(11/11/12) Field Work Debriefing

            I am going to use today’s blog post to talk about some of my recent experiences in the field, as I was able to teach three lessons this past week and I have a lot on my mind. I taught the same lesson twice on Tuesday to two different classes, and I taught another lesson on Thursday. Both lessons revolved around the study of poems, with Tuesday’s poem being Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night,” and Thursday’s poem being Emily Dickinson’s “Much Madness.” Leading up to these lessons, I was definitely frustrated because my previous teaching experiences had all been a bit of a struggle. I was having issues with classroom management, student engagement, and the majority of my in-class discussions involved only a handful of students speaking and very little whole-class participation. So, leading into Tuesday’s lesson, I worked with Jonathon on some techniques I could use to help lead the class in a more productive manner, with my primary goal being to generate more student discussion. With those techniques in mind, my sixth period class on Tuesday had an incredible discussion that was about as encouraging a classroom experience as I have ever had. The first credit for the discussion must immediately be given to the students, but I was also happy to see that a few techniques I employed had a positive impact on encouraging student engagement.

The first specific adjustment I made this past week was to enter the discussion from the perspective of a participant, as opposed to the more formal role of a “teacher-leader.” I wanted to break down the separation I had felt between the class and myself over the previous weeks, because I thought that my presence as the authority figure was hurting the openness of the discussion. In order to accomplish this, I made the decision to actively participate in the pre-writing portion of the class by writing with the students as they answered the Contemplation Question. I did this for every lesson I taught this week and even when I was teaching the same lesson in back to back classes, I made sure to write a new response in each class so that my participation remained authentic. I think this  successfully revealed to the students that I was a member of the learning community and willing to commit and engage in the learning experience just as fully as the students were. This may seem like a subtle message, but I honestly believe the students recognized my participation and it paid off greatly throughout the discussion. A few times, I was able to volunteer my thoughts in response to student comments, and I did so not solely as the teacher but under my new role as a writer and member of the learning community. I also made sure not to insert myself into the discussion in a way that would represent my ideas as somehow “better” or "more-right" than the students. Instead, I simply offered my response as just another building block stacked on top of the student-generated discussion, and we all built our ideas together.

The second adjustment I made took place before the discussion even began. I told myself as I was writing the lesson plan, that no matter what, I would finally and truly “embrace the silence” of my students when it came to classroom discussions. In the weeks earlier, I felt as if I had been too eager to jump into the discussion if no students were speaking, but this week I simply decided to leave the floor open and be patient in waiting for someone to speak. The beginning of the dialogue was met with the same expected silence, but after a few minutes of awkwardness, a switch flipped and the group came together and really engaged in the discussion. One student comment led into another, and I was able to  facilitate the discussion by simply providing the class with some minimal structure (e.g. occasionally asking students to speak louder or repeat what they had just said). At the peak of the discussion, students were speaking directly to each other and were able to build an idea together. I would guess that out of roughly 23 students in the class, all but 6 or 7 students orally participated and even the students who were quiet the whole time seemed visibly engaged.

The third adjustment that I think promoted the lively discussion had to do with class structure and was totally out of my control (although in my future classroom the set up of the room will be within my control). Because the entire school had testing this past week, the classrooms were arranged in rows with the projector at the front of the class. This was a bit of a surprise when I first walked in, but it actually ended up being a wonderful structure that promoted a community feel. I was able to grab a stool and put it next to the projector up front, and I felt like I was sitting amongst the students instead of sitting in the more removed position within the normal classroom set up. A few times, I would stand up and point to specific words or phrases on the projector screen- and this was my physical cue that I was embodying the “teacher” role for a moment- but then I was able to sit back down and join the discussion as a member once again, with a nice ease of transition.

Overall, the sixth period discussions in both my Tuesday and Thursday classes were extremely encouraging, although the seventh period discussion on Tuesday was met with little success. There is a very complicated classroom atmosphere impacting this particular  class, however, one in which I am struggling to break through. At this point, the larger issues disrupting the environment are out of my immediate control, but I must admit that it has been a powerful learning experience trying to teach in such a difficult setting. I have been able to relate to many of my seventh period students during my conferencing portion of lessons and on an individual basis, but I think the class as a whole is struggling to establish themselves as a community and a “safe space” for honest dialogue.