Student Obervation

Observation of the Teacher’s Role in the Classroom
Taylor High School
10th grade Ms. Shaw and Mrs. Graham
  1. Students select their courses at the beginning of the year with their parents and a school consular. If a student is currently enrolled in regular classes; based upon performance and grades the teacher can recommend a student to take Pre-AP courses.
  2. The teacher that I observed taught Pre-AP English and didn’t have any special credentials. She was an English major, and has been teaching for three years. Although some schools may require special credentials in this field, Mrs. Graham did not have any.
  3. The students who are visual learners; the teacher had tons of writing examples and tools displayed around the classroom. For the auditory learners, the teachers read many different selections and gave the students many examples and ideas of what she was looking for in the assignment.   The teacher lectured her instructions and used children’s books as examples for the lesson she was teaching.
  4.   There weren’t any students with disabilities during my observation.
  5. The curriculum is accommodated to help students meet standards set by state by focusing on teaching students how to write essays and papers. Mrs. Graham gave her students tons of writing examples and transitional words to help broaden their vocabulary and imagination. On the writing part of TAKS, the graders look for key words and transitional words. This keeps students from repeating the same words.
  6. The pace of instruction seemed regular and normal in the Pre-AP English class. The atmosphere was good because the students were really engaged into the lesson and the teacher.   Ms. Shaw on the other hand teaches regular English; they were on a slower pace. The students looked the same, but the maturity level was higher in the Pre-AP class. The students were more confident as a whole and Ms. Shaw class seemed to be less interested and motivated. There were a few students...