Upon attending Ms. Donahue’s class last week, I quickly found that most of my earlier concerns were put to rest. Ms. Donahue greeted us at her classroom door, and we (Ben and I) quietly went to the back of the class to observe for the rest of the day. However, my observations did not begin only after I entered the classroom. Immediately upon arriving at the school, I began to take note of several things. The first thing that I noticed was the extremely tight security at the entrance to the school. I had to walk through not one, not two, but three sets of doors, two of which were locked, and through the school office in order to even enter the school. This was a very different experience for me, as my high school does not have any locked doors or barriers of any sort. I began to imagine what this level of security (and isolation) meant to the student’s hidden curriculum, as there no doubt is at least a psychological, if not physical impact to such tight security at the place you go to learn. Once in the classroom however, things seemed a little more relaxed. Ms. Donahue is an energetic and passionate teacher, dedicated to the subject that she teaches. She fostered student participation by guiding her class in a group discussion as they sat in a circle, while at the same time having all students participate, with some even acting as scribes at the board. All of this discussion was focused on the class’s upcoming project, in which the students will visit the local middle school, and measure food waste. By fostering an environment in which everyone participates and where each student gets a say in how the project will be carried out, Ms. Donahue helps the students create a project that they are genuinely interested in, and that will help the community as a whole, two of the main ideas behind project based learning. Finally, I did get a feeling of organized chaos within the classroom to a slight extent. Despite this, Ms. Donahue was able to quickly redirect the class and get it back under control. I am excited to continue my visits to Ms. Donahue’s class, and look forward to participating in them more in the future.
The first question I had was what were your earlier concerns? I was hoping you were quickly have listed them but I’m not sure I ever learned what those concerns were and how they were dispelled.
In our recent reading on “engagement” in Project-Based Teaching, the anecdotes consider how we find those moments that help students take ownership by either redirecting frustration to creativity, or encouraging them to stick with a design task. What kinds of “engaging” language or actions did you see Ms. Donahue take in guiding the discussion activity re the waste project?
MAJ Hodde
I like how you started your observations so early. I also think that it is cool how you noticed that the teacher tries to keep the classroom environment fun. Keep up the good work.
I noticed the exact same thing about the tight security when we first entered the school. Also, it was very apparent that Ms. Donahue is extremely passionate about this class and her teaching. Overall good observations!