Observations in the Classroom

My mentor has been teaching for over 20 years at the same school and has built a legacy behind him. His veteran status allows students to feel comfortable in his classroom and trust his instruction. He also sets expectations from day one and holds students accountable for their actions. The school offers a college preparation curriculum and because of that, students are required  to take an entrance exam in order to be accepted so the student population is either at the standard level or above average level. During my observation thus far, I have noticed that some students struggle to keep up with the college prep pace, and I have witnessed various differentiation strategies that my mentor uses.

Since my mentor is a veteran teacher, he does not realize when he’s using differentiation techniques at times. He does not coddle students, but does provide positive reinforcement and uses a rewards system at times especially with food. Even though I’m observing at the high school level, students still appreciate food and stickers as a reward! While there are no formal accommodations provided, he does provide informal accommodations for students who need it, but holds them accountable to use them. Students have to self-advocate. If students struggle, they have to come after school so he can provide more of the one-on-one approach. He notices that sometimes students are embarrassed by their informal accommodations so he will differentiate by need discreetly and out of class if possible. He also grades based on ability. He often scaffolds and models the first couple of problems if students are asked to complete a worksheet or lab. Because he’s been doing this so long, he’s able to see weaknesses and will communicate with parents frequently to develop a game plan for the student to succeed in his class and overall.

As I’ve mentioned above, the main problem students can have is keeping up with the pace and that’s my mentor’s continuous struggle to attempt to keep everyone at the same pace. He’ll try to offer some extra help during class by stating concepts in different approaches to help a student discreetly or a couple of students so he can catch them up and not hold those who understand it too far behind. He likes to find different uses with technology so he’ll find short videos that are often on the funny side to keep students engaged. He also does frequent formative assessments and asks a lot of questions to increase student involvement. In the past few weeks, I’ve learned a lot from my mentor through observation.