Classroom and Student Observation
Laura Grady
Tim McMahon
Russ Nielsen
Jen Norum
CLASSROOM OBSERVATION
Students were working collaboratively on feedback of the summer session. Most of the students were following the assignment, however, some of the students were out of their seats talking. When the teacher called for attention, the students responded well and gave their attention to the teacher. While the students talked amongst themselves, they used a lot of slang, however, since they were mostly seated we did not pick up on too much body language except for the hand motions. The boys were more animated than the girls, who seemed to be into their work. Towards the end of the period all the students became inpatient. When the teacher asked for opinions, the students all shouted out answers instead of raising their hands.
STUDENT DESCRIPTIONS
In the classroom the students were working on feedback for their teacher about the summer program. They were working collaboratively and appeared to work well together. The students were obviously very excited about the upcoming closure of summer school and were a little more hyper then usual. However, when the teacher entered the room the students were very respectful to her and listened when she spoke. They worked along with the teacher to brainstorm new ideas for next summer session. The students sat in the classroom by gender and ethnicity. To our surprise the boys were definitely more talkative and outgoing then the girls. It may have only been because there was a majority of boys in the class we observed. The students were extremely friendly and were happy to have visitors in their class, and welcomed us in to observe their classroom.
As we watched the students at recess, they appeared to be in groups of about three to five. They associated with their own age group, race, and gender. The kids all seemed to wear a casual style of clothes. Baggy jeans seemed to be the popular item, and the boys seemed to wear more athletic gear compared to anything else.
All the students talked about school, what they were going to do later, or the opposite sex. While we were observing the students we witnessed two fights that almost broke out. When we interviewed them we discovered that most of them enjoyed school at O'Farrell. They described the students here as hyper, funny, outgoing, active, smart, egotistical, unique, and creative. Several of the students commented on their excitement and plans for college. They felt that O'Farrell was preparing them well for advanced education. Two of the young men we talked to were very interested in talking about girls, sports, and other social topics. In general, the students were eager to share their experiences and opinions with us.
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