Observing a Science Classroom

 It has been a great week and a half of Student Teaching  so far at Shippensburg Area Senior High School.  This week, I had to opportunity to visit Mrs. Lawrence's classroom to observe her AP Physics class. 

Mrs. Lawrence is clearly the favorite science teacher in the building. I asked many of Mrs. Bier's classes who I should observe for this assignment, and all of their answers included Mrs. Lawrence. 

So, on Tuesday January 17th, I observed Mrs. Lawrence's third block. Seeing that this is an AP class, it is what Shippensburg calls a "skinny", a shorter block that is able to run year long. 

Tuesday's lesson was titled "Magnetic Flux and Faraday's Law". The lesson included rigorous content preparing students for their AP Exam. The objectives of the lesson were: The student can create representations and models of natural or man-made phenomena and systems in the domain, The student can use representations and models to analyze situations or solve problems qualitatively and quantitatively, The student can apply mathematical routines to quantities that describe natural phenomena, and The student can make claims and predictions about natural phenomena based on scientific theories and models. 

Students were obviously interested in the lesson, they are "hungry" for more knowledge that will help them to receive college credit for this course. This class meets the students needs by stretching their brains and preparing them for the AP Exam. 

As I sat and observed the course, I could tell that Mrs. Lawrence had lots of teaching experience because the methods I could identify came so naturally. The lesson started with a review of what they covered before the long weekend. Students took notes and asked detailed questions. A teaching method that I found very effective was her use of cues and questioning to help students use what they already know to find their solution. The class was taking formulas that they had used previously to learn what the correct formula for magnetism. 

After really getting into the meat of the lesson, I could tell that Mrs. Lawrence was truly facilitating learning. Students were eagerly asking questions about the formulas. The class flew by, and I was constantly taking notes about the ways that Mrs. Lawrence exhibited the effective characteristics of teaching. She had business-like behavior, the students respected her and it was clear that she had set class procedures. She exhibited enthusiasm by always smiling. The class was full of clarity, as she kept a running list of key notes on the front board for students to be able to follow. Finally, there was variability in the lesson because Mrs. Lawrence not only explained using the formulas, but also gave real life applications. 

Mrs. Lawrence capitalized on students' interest by relating charge to wireless chargers and electromagnets. Later in the lesson, she also explained how the formula was related to traffic lights and their coils that trigger them. She was able to structure new material by having students take detailed notes, and reinforce the new content with a practice problem set. Finally, she clarified her goals by having a cognitive connect at the end of the lesson, and explaining how it relates and builds into tomorrow's lesson. 

Overall, I am very thankful for the opportunity to observe Mrs. Lawrence's Physics class. Every teacher that I have met so far at Shippensburg has been so welcoming and supportive. 

Here's to Part of the Whole Tree, 

Ms. Holtry