¶ … Participation for Students Preconference

I would handle a preconference by initially asking the teacher who I am going to observe what the purpose of his lesson that day is. That way, I would be able to tailor the rest of my questions, and the sort of information that I am trying to gain, in such a way that they are aligned with his lesson. In the event that I was observing John Huber's Middle School English lesson, I would focus my learning process on how one can simultaneously teach the separate aspects of language arts in with one cohesive lesson plan. The different components of language arts including reading comprehension, composition, grammar and punctuation, and vocabulary. Therefore, I would impress upon the teacher that my overall purpose with this preconference is to determine how he is able to teach these various aspects of language arts comprehensively. I would want to make it clear that I am a graduate school student who is interested in teaching language arts, and that I want to ascertain the best way possible of doing so.

Another principal point of the pre-conference and its function is for me to learn how to best engage a group of students with subject matter and curriculum that was conceived well before they were, and which they might have difficulty applying to their own lives. I would emphasize to the teacher that it greatly appears to me that students that are engaged in the learning process benefit the most from it. Thus, I would tell him that part of my reason for choosing his classroom to observe is to understand how to captivate the attention of students who might not innately be able to relate to the particular curriculum that is targeted towards them. Additionally, I would also convey that there seems to be a component of classroom management that is related to engaging students, and that it is necessary to master one in order to leverage the other (and vice versa).

Most of all, however, I would seek to impart upon the teacher that what I am actually looking for is real-world examples of how to make the learning process memorable for students. I believe that it is necessary to get students to actually want to learn. As such, I would hope that the teacher's observation can help to give me a better idea how to make learning worthwhile for students from a variety of perspective. I would want them to think that learning is worthwhile because there is an element of fun that is able to engage them. I would also want them to feel well supported by an instructor, and to know that the instructor is actually contributing to their general edification.

In terms of providing real world examples of pedagogy, one of the more eminent points of interest that I hope to convey to the instructor is how valuable it will be for me to view the particular resources he has available for students. These do not only include basic resources such as textbooks or handouts. However, I would be interested in seeing, and learning how the instructor utilizes, various forms of audio visual elements to reinforce concepts relating to the lessons that he teaches. I would express that I would like to be able to build up my own knowledge of educational tools that can help to reinforce valuable concepts of grammar, composition, comprehension, and vocabulary. These tools effectively represent some of the real-world practical knowledge that I hope to obtain from my observation, and can represent some of the critical differences between exceptional teachers and mediocre ones.

Observation/Data Collection

How did the class start/end?

The class started with the instructor explaining the allegory assignment that the students are working on, which correlates to Animal Farm and the notion that allegories can impersonally or fictionally represent real life events. The class ended with a fervent discussion about the incorporation of religion in the aforementioned book.

List anything that you thought were 'wow' ... that were neat, cool, exciting, etc.

I was impressed by the visual tools the teacher had around the classroom. In particular, the color coded visual representation of various grammatical and punctuation concepts that was at the top of the whiteboard seemed particularly useful.

How was the teacher able to engage the students?

The teacher was able to engage the students by directing his questions -- pertaining to his lecture and lecutrue materials -- to individual students in a random fashion. Thus, the students...

Thus, as he went through this paper, he was able to discuss the various facets of Animal Farm that related to this assignment, asking students comprehension questions. He was also over to analyze the vocabulary, grammar and punctuation that students are responsible for as well, and to find opportunities to teach them the various aspects of these parts of language arts. Finally, he also evaluated the paper as a whole in terms of its structure and was able to teach aspects of introductions, supporting paragraphs, and conclusions as well.
Overall, what did the instructor do best?

The teacher seemed to have a natural affinity for engaging his students. That he was able to do so with a story that was written nearly a century beforehand showed his prowess in this aspect of teaching.

Post Conversation

Me: It seems as though one of the chief ways you were able to engage the students with the material was by having a roundtable discussion with them regarding the point of religion in the book Animal Farm. Did you purposefully try to reduce your role in it to engage them more?

Teacher: At that point in the lesson, the students had read through the material related to the discussion, worked through their analogies, and had interacted with the text in multiple ways. I've found that one of the ways that students can really internalize a piece of literature which they would not readily encounter in contemporary times such as Orwell's Animal Farm is by discussing one of the more controversial aspects of it. The notion of God and God's place in the lives of men and woman is something that even my young students have given consideration, despite their age. When a subject is this basic and important to people's lives, I can let the students navigate the conversation.

Me: I was particularly impressed with how thoughtful and considerate to one another's feelings that they were, which is not always possible for junior high school students. How did you manage that?

Teacher: Well, what you did not see was the formulation of our classroom rules which are placed in strategic places (he gestures about the room). Also, we spent a couple of sessions working on letting others finish before replying, and framing comments in a way that would not hurt or belittle anyone. Although these aspects were demonstrated during this conversation, they are vital facets of classroom management and are applicable throughout the rest of the session as well.

Me: I was intrigued by how you were also able to engage the students by the usage of analogy and having them write their own analogies of how parts of Animal Farm related to their lives.

Teacher: Again, it is best to utilize an approach that is as personal as possible, without offending anyone, when having students interact with distant time periods and pieces of literature that reflect them. Animal Farm, of course, is analogous to the Russian Revolution. So, by having the students read this text and relate it to an analogy that pertains to their own life, they are not only able to increase their vocabularies, but also interact with the text on a more personal level by applying one of its basic tenets to their own lives.

Me: In terms of having the students learn and reinforce their knowledge of facets of grammar and punctuation, how important is it to have them review or learn these concepts in the context of the literature they are studying as well?

Teacher: It is very important. Grammar and punctuation are the components of language arts that perhaps have the greatest tendency to bore students if they are taught isolated from other areas that are more accessible to students and their lives. Thus, I try to incorporate aspects of grammar and punctuation, such as the focus that you saw in which we worked on direct clauses, in virtually whatever other part of language arts that I'm teaching: whether that's reading comprehension, composition, or even vocabulary. Though to be honest, vocabulary is another part of language arts that works well when taught as an addendum to comprehension and composition.