GEOL 401

You are to spend at least 50-60 clock hours observing in the school to which you have been assigned (most students spend closer to double that). For this experience to work well, you need to spread your experience through the semester. This allows you to gain a better understanding about how the teacher alters instruction over the course of the term and as the class progresses. For example, one day a week ends up being 105 hours by the end of the semester! At the same time, your perspective will also be maturing through your observation activities and your experience in the methods class.

Journal

Starting in GEOL 401 you will start keeping your observation logs in an electronic journal. If your prefer writing notes by hand in he classroom, then you may scan these notes into your electronic journal but your comments on these initial notes should be written using a word processor. (Accepted file formats include:  .doc, .pdf, .rtf, .txt or html.) Start with answers to the questions posed below, but include your thoughts and reflections on the facts you learn, the ideas you generate, the conclusions you draw, and the professional changes you perceive in yourself over the course of the semester.

You are to familiarize yourself with the Illinois Learning Standards and the Illinois Area Content Standards and use these where appropriate in addressing the questions (particularly #5 & 6). The journal is to be submitted by Dec. 9  as a component of your portfolio on cd.

It is recommended that you discuss these questions with your cooperating teacher and others in your building as the opportunity arises.

If you wish to add copies of exams, pictures or other materials to your journal, please do so. The material must be scanned or digitally photographed so that it can be added to your journal electronically.  You should add a paragraph of why you are including this material into your journal. After six months, it may not be obvious why you included it.

Feel free to include negative examples as well. This demonstrates growth. For example, suppose your first quiz does not contain any upper level thinking questions. You realize this and add a couple of synthesis or evaluation questions that you will use next year when you have your own classroom.

Your journal will be evaluated on the basis of completeness, evidence of thoughtfulness and to the extent that it demonstrates the attitudes associated with a professional educator.

Your classroom observations for this course will also be used in the methods class for discussion purposes. This is a specific request made by Dr. Windelborn.

Suggested Journal Topics

1. Initial 5 minutes:

For each class the teacher teaches, reflect on the following questions.

• Does the class start on time?
• How does the teacher engage the students?
• What bookkeeping items take place during this initial period?
• What ways are used to get students actively involved in learning right away?
• How would you get them involved?
• How are late students handled?
• Do the answers to the questions depend on the age and level of the students?

2. Basic time schedule:

Some schools have a seven-period week for science - two double periods for laboratory and three single periods. Other schools have a five-period week where the class meets every day in the laboratory.

• How is the time for science organized in the school where you are observing?
• What advantages/disadvantages of each do you perceive.
• Does the teacher have a preference?

3. Housekeeping:

• What is the general condition of the classroom, laboratory, office, etc.?
• Is it an interesting place to enter?
• Would you know what is taught in the room upon entering?
• How do students or the teacher locate items in the laboratory and/or storage area?
• Do different subjects share the classroom (lab, office, etc.)?
• What are your ideas for how you would organize your classroom? Your laboratory?

4. Teacher/Student Interaction:

• Does the teacher encourage all the students regardless of their ability in science?
• What happens when a student disrupts the class?
• Is the classroom teacher dominant or do students have the opportunity to interact with each other?
• What techniques does the teacher use to ensure that all students feel included as valuable members of the class?
• What happens when students don’t do their homework?
• What about students who are not prepared to do a laboratory experiment?
• How does the questioning technique used by the teacher vary with the type of class being taught?

5. Pace and Nature of Instruction:

Reflect on the following for each prep you teacher has.

• How does the teacher select what material is to be presented to the students?
• How does the teacher pace the class so that the necessary material gets covered sometime during the year?
• Is the class focused on in-depth knowledge of the material or on covering a lot of topics? What is the advantage of each approach?
• How is the real world incorporated into the classroom?
• Is there evidence of topics regarding society and/or technology being incorporated as part of the course?
• Is the school’s library being used and, if so, how?
• What percent of class time is spent in lecture, laboratory, discussion or other activities?
• How much time is spent in the classroom or laboratory?
• How much time is spent at other locations (e.g., outdoors or amusement parks)?
• Are outside speakers brought in to the school?
• Do classes use an inter-disciplinary approach to instruction?
• Is science taught using an integrated approach?
• How diverse are the students?
• What special needs students have been identified and how are their needs being met?

6. Evaluation of Students:

• How are the students evaluated? What types of assessments are used?
• How much of each student’s grade comes from each type of assessment?
• What is included in the total evaluation of the student’s educational progress?
• What grades are kept in the grade book?
• How are the graded activities weighted so that a quiz doesn’t count as much as a test?
• How are the laboratory activities graded?
• Does every laboratory activity require a written report?
• Do the students know what skills they are learning in the classroom/laboratory?
• Do the students know how they are being graded.
• How would you change the grading procedure?
• What happens if a student is caught cheating?
• How are parents notified about the student’s progress?

7.  Teaching Preparation:

• How does the teacher prepare for class and get papers graded?
• What advance work is done prior to the student work in the laboratory?
• How are textbooks selected? What evaluation is done of the reading level of the text?
• How does the teacher know what supplies and equipment need to be ordered for next year’s classes?
• How does the teacher handle make up work for absent students?
• How does the teacher keep a sense of balance and humor as the year progresses?
• What does your cooperating teacher find to be the most frustrating aspect of teaching?
• What is the most rewarding aspect?
• What suggestions might the teacher give you so you might better prepare for taking charge of subject matter experience of your future students?

8.  Support:

What support services are provided for the teacher?

• Do new teachers have a mentor?
• What is your sense of the communication between teachers in the same subject areas, between teachers and administrators.
• Do teachers do their own copying or is there a copy center?
• Do teachers (and the students) have access to a computer in the office, classroom, or laboratory or only at one location in the school?
• Is a resource room maintained for the teachers or does each teacher seek and maintain their own resources?
• What technology does the teacher use in preparing for, presenting and adminstering instruction?
• What resources are in the storeroom for physics?
• Who controls purchase requests and what is ordered?

How is the mathematics background of students taken into account when planning science instruction?

• What is the typical math background of the students in each type of physics course?
• What math instruction takes place in the physics course and how is this coordinated with the math department?
  

10. External Activities:

• What other duties is a teacher expected to fulfill (e.g. lunchroom supervision, hall or study hall monitor).
• How many parent teacher meetings does the teacher attend per year?
• Does the teacher meet with community organizations as part of his or her duties?
• Is the teacher compensated for external activities?
• What are successful strategies for dealing with parents?

11. Goals

Next semester is student teaching. An important question is whether you feel prepared.

• Do you feel prepared?
• What are your strengths?
• What are your weaknesses?

Teaching Activities

The sequence of clinicals (ILAS 201, 301, GEOL 401) is designed to progressively prepare you to ultimately assume responsibility for the education of students. Part of this preparation has been to have you become more actively involved in the educational enterprise in the classroom as your capabilities have grown. For example, you primarily observed passively in the first clinical, then began to assist with tutoring, answering questions, and teaching a lesson in the second. At the end of this experience and the concurrent methods class, you are to be prepared to assume the role of teacher next semester.

To assist in this growth, explore with your cooperating teacher ways in which he/she will be comfortable in having you participate in the teaching activities. Ideally, this will be a progressive role that will prepare you to teach a couple of lessons near the end of the semester, but this is entirely at the discretion and judgment of your cooperating teacher. Again, this will only work if you regularly participate over an extended period of time.