Teacher Observation: Biology

Today I thoughtfully watched my Biology mentor teacher (MI) as she taught our students about plant nutrition. Now that I know MI a bit better, I was excited to pay attention to the details of her teaching style with some teaching experience under my belt.

Students were expected to participate in the routine warm-up (projected on the Smart Board) as they entered the classroom. MI then took some time to go through the warm-up by asking for volunteer answers. She wrote the answers that students supplied by the corresponding questions on the SmartBoard.  A variety of students answered from high achievers to not so high achievers. Then she moved on to the "main course" of the day which was a few notes and then a handout the students worked through. MI is really good about creating a fun and relaxed atmosphere for students while still expecting all eyes to be on her and for students to be quiet while others are talking. I have seen her use other questioning techniques such as popsicle sticks, etc. but today she must have felt alternative questioning techniques unnecessary.

From my observations, I find that MI uses several different techniques for classroom management. She definitely expects students to be quiet while others are talking and enforces this by standing by chatting students and shushing those who are speaking. She also frequently stamps off on student homework which allows her to interact with students one on one frequently. Another strategy she often employs is lots of time for students to talk with each other. MI gives students chances to talk with each other during notes, while they work on handouts and at many other times during the day. Not only is this a classroom management technique, (giving students time to speak and communicate as they want to) but also an instructional strategy so students are speaking, listening and writing the material they are learning. I have also noticed that MI rarely utilizes closing activities. It may be a stretch to categorize the lack of closers as an instructional technique,  but this seems to be instructionally relevant because the lessons often build off of one another and therefore a closer activity in between lessons wouldn't necessarily make sense. She encourages students to work up to the bell and many students will. Some won't, but that will always be a constant battle. Overall, I find MI to be a very well-rounded teacher using questioning techniques and technology to her benefit and having a hold on the classroom as a whole. I enjoy working with her and expect to learn a lot about myself and the workings of a successful classroom from this obviously successful biology teacher.