To start the year, Brad spends part of his class on building a set of classroom expectations with feedback from the students. Brad requested feedback from students on expectations they have for each other and expectations they have for the instructors. I really like this method for beginning the school year, because it sets the tone that the students and the instructors are each responsible for how the school year will unfold. Brad has also repeatedly commented on the importance of committing to the established expectations, so he does not establish expectations and then subsequently ignore them.
‘What happens when expectations are not met’ is a great question because I am not exactly sure how to answer it with regards to my own classroom experience with Brad. I have never seen a student openly defy expectations, so I have not seen a ‘nuclear option’ from Brad. Students have always complied with Brad’s requests, and I am curious to know how Brad would act if a student acted disrespectfully towards the expectations established by the community around them. I can recall one instance where a student asked Brad if ‘this [math concept] is something he is pricky about’. Yes, this student asked if Brad was pricky about something. Brad immediately stopped (the room grew quiet awfully quickly) and Brad demanded that this student rephrase his question. Brad did not make his demand angrily, but his tone of voice conveyed annoyance and that his request for rephrasing was not optional. The student found other words to voice his question. This is the only instance where I can remember an exchange between instructor and student that warranted some form of (minor) discipline. Brad never lost his cool or reacted emotionally to the vulgar choice of words, and this is likely due to the innocence of the student who posed the question. This student genuinely seemed to be unaware of the meaning of the word ‘pricky’, so Brad seemed to take that into account in his response, which was measured, controlled, but also conveyed the inappropriateness of the student’s word choice. Brad teaches algebra 2 and calculus, and he believes that these courses are upper level math courses and that his expectations for these classes should resemble expectations that colleges will have for these students. Consequently, Brad does not have a bathroom policy nor a cell phone policy. He implores students to be responsible for how they spend their time in class. This is a huge level of trust that Brad places on his students, and I am sure that if I had these policies I would get demolished by students. Brad however gets his students to follow these expectations responsibly. Students do not abuse their privileges. It is astounding to see. Brad wants his students to manage themselves (and each other), so these policies (or lack of policies) reinforce his desire to prepare students for college (and the world after college where students will need to have self-discipline).
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My last post detailed the physical space where I student teach, and focused on SLA’s core value of collaboration. You may then recall that desks are arranged in pods of four or five for all portions of the class. We will have presentations this week, but I doubt the desks will change position. With the desks being structured in pods so often, Brad has taken his belief in collaboration and extended it into the physical space of his classroom. This post will take this physical space and use it to examine my classroom mentor’s approach to establishing a strong classroom community.
Brad does a great job of establishing relationships with students and establishing a sense of community within his classroom. We know Brad has his desks groups to emphasize collaboration. He follows up with constant verbal connections to collaboration with extend throughout his entire class period. Some things he has said to the class include, “check in with your group, make sure you’re on the same page”, “check with everyone at your table to make sure you agree”, “discuss as a group”, and “as a group, you’re working together”. Brad can only do so much to get students to work together, but these quotes from one class period alone signify his consistent efforts to get students to work collaboratively. Brad is currently having students in all four of his classes (2 courses of alg 2, 2 courses of calc) prepare presentations on varying math topics as groups. They were given plenty of time in class to work on their presentations and ask Brad and myself questions on their topics. They are getting plenty of practice working together collaboratively and thankfully we have been given a terrific group of students who work diligently. Another example of Brad incorporating collaboration into this classroom routine occurs every morning, where a group of 2 students are tasked with presenting the warm-up problem of the day to the class. Presenting alone can be scary for some people, so having a partner up there to present with can be a huge help for students (and adults alike). I have seen warm-up presentations where one student was struggling to explain some work on the board when their partner stepped in to help. To put it succinctly, having help, helps. And one thing Brad has told me repeatedly is that he doesn’t want students to view him as the only source of learning in the room. He wants students to also be able to learn from each other. I’ve never heard this concept expressed about a classroom before, so I am excited to remember it and try to implement in my own classroom one day. Inquiry into Design of Physical Space
I am working with Mr. Latimer, who teaches two periods of algebra 2 and 2 periods of calculus. He fully embodies SLA’s core value of collaboration through use of his desks, which are all arranged in groups of either 4 or 5. He has also clearly put thought into how decorates his room. His room is decorated in the exact fashion that I hope mine to be when I become a teacher. There are colorful projects that are both math and art which incorporate conic sections into images from popular culture. There are also some student projects of functions being applied to roller coasters. These student projects convey that Mr. Latimer values the work students put forth, and that math is not all worksheets and numbers. Outside his door is a small sticker which in rainbow colors reads ‘LGBTQ welcome here’. Inside the door he has a picture of a bunch of ladies dressed in soccer attire celebrating together along with inspirational words. I want to have similar decorations in my own classroom because I want students of any background or ethnicity to feel as though the classroom is their space, that they belong there just as much as anyone else, and that they are helping contribute to an atmosphere that cultivates a love of learning. In addition to decorations, Mr. Latimer has openly spoken to his students about the kind of classroom environment he wishes to build. His approach is best encapsulated in a statement he uttered this past week where he said, “it’s okay to be wrong [and] make errors, make mistakes, that’s why we have white boards.” Mr. Latimer began his school years by asking students to participate in setting class-wide ‘norms and expectations’ and followed that up by commenting on his acknowledgment and acceptance for students who learn at different rates. Brad has said, “if we all commit [to these norms and expectations], this will be a great classroom environment.” Brad clearly believes that a supportive classroom environment leads to more achievement for students and teachers, and I am fortunate to be partnered with such a sensible classroom mentor. I am fortunate that my classroom mentor shares similar beliefs to my own, and I am doing my best to keep track of all the messages he sends to students. He has multiple white boards around the classroom, which he painted with his daughter, so he is clearly practicing what he preaches about making mistakes and learning from them. His desk is in the far back corner of the classroom, and Mr. Latimer never seems to use it while class is in session. Instead, he centers his focus on the students for the entirety of lessons. It is great to see my own classroom vision come to life thanks to Mr. Latimer. |
Alex KoroljowStudent teacher at SLA @ Center City, Philadelphia. Archives
January 2018
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