly established an overall classroom understanding of
foreshadowing. I am not sure how much time was spent on preparing for this assignment, but across the board, there was a high level of text analysis. One student wrote of the foreshadowing of a lost dream. It was an extremely sophisticated analysis.
Classroom
Rules
When the
bell rings:
1. Be in
your assigned seats
2. Have
your notebook and pen or pencil visible in front of you
3. Silently
begin doing the warm-up or reading for SSR
During Class:
4. Remain
in your seat unless given permission
5. Do not
touch others or others' things.
6 Be quiet
and listen when others speak
7. Talk
only about the subject of class
8. Still be
in your seat when the exit bell rings
Student
work is outstanding!
The writing
level of students is very high.
"Never rush . . . Check your
own work," Mr. Pelini advises. He calls attention to problematic compound
sentences and the importance of topic sentences. At the end of the class he asks his learners to agree that "this
was difficult." They readily agree. Mr. Pelini smiles and says, "But you did it! Do you agree that you you were able to do it?" As the bell rings and they head out the door, the students agree that they truly have accomplished something!
Wow.
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Postpone the scheduled South High visit to investigate the Socratic Seminar.
