Creating a Supportive and Engaging Environment for All Types of Learners
Having now completed 100 hours of field experience at both the junior and senior high school level, I have learned a great deal about what I want to do as a teacher, as well as what I want to avoid. This newfound knowledge, coupled with the informative conversations I had with several teachers, makes me feel much more confident about my teaching abilities and my imminent role as a student-teacher.
During the hours spent at schools around Long Island, I found that an alarming number of teachers maintain the same lesson structures day after day, week after week. I saw countless classrooms where students were forced to obediently listen while their teacher read the current text aloud to them. Even in those classrooms where student volunteers offered to read, the majority of the students were still expected to remain quiet, and to simply follow along in their texts. How can teachers expect their students to remain engaged and challenged when this type of teaching overwhelms the majority of their lessons? Clearly, methods such as these are not providing our students with the opportunities to think critically, problem solve, or explain what they know. Additionally, this mundane method does not take into account the fact that different students learn in different ways. If the same instructional method is used repeatedly, how do teachers expect to meet the learning needs of their diverse students?
Thankfully, I was fortunate enough to encounter several teachers who did not follow this method, and instead varied their lesson plans and instructional strategies to keep their students engaged and to foster their intellectual development. There was one class in particular where this was done especially well. Each student in this senior English class was asked to create a Power-Point presentation on a poem of their choice. During the presentations, the teacher stayed at the back of the room and let the presenter "teach" the class about his or her text. Students really seemed to enjoy this idea - they created worksheets for their classmates to fill out as they presented, and posed several questions to their peers at the end of their presentations. Additionally, they all proved their technological prowess through Power Point, adding images and other decorative items to make their slideshows really stand out. I saw this activity work well in the several classes in which it was used. I think these students appreciated the fact that their teacher trusted them enough to let them both chose the text they wanted to work with, as well as lead the class discussion.
In another senior English class that I observed, students were conducting a debate over whether books or films convey human emotion better. The students seemed to have very strong opinions regarding this topic, and it was interesting to hear what the two separate groups had to say in support of their arguments. Additionally, as expected, this activity turned out differently in each class it was used. While the students sometimes offered the same ideas as a previous class, they often came up with something entirely new, happily surprising the teacher. This activity highlighted to me the fact that when students are given the opportunity to express themselves and their opinions, they will do so with passion and excitement.
While these aforementioned classes are perhaps the best example of non-traditional teaching methods, I was fortunate enough to witness several other interesting lessons as well. The level of engagement and growth in these classrooms when compared to that of the teacher-centered classes was infinitely higher. These instances showed me that lessons that are socially interactive, student-driven, creative, and performance-based will not only appeal to a greater number of students, but will do so in a way that keeps them engaged and intellectually challenged.
I look forward to the day when I enter my own classroom and am able to utilize some of the more creative methods of instruction and subsequently, watch my students develop socially, personally, and academically. And though I am technically finished with my field experience, I am certain that the knowledge I gained during these hours of observing, collaborating, and working with both teachers and students will guide me in my future as an educator.
