Video+Critique

Instructional Video Critique -- Strategies to Improve Transitions and Time Management (Grade 6-8)

The sixth grade classroom which is depicted in the video is a very well organized and positive learning environment. This environment is created by the teacher and slowly handed over to the students through the well implemented professional practices of a veteran teacher.

First and foremost, the teacher has created an atmosphere of learning in the classroom. The students have prearranged clock partners, a daily agenda, and many more classroom routines. Well-rehearsed routines allow the teacher to take a step back and the students to step up and take ownership of the learning. Moreover, the use of hand signals for common occurrences (bathroom, pencil, etc …) prevents those commonplace non-instructional tasks from interrupting the learning of all the other students. This focus on learning is further supported by the obvious planning that the teacher puts into each day. Many small activities are connected by quick and effective transitions in order to maximize instructional time.

In creating this atmosphere of learning, the teacher slowly turns over more and more learning tasks to the students. For example, the students are allowed to monitor their progress through an activity with the classroom timer. Also, students are given the task of reading and understanding the instructions to assignments rather than having the teacher reading them orally. This gives students the opportunity to, individually or in small groups, wrestle with what an assignment is requiring and in the process learn how to approach similar problems in the future. In the end though, the teacher brings everyone back together and ensures that they all have the appropriate answers which is an important step in monitoring for correct understanding.

In terms of improvement, the teacher can make some improvements in the implementation of the timer and the process of having students estimate completion time. While the timer may be a good visual/auditory guide for students completing a task, it may also serve as a distraction for others who are prone to becoming highly anxious. A student too concerned with how long is left to complete an assignment may lose focus of the assignment itself. Thus the timer must be carefully implemented as a guide and not the “end all, be all” of completion times for assignments. Secondly, having students estimate their completion time can backfire. In general, some students will fill the allotted time period to fill an assignment no matter how long the assignment should take to complete. Again, with carful implementation this can be avoided.

When I compare what I saw in the video with my high school classroom, I find that some of the concepts would easily transfer while others would not. The idea of breaking up the block with multiple small activities is always easier said than done (much less activities that motivate and connect to their real lives) but a great goal nonetheless. The teacher did this though something as simple as crayon colors, which demonstrates that it does not always need to be a profound connection to their lives. Also, the teacher demonstrated wonderful questioning techniques to help students though guided discovery lessons and self-directed (or small group) learning. This is an area that I always try to improve upon because of its amazing power in any subject and at any grade level. Some of the more elementary techniques would not work as well at the high school level, but they each can be adapted in appropriate ways to mesh with high school temperaments.

In the end, it doesn’t matter what level you’re at, as the teacher it is not your job to pour information into students. Instead, it is your job to invite them on a journey, let them in on the secret of where they are going, and let them learn along the way.