Tuesday February 11th, I had the first opportunity of observing the classroom I will be working in during the semester. Mrs. Dowless Class is a 6th grade science class Earth and environmental. From the time my partner and I arrived we were very engaged in the classroom. We started out by introducing ourselves and letting the students get to understand us a little bit. I believe that the students really enjoyed us there. Some kids asked a lot of questions while others wanted to tell us a little about their own life. The first signs of PBL was when the teacher had the students break off in groups to get ready to present their projects in the following week. The students were working in pairs of two and working on a PowerPoint of the bacterial kingdom. The kids were very engaged in their respected works. Most of the children stayed on task although one student was bothering another student. I asked him what was wrong and he kind of ignored me and then proceeded to work. As I walked around the room, I noticed artwork on the walls of the students. This is key in PBL it provides confidence for the students and promotes a positive learning environment for them. I also noticed slogans or motto’s for the kids to think to prompt a positive learning space. With all this being said I am eager to get back to the classroom soon I look forward to seeing the children.
Its interesting to see you interact with the students so early. Most of us just sat down and observed with little to no interaction.
Chris, I’m curious. What were the mottos? How were the kids talking to each other or working together? How did the teacher guide them while still giving them ownership? Consider including physical descriptions of the classroom in your narrative and discuss of the pictures you included as signs of PBL/ EL. Think thick description…
MAJ Hodde
Chris, I like how you immediately identified PBL. My classroom visit was a fifth grade classroom and they also had stuff all over their walls.