Name of School Observed: School Address: Date of Visit
Name of School Observed: School Address: Date of Visit
As I was observing the class, I leaned that students all have different personalities. They have their own ways of using their intelligence which referred to as thinking styles. Their learning styles possibly affect their interaction which their teachers. They can be considered as intelligent but no different ways, since intelligent not only focus on one learning ability but rather it is a combination of several specific component abilities. Most of the students seated on the front seemed to be performing well compared to those who are seated at the back. I only saw 2 students takes longer time to come up which the answers and probably needs help from the teacher. I also observed there were students who are very confident to answer but they do not necessarily get the right answers. In contrast other students can be classified as reflective thinker who ponder questions and think it wisely before giving the answers and they usually got it right. Their performance cannot be seen directly by just merely observing their gestures, way of dressing and predicting their economic status. According to the teachers, students who are high in class belong in the middle class of family and some belong to just a poor family. She said that their performance was not based by their economic status but instead it was affected by their genes and their motivation and perseverance to study. Some of them indeed affected by their family backgrounds. High achieving students use their strengths to compensate for their weaknesses. They can be considered as reflective students, who pond questions or think it wisely before providing the answer to make sure that it will be correct.
1. Did your observation match the information given by the teacher? Were you able to correctly identify who among the students performed well and who did not? What behavior helped you identify them? (volunteering to answer, responding to teachers directions, etc.) Yes, as I observed the flow of their discussion, I was able to identify correctly who among those students performed well and those who did not. High achieving actively participated in their discussion and interacted well with the teacher. They also keep on asking questions to those problems which are confusing. Most of them volunteer to answer but only few of them totally got the correct answers, especially in some tricky questions and those are the students who are reflective thinker. They easily recognize teachers mistakes in some cases because they were following the flow of discussion.
2. Discuss the differences in ability levels of the students in the class. Is there a wide gap between the students who are performing well and those that are not? I can say that most of the student in the class has a high level of abilities but they are using it in different ways. Those low performing in the class does not have a wide gap from the high achievers. They can still catch up the lesson but not as quick compared to the high achievers. I also observed one student who just simply seated at the back. He was quiet as their discussion goes on and on but I was amazed when I saw his score during the quiz. He got a high score.
3. Describe he methods use by the teacher in handling the students differences in abilities. How did the students respond to the teacher? The teacher usually called the students that she think was not listening t her to catch up their attention. She also roamed around whenever she gave the class exercise to check the performance of each learner. The teacher actually demonstrates mastery of the topic which is why the students were motivated to learn. She asked questions that provoke students to questions common assumptions so that they can imagine the viewpoint of the topic being presented. The students were also given the task to work together in groups in some exercises so that they will have the benefit of hearing several viewpoints on a single problem.
1. Recall the time when you were in elementary or high school. Recall the high and low achievers in your class. How did your teacher deal with the differences in abilities? Was your teacher effective? During my elementary and high school years, my teacher became creative in dealing with our different abilities. She allows us to use our desk and provide us a wider space to express our own creativity considering our individual differences. She always acknowledge us when we dress neatly, play and work creatively. Our teacher also encourage us to think about stories they have read and ask to explore how authors develop characters with different personalities and different motives so that we can write alternative endings of assigned stones or books. They encourage us to take responsibility for planning our own creative time in doing projects and assignments. The method that was used by our teacher in dealing with our individual differences was indeed very effective.
2. With the principle of individual differences in mind, what methods and strategies will you remember in the future to ensure that you will be able to meet the needs of both the high and low achievers in your class? Every student has areas of strength and areas of challenge, as a future teacher, I will use variety of teaching techniques that will accommodate multiple abilities. I must be open to the different forms of abilities that involve understanding both verbal and numerical comprehension. I will help the students to find and use their strength in accomplishing task. I believe that having more of one ability can sometimes compensate for having less of another which applies the theory of multiple intelligences so that my learners will be able to use their strengths to compensate for their weaknesses.