Stephanie+Aiken

Just as the class begins a quiet activity (a 10 minute writing) a student, the same one who’s done this several times this week, gets up and sharpens his pencil.

Since the rest of the class is already on task, I would take the pencil sharpener aside and ask the student why his/her behavior is inappropriate at this particular time. I would explain to him/her the concerns I had for this behavior interrupting other students as well as the concern I had since this is a daily thing. I would then take out the class agenda and see if he/she could think of a better time when such a noisy activity could take place. Ideally, I would agree that he/she should sharpen several pencils as soon as he/she comes in. By doing this not only would I have helped remedy his/her behavior but this new action would serve as a model of when it is the best time to sharpen your pencil.

General discontent prevails. No one is interested in the lesson, no discussion develops. The lesson isn’t working.

I believe instances like these can defiantly be beneficial to me, especially in the early years of my career. As soon as I realized that the lesson was steadily going down hill I would evaluate. I wouldn’t just silently or privately reevaluate my approach; I would ask the students to tell me why the lesson didn’t work and/or how it could be better. They are a part of the classroom and a deciding factor in whether a lesson fails or succeeds. Therefore, they must be a part of the solution. Hypothetically, the students probably let their disapproval for the lesson known to the whole class. This is when I would take the chance to use the students’ thoughts to benefit the classroom. I would call on students and have them tell me why the lesson didn’t work or how it could’ve been better. The response “I don’t know” is highly likely, therefore, I would encourage them to think of a lesson they did connect with and how that lesson and this one were different or maybe even similar. I would encourage the students to speak their opinions to the whole class but also allow them time to write. A written response would allow me the chance to keep the students’ learning preferences and refer back to them when designing other lessons.