Observation #1

     I had the pleasure of visiting a social studies teacher at a tech high school in Lincoln, Rhode Island called William Davies.  Mrs. Casey-Rowe has been teaching for many years.  She is also part of EdUnderground and Learnist.  Mrs. Casey-Rowe writes about the importance of technology in education.  This was clear as I sat in her Consumer Economics class while she showed clips of Shark Tank on her Smartboard.

Learnist- you can view one of her write ups.  Just look for Dawn Casey-Rowe.  You can also Google her.  She is very big on education blogging.

         William Davies High School is huge!  Its overwhelming and easy to get confused as to where to go.  They make it a tad easier for freshmen since there is a freshmen wing.  The school displays their Skills USA trophies in the front atrium.  I feel that university and college banners are missing from the atrium.  I also wish they made better use of the huge flat screen they have displayed as you walk in.  The focus at this school feels like it's on the technical then the academic.
     I spent several class periods observing her different periods.  The moment I walked in her room it was bright and inviting.  Although I will say it was a bit cluttered.  The desks were arranged with two four rows with the rows split down the middle facing each other.  This gave access to the teacher to walk down the middle aisle and facilitate discussion more than lecture.


                                              Door          ------   <--Smartboard

}} * {{                        C

}}   {{                         C

}}   {{                         C

                                                         ___

                                                         |    |  <--teachers desk in back

*=teacher path

{=desks

C=computers along wall

     I thought a small visual might help with the classroom.  Mrs. Casey-Rowe has her desk in the back of the room.  She spends little time there during the actual class.  I watched her lead class discussions through her Current Events class.  She walks back and forth down the center of the desks.  There was nothing on her wall above the computers where you could pin up anything.  I saw no real posters pushing writing, economics, history etc...which I'm used to seeing in teachers rooms.  Mrs. Casey-Rowe explained to me that she puts a lot of the information and assignments online through a program like RIC's Blackboard.  It allows students to finish assignments when they can and look up information they may have missed.  I felt this was such a beneficial tool since colleges are using hybrid classes or online formats.  

     Mrs. Casey-Rowe lets her students file in and get themselves settled before starting class.  All she had to do was stand toward the front and start talking.  The students then focused in for the most part.  If she felt students were off task during her discussion she would turn toward them and continue speaking.  The students would refocus and be quiet.  The Current Events class is a mix of freshmen and sophomores.  There were 22 students in total, 10 girls and 12 boys.  It was a pretty diverse class in terms of ethnicity or race.  I could not tell who had a disability.  Most of the girls were chatty or on their phones.  During this time, the class was placed into groups of two.  They had to read one of the cases on the handout and try to figure out what country.  The question asked at the beginning of class was "What is terrorism?  Who is a terrorist?"  They had a few minutes to read the case.  Then each group had to read the case out loud.  One group did not want to.  I figured they did not do the assignment.  But the teacher did not relent.  She asked the group to just explain the case in their own words.  The student explained it quite well and in a way the class understood.  I should never have made the assumption because I was sure wrong!  The assessment taking place for each group was if they could figure out if the case fell under terrorism and were they terrorists.  

     Everyone in Mrs. Casey-Rowe's class was allowed a voice.  The students were encouraged to discuss the issues.  The teacher still maintained the power with a strong and enthusiastic voice.  The teacher was able to bring any student back to focus through redirection.  I felt it was engaging and fun to be in the class.  Technology is encouraged.  Discussion is encouraged.  I would have preferred this method when I was in high school.  I'm not sure I would have felt academically challenged in this school where the focus is on the technical.  There are no honors or AP classes.  I think it's great the variety in the school.  Not all teachers are technological at this school.  Some are still very old school.  They talk, student listens, and regurgitates the information on the test.