The Power of Observation

This school year I have had the opportunity to work in three different classrooms and observe five others.  I have seen teachers that are immaculate planners and teachers that plan much more loosely (while not “winging it”), teachers that stick pretty close to the curriculum scope and sequence and teachers that only use the curriculum as the bones on which they build their own lessons and also a few who have the freedom to implement their own curriculum as long as standards are being met.  I’ve seen teachers who rely heavily on technology and teachers who eschew it, teachers who retain pretty tight control over their students and teachers who trust their students with a lot more freedom, teachers who like to talk and teachers who prefer to listen. 

I admire each and every one of these teachers.  They all have different preferences and styles, but they all care deeply about their students and are effective at pushing their students forward in their own ways.  Seeing so many different (and successful) styles of teaching is encouraging.  It is good to know that we can grow into many different types of teachers as we take on our own classrooms.  It has been fun to “try on” different ways of teaching based on ideas I get from visiting these different teachers' classes and to figure out which fit me and grow me as a teacher and which just aren’t going to be my style. 

It has also been encouraging to see that visiting other classrooms can be part of an ongoing effective teaching practice.  This quarter I have witnessed teachers visiting and giving feedback to their peers both at the elementary school where I student teach and in our university classes.  It seems teachers are really making an effort to break out of the old isolationist mindset and are proactively working together to share ideas and stay sharp.  This is the kind of school community of which I desire to be a part.