Observation Day went well. I was a little under the weather but that didn't stop the pencil from moving! :)
When I walked in the classroom I seen at least 8 unfamiliar faces. The room was filled with students observing or interacting with the children. The some children were wild and flipping for attention, while others set still and were more observed then usual.
The teacher began group time by playing music to gather the children. Once everyone were in a circle she played her cd of audio reading. The children were attentive for the first three minutes. Then one of the students that were able to interact, joined the floor with the children. One after another they all leaped on her to sit in her lap or on the side of her. The 2 children that didn't get to sit close to the lady student got up and wondered the room. While trying to be directed back to the floor the entire group lost focused on the story and the room was chaotic.
Child: Can I play with the blocks
Teacher: No, we're about to have snack
Child: But I don't won't snack
Teacher walks away and prepares snack.
The daily routine is great but due to the high number of student observes in the classroom i think the routine could have been changed a little. With at least 5-6 students being able to interact, the teacher could have executed this day a lot better. I would have paired the children off with the 'interaction students' and had them follow their child to each activity table. Allowing for adult/child interaction for question expansion for the child's cognitive development, calming the children to the unstable environment of adults out numbering the students, and assuring the interaction students as well as the observing student being able to gain their need information.
Hi Terri,
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you were under the weather. It's that time of year when everyone seems to be getting sick. Was it our normal observation date? I know when I had to reschedule my observation on a different day there were a lot of unfamiliar faces to me as well. It is entertaining to see children when they have their minds made up that they want to do something. I dislike the audio book recordings I think that they do not allow children to interact with the story and each other.
Hi Terri:
ReplyDeleteDrink hot tea. Green tea if you can, or any hot drink. It's that time of year. Most of the classrooms, in fact all of the classrooms I work in are closed up tight and the heat is on. Perfect incubator for germs. And half the kids are sick but get sent to school anyway.
I'm glad you brought up the topic of circle time in this class because it's always been something I dread when I'm subbing, which has a lot to do with it of course--I'm not the regular teacher so it's "party time!". But I still see other teachers struggling to get a group focused, quiet and paying attention for just short periods of time--and all you hear is the teaching talking: "sit here, no touching, criss cross..etc," which isn't good.
I don't know what the answer is. The audio books are fine if you don't overdo them. I think your suggestion about having the adults "infiltrate" the ranks is a good idea. It's probably against LBCC policy--maybe not, but I've been asked to just sit next to certain "active" kids during quiet, circle time--and it helps.
We are creatures of habit, and children are especially so. Having their routine changed even slightly sets them off. Keeping the same pattern of activities and times they happen is a good thing for sure, but not always possible, especially in the situation you described with all the observers.
Hi Terri!
ReplyDeleteIm glad to hear that you were able to still observe because I know that when I am feeling sick I dread having to sit in a room for four hours without my coffee to keep me up. I still do it, but I bet my observations are not as great as they could be.
I was a little upset when I read that the teacher played a tape to go with the story, honestly, how hard is it to read a story to the children. I have never liked playing audio tapes for reading time. But hey, to each their own.
I think there was a big problem when she had circle time, either the audio was pretty lame for the children or the children were not ready or relaxed enough to participate in circle time at that specific time because lets face it, its not the favorite activity for every child to sit and listen to a story, some children just prefer to pick their own book and flip through the pages.