So overall I would say that Sandra was right for what she did. I do think that her words may have been sort of matter-of-factly instead of calming. I think the only thing she would have done better is to state that it wasn't her fault and that this is a learning experience. Not every lesson goes perfectly the first time, actually almost none of them go right the first time. Explaining this and letting her know that she is not in the wrong would help. Sandra seems to be more aggressive and protective of her students than she probably needs to be in this situation.
Who do you think was at fault?
I think Sandra was at fault because of the way she responded to the student teacher. She could settle down the kids, but was unable to settle down the student teacher. It is her responsibility to help the student teacher through this experience instead of making the student teacher feel worse about the situation.
What do you think teachers can learn from Sandra's case?
I think teachers need can learn that they need to make sure that their student teacher knows they are not trying to impede their learning, but letting them have another chance to revamp their lesson and do better the net time around. To learn from what happened that day and build on it so that they can perform a good lesson. Give them helpful hints on how to make the lesson better.
I agree with your comments about Sandra seeming somewhat aggressive in regards to the kids, and being rough with the student teacher. I can only imagine how the student teacher felt holding in her emotions for the rest of the day, and being to be in tears in front of the kids.
ReplyDeleteIn my post, I delineated a host of other possible actions both parties could have taken. My difference in perspective, again, is probably due to having been in the classroom for a while. The world looks different when it's *your* world. :)
Sean, It was poorly handled all the way around... Sandra being overly controlling and the way she dealt with the student teacher. The student teacher needed to be more mindful of the host teacher's Classroom Management Style (CMS) and in better control of her emotions. You are exactly right when you pointed out that lesson plans and activities may Not go as planned first time around, which depending on how you handle the situation determines the actions moving forward. This goes back to my comment about the student teacher being mindful of the host teacher's CMS, once things began to move beyond Sandra's comfort level the student teacher could have reigned the students in and redirected. Yet, even that awareness comes with experience and we all know experience is gained by doing... and doing means sometimes missing the mark. I think the main thing to keep in mind when considering what teachers can learn from this case is... it's a learning environment filled with many different learners some are just more experienced than others.
ReplyDeleteOverall, your comments seem to be in agreement with what I thought when I read the case. Sandra didn't communicate very well with Michelle. She probably played more of a part in the difficult situation that arose than she was willing or able to admit. But, it is a good thing that she was talking about the experience with other teachers. At least that shows that she was interested in knowing if she had done what was best, and was getting some other perspectives. Sometimes when we teach, we're alone in our classroom all day, and the only perspective we have on what we're doing is our own, unless we seek out the advice of others.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that we agreed on most of the answers to these questions, except I am a little more torn as to whether or not Sandra was in the right. I think the problem was that neither of the two handled the situation as the should have.
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