A Visit to the Science World

 I was able to visit a science teacher in at Honesdale High School. It was cool experience to see a science classroom and a highly experienced teacher in that field. 

I visited a teacher with 30 plus years of experience who is actually about to retire, he teaches biodiversity. Not that most teachers teach with a lesson plan the whole time, but I did not see him reference that at all, he was comfortable with what he was teaching. It was cool to see what  it looks like with all that experience under your belt. 

Today was all about energy and what energy is, different types, and different forms. When the students came in he told them to takes notes on what was on the board and they had to submit them for a grade. He gave them the about 10-15 minutes of class to do this. Then, he spent the rest of the class going over what they already took notes on. I liked this because it is proven that students will focus on taking notes and not on what you're saying so he was able to have their full attention. In this part I do think he did give away some of the information, but this was the ground work for facilitating learning in what he did later in the class. 

While he was essentially just lecturing he called on students and checking their understanding for the topics they just took notes on. He used demonstrations of energy by tossing around a stuffed owl, rubber bands, and a heater in the classroom. This also helped with keeping students interested and helping in getting students to get gain understanding of energy. While doing this he naturally asked students about their experience or thoughts on different topics which also helped to keep them involved. 

In the class he also talked about foods connection to energy and what nutrients we get from that which helped students tie this to biology and health classes as well. He also did a great job of giving the students a real world example of what fossil fuel we use and how it has changed in the last 20 years. Through using these examples and demonstrations he was able to provide clarity and was creating a learner centered experience. 

Another thing, I took notice to was that he finished the class early and the students were still very respectful. They stayed in their seats, listened to the afternoon announcements, and talked to each other and the teacher until the bell rang. This does lack some of the business-like behavior, but it comes to show what setting clear expectations in your classroom can do. 

Overall, it was a good experience to see a how another classroom is run, I definitely liked the demonstrations and atmosphere and would like to take that into my teaching style.