Observing Instructional Strategies: April 24, 3013

There were four main strategies for instruction that I saw.
The first strategy I observed was direct instruction.  The students were overall engaged, but get antsy later in the lessons.  They want to interact more than anything, but are still able to stay on task and listen.  During the second lesson they were more antsy, and a few kids were trying to lay down and were complaining about being tired.  This might be because it was after recess, or because they were less excited about the reading lesson.
The next strategy was partner shares/turn and talks.  The students overall did very well with this.  They stayed on task while they met with their five o'clock buddy.  There were of course a few students who were off task and messing around, but for the most part I heard academic conversations between them.
The final strategy I saw was individual work.  Again, students were on task for the most part, however a few individuals were not doing their work.  The activity for individual work during the second lesson I observed was cutting and pasting, and some students were very excited about it.  Other however seemed to think it was a 'dumb' activity, or too long to complete before school was over.  The kids were also quite off task at times during the second lesson because I felt that they hadn't understood the material.
One other thing I noticed was that directions were often either unclear or were only stated once and quickly.  The students usually have little to no trouble with their first task when they go back to their seats, but the directions for what to do after they complete their task are not followed well.  I have noticed a few times where I am confused too, and repeating these directions or writing them down would help a lot.

My question of the day today was: How do you increase student respect for teachers and other adults?  This questions was a 'bigger' one, and started a good discussion with my host teacher.  She first said right off the bat that this is a big topic, and student disrespect is always going to be a problem for teachers.  There is really only one thing she does in her class consistently for this: she gives students a negative dojo.  I've heard her mention respecting others to students a few times, but only in passing.  She brought up the school's 'book of the month' program, where the whole school focuses on certain books.  The recent books have all focused on bullying, which often ties in this idea of respect for everyone.  One thing that came up in our conversation was routines with this, and how a relationship with the students is important.  Spending time with students helps reinforce routines and practices, and gives comfort in the relationship between teachers and students.  There is one second grade teacher who was on an extended maternity leave for the first four or five months of school.  She was talking in the hallway about how difficult it is to not have been with her class for that time, especially its affects on behavior.  I think this question is really important, and while I got a good conversation generated today, I would like to ask other teachers this question to see what they think at some point.

Tomorrow I will be beginning case study interviews and observing for management.