Final Entry: Observation of excellent teachers

In my final weeks of student teaching, I got the opportunity to go into different classrooms and observe different teachers. The grade levels were all different. I got to see how teachers instruct, manage, and go about their day. I observed 6 teachers in a week for about an hour each. My observations took place at Parkside and Model Elementary.

The first teacher I observed at Parkside Elementary was Mr. Moyer. He is a 4th grade teacher at the school. Mr. Moyer is effective because he has a great routine in the morning, and during transitions where his students are always working on a task. The tasks involve them working on multiplication facts, finishing previous work, vocabulary, or doing their classroom job. Students are always working on something in the classroom, and this minimizes the number of behavior problems. He has very effective classroom management and expectations for the students, which in turn help the students be successful.

The 2nd teacher I observed was Mr. Brown. He is a 5th grade teacher at Parkside. I got the opportunity to observe him in a reading lesson. Mr. Brown had a wonderful way with questions. He didn't just ask questions that students could easily answer, but instead he choose to ask questions that got discussions going. He made sure that the students were thinking beyond the text. This was great to see because everyone got involved. That's what makes him an effective teacher, his questions lead to new learning.

After observing the upper grade levels at Parkside, I went ahead and observed Mrs. Plavchak in 3rd grade and Mrs. Wenger in 2nd grade. These two teachers are effective because they use their resources well, and they have a great environment in their classrooms for students to learn. They nurture and value students creativity. I saw a lot of hands on work and group work in these grade levels. They also push the students to think by asking great questions.

My last observation took place at Model Elementary. I observed two 5th grade teachers, Mr. Wolfe and Mrs. Younghans. These two teachers have about 28 to 30 students in their classrooms. The sitting arrangements in their rooms were interesting to see. They also made a strong emphasis on connecting the learning that they were doing in the classroom to the students' everyday encounters. This made learning more meaningful for the students. I think that's exactly what makes them effective teachers. 

I learned a handful of teaching strategies from these teachers that I would try my best to incorporate in my teaching. I hope to someday be a great teacher like these folks. They have passion in teaching and that is something that I want to get to when I get a teaching position.