Textbooks: to Use or not to Use

On my last visit to school, I observed a Geometry class and an Algebra I B class and was there for two and a half hours. While there, I was discussing textbooks with my teacher since I was asking him for suggestions for planning my lesson to teach. He told me that he tells his students to take their textbooks home and leave them there; in other words, the students are to use the textbooks as extra resources. In his classroom, he has several different kinds of textbooks for the classes he teaches. He showed me a workbook that came with one of the books and told me that he doesn't use it for any of his classes except for one because that class is very textbook dependent and they begged him to use a textbook.

This issue raises an important question. I think that teachers should not let the textbook dominate their teaching, but what do you do if your students are dependent on them? I really don't think that making them go completely without a textbook in one class when they're used to having one is the best thing to do. I like the idea of having students use textbooks as an extra resource rather than as the main tool of instruction. After studying about vocabulary in class, I think textbooks could be useful to have students look up the technical definitions of words and as sources for some problems. Other than that, I think I might have students only use it more if they want to do so. I had a teacher who required us to read the textbook the night before and take notes on it and used that as our main form of instruction. I definitely don't think that is the most effective way to use textbooks unless you give students some sort of training on how to read textbooks and get the most out of them.

In general, I have learned from all this that my views of how textbooks should be used might be different from the students' views of how they should be used. Thus, I will need to find a happy medium for which I am satisfied and they can best learn. I know for sure though that I will probably use the textbook as a resource, but not as my main tool for planning lessons. I think that there are so many resources available that it would be a shame to only use the textbook.

Effectiveness of Technology Depends on the Teacher

I was at school today for two and a half hours, observing students before school for about 20 minutes, Geometry CP for an hour and 35 minutes, and Algebra I B for 35 minutes. During the Geometry class, the students used laptops to complete a project on Geometer's Sketchpad. There was such a difference between the behavior of my teacher's students and the students I observed using the laptop last week. At the beginning of the class, Mr. Delaney told his students that if he saw them working on anything other than their project, they would not be allowed to use computers for the rest of the year. Since they use computers once a week, that would be a huge loss of privileges. The students were on task and working hard for the entire period. Another thing I noticed is that he has his students put their work into portfolios: both electronic and paper. I thought this was a very good application of what we talked about in class. Mr. Delaney encouraged his students to work at their own pace and told them that he offers extra projects for extra credit at the end of the year. I like that idea a lot because it rewards students for working quickly rather than punishing them in the form of giving them extra work without rewarding them for it.

Observing class today was very encouraging to me because I saw that is is possible to have a classroom full of students working on computers and staying on task the entire time. After I observed the class full of students not doing their work when there were two teachers in there last week, I was very discouraged and wondered if it was possible to have that many students doing what they are supposed to be doing. After observing today, I felt hopeful that I could have students working diligently on their assignment. I learned today that it is important to clearly state your expectations in the beginning so students know what they are supposed to be doing. Also, Mr. Delaney treated his students like adults in the sense that he only once told them to remain on task and then trusted them to do what they were supposed to be doing. I will apply this to my classroom by clearly stating my expectations in the beginning to make it easier for my students to succeed. I want my students to know that I trust them because then they will be more likely to do what they are supposed to do. I also want to have confidence in incorporating technology in my classroom and get my students actively involved.

Productive Classrooms

On Tuesday, my teacher had me observe another teacher because his class had a test. I was at school for two hours, observing the time students were waiting in the cafeteria before school and observing an Algebra I A class with Mr. B that lasted an hour and thirty-five minutes. His class was taking a pretest to assess their prior knowledge of topics in Algebra on individual laptops and then were going through lessons on multiplication, addition, subtraction, and whole numbers on the laptops when they were through with the pretest. There was an inclusion teacher in the classroom named Dr. L who works with Mr. B to allow the special education students to be able to keep up with the rest of the class. So there were two teacher in the classroom for about sixteen students.

First of all, Carolina High School is very strict on not allowing students to be in the hallways during class. As a result, Mr. Delaney (my mentor teacher) absolutely will not allow his students to go to the restroom during class. However, Mr. B had students who just got up from their seats and walked out of the door without even saying anything to him. During the course of the class, three different students did this--some of whom were gone for at least ten minutes. There was also one student who was talking to a student across the classroom and wandering around the classroom for over half of the period, barely getting any work done. There were a couple students who had closed their laptops and were not doing any work at all. Another was playing a pinball game. I tried to encourage individual students to get back on task by telling them that they were doing a good job on their work or telling them that they could do it, but that didn't help. There was one student who came into class late (because of testing) when there were about fifteen minutes left, but neither teacher set up her up to at least some of the work. During the entire class, neither of the teachers asked the students to get back on task more than once or twice. There were probably only a few students out of the entire class that stayed on task the entire period.

I definitely learned a lot from this experience. Mr. Delaney's students are much more focused and well-behaved. He addresses problems when they arise and doesn't let students get away with things, while the other teachers I have observed use the method of trying to simply ignore the problem. From these observations, I have learned the importance of establishing an atmosphere in which students feel like they are expected to be productive and to stay on task when they are given a some independence in their work. I will remember these experiences when I have my own classroom to remember that it is important to not ignore every problem, hoping that it will take care of itself. From the beginning, I will be clear with my students that I expect them to learn in my class and to be on task. I will make sure that it is clear that I will not tolerate students not doing work during class and to explain the importance of everyone participating and taking an active role in their learning.

Latest Visit

I went this past Thursday to observe again, and when I got there my teacher told me that his daughter was having a baby and that he had to leave half way through the class. I talked briefly with my teacher about what they would be covering and then observed an hour and a half of class. For the first half of the class, he went over questions from the homework and covered some new material about polygons and labeling them. He has a promethium board in his classroom that he always uses, and any time he covers new material he leaves blanks that he has the students complete. It is interesting to see that he will ask for someone to go write the answer and usually more than one person gets up from their seat to go write on the board. His students love it and know how to use it very well. I think it is a good thing to have in the classroom and hope to be able to have one or at least to get my students to get up and move (like we talk about in class) and to engage them in this way. Mr. Delaney is very good at this, and his students are usually well behaved and attentive.
Half way through the class, he left and Mr. Mac, whom I observed for homeroom the first day, came in the classroom. Before when I observed him, Mr. Mac never once asked the students to stop talking while hew as talking. He didn't seem to actively engage the students at all. This time, the students were working on a worksheet of word problems that they were allowed to complete together. I walked around the classroom and would answer questions when students asked them. I helped the students break down the problems and look at them piece by piece so that they were easier to understand. I even got to look at some students' work and help them correct it. Mr. Mac walked around and helped some, but he sat in a desk for a while too. There were several students who were talking across the classroom and not doing their work, but he never asked them to stay on task. I would try to ask specific students to help us with a problem, but that didn't really work. I felt frustrated because I don't really have any authority, so I couldn't really say anything to the class about their behavior. Finally, when there were two minutes left in class, Mr. Mac told the students that their teacher doesn't like the noise level to be very high and that they were exceed it. That's all he said to them. I can surely say that I am learning of teaching and classroom management methods that are not the most effective. So, it actually is helpful to observe other teachers and take note of what does and doesn't work.