Best+Practices

//Name: Michael Mitchell Observed: John Smith Date: 9/14/2009 Please include a short paragraph describing the best teaching practice(s) you observed.//
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Name: Michael Mitchell Observed: Alec LeBris Date: 10/7/2009 One of my first impressions of Alec’s honors chemistry class was how well he interacted with his students. As students transitioned into first period he displayed a natural balance between chemistry and humor. His notes were organized and were presented extremely well, especially given the limited board space in the chemistry room. Most impressive, however, were Alec’s examples. Given the dense topics within the lecture, his examples clearly illustrated abstract concepts such as the Heisenberg uncertainty principle: Imagine a one bladed fan. Draw a dot on the single fan blade, and then turn the fan on. While the blade is in motion you are able to determine how fast the dot is moving, however you are not sure where the dot is. When stop the fan, you are able to determine where the dot is, however you are not able to determine how fast the dot is moving. Similar examples were used throughout the lecture to help students visualize abstract concepts. Each was as carefully thought out and equally useful.

Name: Alex Tisch Observed: Michael Mitchell Date: 10/6/09 Throughout my observation of Mike's AP Physics class, I noticed that he has a knack for asking the right questions in order to the lead the students in the right direction and to help them figure out the assigned task for themselves. Using questions such as "Do you agree with that?", "What equation would you like to use?" or "What is an easier way to express...", Mike makes a strong point and reaffirms key ideas by making the students do the thinking and arriving to the conclusion on their own. During one instance Mike asked a student to explain to the class what Mike had asked of the class, thus letting the students hear the task from another point of view and voice while still getting the point across. Lastly, after walking through a practice problem with the students, Mike had a student come to the front of the room and write the problem on his tablet. It was very interesting to see how this changed the dynamic of the class immediately allowing for a very comedic finish to the class why still serving as a valuable learning activity for the students. Letting a student take the reins really seemed to relax the entire class and allow them to enjoy the learning process. Overall the class was a great example of an open and creative learning environment lightened with a good balance of comedy, which is especially important in a class with so much dense material such as AP Physics.

Name: Michael Mitchell Observed: John Mendenhall Date: 10/22/2009 During the course of John's 9th grade biology class, I discovered that John not only has the patience of a saint, but the content knowledge and delivery skills of a master teacher. The period walked students through the discovery of different types of carbon chains and the appropriate chemical formulas. As new chains were introduced, John slowly walked through the process of identifying single bonds, double bonds, individual atoms and the occasional side group. Through this entire process he made excellent use of the smart board, using different pages for each of his drawings and occasionally bringing students up the the smart board to illustrate their own carbon chains. Despite a myriad questions, John slowly and patiently approached each student and walked them through the process making sure the concept was understood before he moved on. This careful balance of content delivery, patience, and individual attention was a reflection of the preparation and experience John brings into each of his lessons.

Name: Kathryn Gerety Observed: Tim Helstein Date: 10/29/2009

Tim introduced a lab on acceleration to 8th graders. He was teaching the students how to find acceleration in two different ways. 1) by using a formula and 2) by graphing speed vs. time to obtain the the slope. Students were using ramps and photogates with a small "car" to obtain data. What really stood out about Tim's teaching was not only a very clear and concise explanation, but his rapport with the kids. They are comfortable and he has struck a balance with middle schoolers where he can make them laugh but be able to reel them back in seemlessly to the task at hand. A very neccessry skill to have when dealing with adolescents! As the students worked on the lab Tim would sit with groups as needed to help clarify as needed. Tim worked the room keeping kids on task and offering alternate explanations for students in need. His ease with kids and clear delivery really brought acceleration to life!

Name: Marlena Rodriquez Observed: Dave Wilcox Date: 10/29/2009

This double period was a lab on primate evolution based on qualitative data collected in multiple ways; including video clips, peer observation, and hands on activities. Throughout the period, I was impressed not only by how patient Dave was with the students, but also how clearly and purposefully every detail of the class was explained in order to eliminate confusion. He began the class by returning essays, explaining his exact grading system, and referring them to the rubric handed out earlier in the semester. He then went over the exact steps needed to improve grades before the end of the marking period, spending time afterwards to prepare the students for next week’s syllabus. Before beginning the lab, Dave explained the lab procedure, materials, and other important information so well that even I would have been able to complete it without the lab in front of me. He did a great job of answering off the wall questions in a way that brought the students back to the topic at hand while also “quizzing” students along the way in order to keep the lab progressing. Dave’s patience, experience, and passion of the subject really made the lab fun and informative for the students.

Name: Kathryn Gerety Observed: Guy Bailey Date: 10/30/09

Guy started his 7th grade math class with a "warm up" activity. Kids are posed with a math brain teaser and have to work together verbally to figure it out. Guy then uses the board to give a visualization of the problem and then lets the kids figure it out a little further before giving the answer. His posed problem was: "an investment goes up 40% one week, and down 10% the next, then the next week went down 40%, then up 10% the final week...is this investment worth more or less than when it started?" This was a great way to start a math class. It really got the kids actively involved in a class that can easily lose kids. He moved into the lesson by giving three problems on the smartboard and calling 3 kids up to do the work on the board. These problems were examples of what the days lesson was going to be on... The kids knew how to solve problems using proportions. Guy wanted them to be able to translate the question "what is 35% of 120?" into the algabreic equation n = .35 x 120 and then solve for "n". He used several word problems to illustrate how the concept worked. His explanation was very clear and easy to follow. His ability to keep kids engaged combined with clear demonstration of concepts made this math class a breeze to learn in.

Name: Tim Helstein Observed: Sam Gaudet Date: 11/5/09

Sam was giving two different assessments to his 5th grade class when I was observing him. The first was a written assessment on volume, mass, density, and the metric system. The second was a hands-on activity that involved the students actually using those principals in different situations in order to solve a problem. Because of the large class size, he was planning on splitting the students up into two sections. Each section would participate in one assessment that day, then switch for the next. Unfortunately, to Sam's surprise, half the students were absent due to various athletic games. Therefore thinking on his toes, Sam decided to give the written assessment to the students that were there and hold off on the hands-on activity. What I enjoyed during my observation was Sam's rapour with the students. He showed an extreme amount of patience, but was firm with his directions on settling them down. The student's obviously respected him by their reactions and showed obedience to his commands. If a student had a question, he would call them up to a desk and sit with them, expaining eye-to-eye to help them better comprehend what the assessment was asking. The last question of the exam seemed to be very tricky for the students. After several of them asked the same question, Sam stopped the class and went over the question on the board. Instead of just explaing what it was asking, Sam helped the students by drawing a diagram so they could see what was happening to the two objects in the beaker. He encourgaged the students to think creatively and pushed them to find their own conclusion. It seemed very easy to give hints or even the answer when hearing their confusion, yet Sam continued to show patience in his explination and eventually the students all understood. The greatest part was the sense of accomplishment their faces displayed once they found the answer themselves. It was very encouraging for me to see how Sam displayed great patience and determination with helping the 5th graders realize the answer themselves and not giving in to making the question easier or even eliminating the difficult question from the test.

Name: Marlena Rodriquez Observed: Dave Havens Date: 11/3/2009 The purpose of this lesson was to discuss habitats and the five essential components needed for survival within every habitat. Dave caught the students’ attention immediately with a Power Point slide of a Burmese python in Florida. This led to a discussion on snake habitats and his previous life as what I would call a “snake whisperer,” living with and tending to 25+ snakes. Dave did a great job fielding some very off track questions in a way that brought the students back on topic. He was able to move effortlessly from topic to topic by continually posing purposeful questions to the class. His examples and personal stories were interesting and left us all wanting more information. They also helped to form a very fun and relaxed feeling in the class, while also keeping the students focused on the task at hand. The recap in the final five minutes of class made it clear that everyone had been paying attention for the full period and that I had learned more than I realized. Dave’s enthusiasm and knowledge made it impossible to be bored during the fifty minutes. It was clear by the end of the period that Dave has adopted a philosophy where a student’s questions are much more important than always finishing the lesson plan for the day.

Name: Tim Helstein Observed: Kathryn Gerety Date: 10/28/2009 Kathryn's class revolved around teaching her students about the organelles of the cell and their functions. Although this can be a difficult, confusing task, she made it exciting and fun for everyone. As the students came into the class, Kathryn had a Youtube video loaded and cued to the exact point when the vocabulary would be reviewed. She asked the students to take out their vocabulary worksheets and follow along with her and the clip. What I enjoyed about her teaching style was that she didn't just play the video and let the students rush to fill in the information. Every time an organelle was explained by the narrator, Kathryn stopped the clip and went into a discussion with the class, explaining in (many times) easier terms that helped the students comprehend the vocabulary. At one point in the video she turned the sound off completely and actually narrated the video herself. By showing both the clip as well as stopping it to better explain each vocabulary term, Kathryn was able to bring in different disciplines into her lesson. The students stayed focused and had the opportunity to ask questions after each term. Not only did this method work well with her class, but it is one that I look forward to using in the future when teaching new terms to my students.

Name: Dave Wilcox Observed: Marlena Rodriquez Date: 10/5/2009 Outstanding use of time. Long periods are difficult (tenth graders just before lunch; hey, give me a break!), but Marlene wove her way through a nice activity using flame tests (all kids love these), and finished off with some review of electron configuration with shells and all that stuff that used to drive me nuts (and made me a biologist not a chemist). She pulled much of the class into the discussions and held them at a pace that forced them to stay on track with her goal; that is, Marlena would not let the sharper kids run the discussion but pulled everyone along together (the best that that can be done anyway). I really like her phrase when asking for the class to participate, “Talk to me, guys”. I guess I watch too much CSI and the other crime-solver TV shows, but that phrase worked for the students too. All-in-all a wonderful lesson for the kids (a half-step forward we go), and a delightful experience for me. Thanks Marlena.

Name: Sam Gaudet Observed: Tim Helstein Dates: Sometime in November and January 15, 2010

I have now had two opportunities to watch Tim teach his eighth grade students. In both instances I was impressed by the quality of the lessons and the organization and structure of the each class. Without seeing the actual lesson plan in front of me, I could almost feel each bullet point as Tim went from introduction, to demonstration and the reinforcement of the concepts discussed, to time for questions and analysis. Tim's approach to class is methodical, leaving very few gaps (if any) during his presentations. His command of the material being discussed in obvious, but does not stifle the class. Tim leaves plenty of time for students to be involved in discussion, interact with one another and ask questions.

For a young teacher, his approach is that of a seasoned veteran. I left his class not only entertained, but well informed. It's clear that the student respect him and as a result, are willing participate confidently and productively.