Evaluation of a Teaching Episode - Essay Example

Evaluation of a Teaching Episode Introduction: The task assigned was an art for middle school children on the Impressionist painter, Edward Degas. In my approach to the lesson, I favoured the Learner centered Model where instruction is adapted to suit individual learner needs and is responsive to input from the students1. Research has shown that middle school children prefer challenging activities that enhance conceptual understanding2 3 so I also included a painting session of Degas-like ballerinas for them. When I first entered the class and started teaching, the students seemed unfocused and distracted; such classroom behaviour4 was not an encouraging response, so I discarded the initial lecture I had planned and started showing them pictures of Degas’ paintings, to stimulate their interest in the world of Degas’ art and human figures.5 Communication style: After listening to the tape, I feel that my soft voice and formal approach at the beginning of the lesson was not helpful in gaining the attention of the students, because they could not connect with me. I should have started off trying to engage their interest and stimulate their curiosity since children learn best within a positive environment where they are actively engaged.6 What I was doing was lecturing instead, talking down to them - so they were switching off rather than engaging. I had to adapt my instruction, because what I was using was not working, so I decided that it would be better to adopt a more informal and interactive approach, since children love to ask questions. I was tense and holding myself too stiffly, perhaps the children sensed it too. So I relaxed and held out my hands to invite them to draw closer to me to look at Degas’ pictures and start painting them. I was pleased to note that my ability to realize when one method was not working, in order to switch to another was one of my strong points in the lesson, because my inviting tone and gesture worked very well; the restless children who felt bound by their desks were able to loosen up and I also relaxed when I didn’t feel like I was on the spot, standing up in front of the class, as the teacher. I didn’t have to shout so loud either. I invited their participation by asking them questions like, “Do you think this painting is good?” and “What do you like about it?” I wanted to see what the first impressions of the children would be – what would they notice, what would they wonder about? I was delighted to find that they were astute enough to notice that the painting was a set of lots of dots, because they were viewing it close up; therefore using a visual aid was very helpful. As a result, I was able to tell them that was the Impressionist style of painting and they listened with more interest, because they had noticed and asked about it themselves. One girl thought the dresses of the ballerinas were beautiful. A boy student noted how they seemed so “filmy and like gauze- all frothy and stuff.” Then I was able to pitch in and tell them how Degas used bright colors to achieve that beautiful effect. Thus, my interactive communicative style was very helpful in teaching. Language: My initial drawback was using big words and formal language with young children, which seemed akin to spitting out from a book, thereby creating an impersonal atmosphere that impacts negatively on students.7 8 But I soon realized that the children were losing interest because they could not understand the words and they were already bored with being lectured in school. My speech was also rather hurried at first, due to my nervousness and my voice was not clear doe to my lack of confidence. As pointed out by GroundWater Smith8a, the use of a clear voice is vital, so I realized I would have to stimulate their interest by speaking clearly and using simple language that they could understand. So I changed my style and began to speak slower, teaching them as if I was telling them a story about the painter Degas, using lots of repetition, expression and emphasis where necessary. I grew more confident after changing tack and switching to a simpler, colloquial style of communication which proved to be more effective in gaining their participation as also identified by Johnson,9 who has highlighted the importance of cooperation within the classroom. I began to use a simple question and answer format, because their replies helped me to gauge what they understood and what they didn’t. Simple questions also helped me to draw them out and I threw out the technical art terms and used words like “lots of dots” and “bright colors” instead of “impressionist” and “intensity”, to ensure that they understood what I was teaching. Learning: I was surprised at the level of interest that was generated during this lesson. Once the students realised that they were not going to be marked on their artwork and that a real live model was posing for them, they were intrigued and interested. It became a fun exercise instead of one that they would have to “study” and be graded on. Performance oriented goal learning has been shown to lead to surface learning only and is thereby counterproductive10 and my experience during this lesson seemed to indicate that children learn better when they don’t feel they have to perform and produce the needed grade. In fact, research has shown that in some instances, the pressure of performing may also lead to fooling around and procrastination11 But judging from the level of interest my students showed , I believe that one of my strong points lay in not grading the drawing and quiz assignments. I told them the main aim was to enjoy themselves, look at the model and try to do what Degas would have done. In a relaxed environment, the children not only asked more questions, they also remembered better because most of them were able to readily answer the random quiz at the end of the lesson, showing that the objective of the lesson had been successful. Introducing a novelty element of imagining themselves in another time, during the Degas era, was also one of the strengths of the lesson. The objective was to impart some knowledge about the painter Degas and the impressionist style of painting but by not telling them things. Helping them to discover it themselves through my questions and theirs, I found more participation and more learning. General impressions: My greatest strength was to be guided by the student feedback in conducting my lesson and in my ability to change direction when one lesson plan was not successful. My interactive communicative style, use of simple language and informal teaching style were also helpful. My weakness was my initial nervousness and too formal an approach. What worked well in this class was a non-preachy style, stimulating creativity and using an innovative approach, soliciting the interaction of the students and using visual aids. In my next class, I would take more time to break the ice before launching into the lesson and try to introduce a more creative, simple teaching approach. My analysis has also shown me the need for educators to consider stop pressuring students through strict grading and to focus upon making the lessons fun even while they educate: I discovered that more learning occurs that way. (1199 words) Bibliography APA Work Group of the Board of Educational Affairs (1997 November) Learner-centered psychological principles: A framework for school reform and redesignWashington, DC: American Psychological Association. Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development (1989) Turning points: Preparing American youth for the 21st century New York: Carnegie Corporation. Eccles, J.S., & Midgley, C.M (1989) Stage-environment fit: Developmentally appropriate classrooms for young adolescents In C. Ames & R. Ames (Eds.) Research on motivation in education Vol. 3: 139-186 San Diego: Academic Press. Graham, S., & Golan, S (1991) Motivational influences on cognition: Task involvement, ego involvement, and depth of information processing Journal of Educational Psychology 83:187-196. Groundwater-Smith, S (2000) Evidence based practice: towards whole school improvement Paper presented to the Annual Conference Australian Association for research into Education. Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., Holubec, E., & Roy, P (1984) Circles of learning: Cooperation in the classroom Alexandria VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. McCombs, B (1997) Self-assessment and reflection: Tools for promoting teacher changes toward learner-centered practices NASSP Bulletin 81: 1-14. McCombs, B., & Whisler, S (1997) The Learner-centered classroom and school San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Meece, J.L., & Miller, S.D. (2001) A longitudinal analysis of elementary school students achievement goals in literacy activities Contemporary Educational Psychology, 26: 454-480. 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