Entry 6

What strategies does the teacher use to actively engage the students? How effective are these?

The teacher at Barrett Elementary school would engage the students by having them take turns answering the questions asked by the teacher and by having them ask questions about the lesson. Also she would teach a subject and then let the students practice by doing the assignment on their own. The effectiveness of these strategies varied. I could tell that some of the students were involved and learning, but, many of the students did not seem very interested in the lessons that were being taught. They would get rowdy or put their heads on the desk. Honesty, I think the strategies the teacher used was good for the students who understood things quickly but not good for those who struggle to understand. Those who were not engaged in the lesson and the discussions seemed to get left out. If I were to change something about the way the teacher engaged the students, I would have her call on the students who looked like they were sleeping, frustrated or loud. This way the students would have to follow along and if they did not understand, the teacher could help them out better.

     At Dan Peterson the teacher and teacher's aides engaged the students by working with them one on one to give each of the student a chance to work on what they were learning. This was effective, the only problem that would occur was trying to get around to all of the students before they got bored and disruptive. Because there were more students than aides it was hard to make sure all of the students were engaged in the work at once.

    When I am a teacher I will engage my students by doing interactive activities with my students. I have a hard time just standing in front of a class gabbing because that is not an effective method of teaching in my opinion.  I would give my students hands on activities that they could do so that they can learn the lesson in a fun and interactive way.