I observed three different classrooms while I was at Mayfield High School this week. The first was a physical science class, the second was a chemistry class, and the third was AP Chemistry.
Physical chemistry is a 9th grade class and the first semester is basic chemistry and the second semester is intro to physics. I thought it was interesting how at this high school they start off with introducing the hard science classes at an early age and I think it really prepares them for the full length version of the class. The first 10-15 minutes of the class they took an individual assessment and had it graded and they corrected the wrong ones. First off this is a great way for the teacher to know what the students are doing well on and what they are struggling with and then the students can also get a taste of what the upcoming exam will be like without being graded on it and being nervous to do bad. The next part of the class was the students working in their lab groups and trying to create their own periodic table with limited amounts of information on each element. It taught them to recognize trends in the elements without looking at the already made periodic table. Before this I was struggling of ways to think of group work in chemistry besides labs and I think this was an awesome activity to get the students familiar with the elements without even really realizing it. The classroom was really large and had desks and then in the back there were large lab tables. There were plants hanging all over, motivational quotes and on the board the class objectives were clearly written out and stated well. At the end of the class she asked if the assessment was helpful and everyone said it was. They appreciated having exam practice. This teacher was able to involve group work into her class which I think is impressive because sometimes chemistry is straight memorization on your own.
The Chemistry class I observed was reviewing for their test the next day. The test was going to be on naming compounds. The first review activity they did was the teacher stood at the front of the classroom with large note cards and the students guessed as a class what the name on the molecule was. They did that for about 10 minutes. After that they got review packets and did them together. The teacher called on random students to answer the questions. It was very interactive and everyone seemed to be paying attention. If there was side conversation it was about why the answer was wrong and it was all related to the class. He gave out different color pieces of paper for different review topics. This is a techniques I also noticed in a different class I observed before. During the class review one student appeared to be sleeping. After the group review they were given independent silent time to review. Most students plugged their ear phones in and listened to music while they were studying. The teacher seemed to find an effective way to review for the exam and include everyone in it.
The AP chemistry class I observed was taking an exam the day I was there so the teacher showed me some things while they were taking the exam and gave me little tips. First she said make different parts of the exam different colors so they turn in the first part and then get the second part after. By making the different parts of the exam different colors you can know where students are and who is still working on part 1. She showed me her huge lesson plan binder and she has everyday planned out with exactly what to do. I guess that is what happens when you teach something for 28 years. She also showed me how the multiple choice portion of the exam was graded. It is new technology. All the students are given a student number that they bubble in at the top of the exam. After they turn in the multiple choice the answer key is placed under a camera and the camera grades it on its own and inputs it into the grade book. The teacher literally has to do nothing. I was surprised at how advanced the technology was. A sheet with the answers the student put and the correct answer could also be printed out and given to the student. This is similar to scantron, but much faster and more efficient. Scranton is what my high school and middle school and some of my college professors use. This teacher really seems to know what she is doing and the advanced technology seems to be improving her classroom.
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