Field experience: Application of curriculum
Public School 10th Grade Classroom | 09/12/2008 | 2 hours |
Present: Teacher, 20+
students, myself
I had the opportunity to observe the application of the curriculum developed by a teacher who I worked with earlier in the Curriculum course. I sat in the back of the class watching the teacher bring to life a lesson on concise writing. The class is focused on Journalistic writing for 10th grade honors students. This particular lesson was not one the teacher had taught before though the course in itself has been developed and taught by the teacher many times before. It was interesting watching the teacher follow a curriculum that had been developed by him.
My main observations were as follows:
The teacher knew the students and leveraged their relationship in setting a calm, casual and respectful environment in the class. He did this by addressing all students by their names, talking to them about activities they did outside the class and calling on them only in contexts that were appropriate for them. He also never forced a student to respond.
With the tone of the classroom set, the teacher started the class with a personal story that included elements the students were familiar with. This set the premise and significance of the lesson. It also helped get the students' attention and bring them together into the learning space. They all laughed together at the end of the story. This I consider as being important to breaking the ice, especially at the start of the year.
The lesson itself was delivered by giving the students a hand-out that had the entire lesson on it including explanations and practice questions. The teacher delivered the lesson by leading the class through the hand-out. It wasn't formulaic or boring like it might sound. The teacher paused to explain other related concepts and cracked jokes. The class naturally and easily chimed in where appropriate. The hand-out helped keep everyone on the same page, literally.
Each new conceptual explanation was supported by expert opinion and evidence from expert writing. This made the lesson credible in addition to the teacher's own experience.
Each new conceptual explanation was followed by a set of questions that allowed students to practice the concept. Students worked on the questions and then shared their answers. The teacher also worked on the answers and periodically shared his answers. There were no right answers, just answers of different quality and characteristics.
The teacher made sure to call on each student in the classroom so all felt included.
There was a tremendous ease about the teacher because of the self-designed nature of the curriculum. I cannot imagine this would be the case with a stock, standardized curriculum.
The content of the curriculum was familiar to the students, taken from the local school paper. This again couldn't have been done with a stock, standardized curriculum.
What could have been better? Possibly, some amount of self-reflection that helped students internalize the significance of concise writing. The teacher did this to a degree but not in any focused manner. That said, I think the point of the lesson was well understood by students.
I appreciate having had the opportunity to see this curriculum developed and applied. It has brought alive the significance of a teacher designed curriculum and the impact that can have on teaching and stduent learning.