Hello all! I’ve noticed some major differences between the high school students and the middle school students. Besides the obvious age and size differences, the middle school students have WAY more energy. It’s probably a good thing that they have seven 45 minute periods a day rather than block scheduling. I think it would be difficult to keep the middle school students’ attention in a 90 minute block. On the flip side, I really love the energy these students have. They are constantly asking questions and seem eager to learn! Many of the high school students last semester were very quiet and not very excited to be in class.
My teacher has several classroom management techniques that I like, as well as some techniques that I think could be improved. I like that my teacher does not talk over the students. If the students are talking when he is trying to talk, my teacher gives a verbal warning or stands silently at the front of the room. Both of these methods seem to be effective, although the silent method usually requires a little more time waiting for the class to quiet down. My teacher also does not dismiss the students until they are all in their seats and quiet. The students know this and self monitor each other so they can get out of class on time. This rule eliminates the issue of students packing up and standing by the door before class ends. Unfortunately, my teacher doesn’t have any rules or procedures in place for the beginning of class, so students can get a little rowdy waiting for class to start. I think there could be less commotion from the students if there was an activity or assignment on the board at the beginning of class. Also, if a student is misbehaving, my teacher sits the student out in the hallway. Personally, I think this does more harm than good. I think kids lose valuable learning time if they have to sit out in the hallway during class. (Plus, many of the kids seem to run around in the hallway once they are placed out there). I think other methods such as verbal warnings or an individual student conference could be used in replace of sitting the student in the hallway. That way the student isn’t wandering the hallway during class.
I haven’t seen my teacher conduct a lab or activity yet. The students have a classification activity on Thursday. I am interested to see how it goes. I think the kids will be easy to manage as long as the lesson plans are engaging and hands on. The kids like to move around a lot, so I hope to put their energy to good use!
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ReplyDeleteAlshort,
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have your hands full. :-) I was wondering how you felt about the students being silent before the bell rings. I see how it can be positive by having students avoid the early pack up. However, I guess I am always loosing track of time and try teach bell to bell. Does your teacher sometimes have to wait until after the bell to excuse students?
I'm excited for you that you're enjoying your student teaching! Middle schoolers do have a lot of energy, and if you have interesting activities and established classroom rules, you can direct that energy into learning science! I like that he has established ground rules that he sticks to. Middle schoolers in particular need a lot of structure, and so making sure everyone is in his/her seat and quiet before being dismissed sounds as though it would be effective.
ReplyDeleteAs for the beginning of class, I think it would be great to have 2-4 SOL questions from previous years. Many of the questions simply require the students to read graphs (as you already know), and so students sometimes just need practice with that- what a wonderful way to kill two birds with one stone!
Only thing is that 7th graders don't have the actual SOL tests. They have the standards as guidelines. Simple questions like "Do-Now" activities with questions from previous day's lesson would be a good method.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that middle school students have a lot more energy and they are more willing to learn than the high school students. It's not that high school students don't want to learn, but they have much more things going on in their lives than the school work. Hope you enjoy the energy and enthusiasm of your students. :)
I am also a fan of the individual student conferences, especially if there is one particular problem student. I think that meeting one on one is more effective than calling them out in front of the class. Not only does this embarrass them, but because they want to look "cool" in front of there peers this may encourage them to talk back or act out even more. Meeting after class allows the teacher time to find out what is really going on and how to resolve the issue.
ReplyDeleteMy teacher has the same policy for dismissal as yours. It works wonders even in the high school! My teacher does not have to say anything because the students ask each other to sit down and be quiet to wait for his dismissal. It seems very important to the students that they have as much time between classes as possible so this method really works. I will definitely continue using this when I take over. I agree with what everyone else is commenting about the beginning of class. Something on the board whether they be questions from the day before or practice SOL questions are all great ideas. Even just a task such as "Sit down quietly and get out your homework and a pencil". It atleast gives the students something to focus on.
ReplyDeleteThat energy can be exhausting can't it?? I have learned I liked how high school is a little more laid back. Maybe we have flipped flopped!
Good Luck!
I totally agree about the difference between middle school and high school students. The energy level and ways they are motivated is so different. The middle schoolers did seem more eager to learn and share, while the high school students seem a little harder to win over. I think having the students sit quietly until the bell is important because my students always line up at the door and it can get chaotic. Not to mention it is a complete waste of 3-5 minutes when they pack and leave their seats. Your teacher seems awesome by the way, I enjoy interacting with him before he leaves! And my high school students can remember being in his class in middle school!
ReplyDeleteLynn Lynn,
ReplyDeleteYes, my teacher sometimes waits until after the bell to dismiss the students. But the students are really good at self monitoring each other to make sure that it doesn't happen very often. In fact, at this point in the school year the students have gotten acclimated to the rule and get pretty quiet around the time the bell rings.
KD-
I'm glad the high school students can remember my cooperating teacher's class. He has lots of stories he tells me about his previous students. It's funny. I'm sure they all remember my teacher because he tells lots of jokes, especially puns.