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To start the day, Ms. Hebs always says “Hey people. How are we doing?” I personally like this because I have not heard that expression in a long time (my AVID teacher in high school would also start class like that). By the time class starts, the students would have already started working on the Warm-Up which is listed on the board (if there is one). I believe Ms. Hebs uses the Warm-Up to get her students in the “mood” of math which can be tough especially as the first class in the morning. She would give them time to complete the questions and then they would go over them. After that, she goes over the homework. Both times, she encourages them to ask questions, to confirm that they understand the material. As you would expect, no one asks a question unless she asks for them like five times or if she’s about to move on. Even then, she gets excited to answer the question and works it out on the board. Depending on which hour, the durations for these two activities take between a total of 15 – 25 minutes.
After homework review, Ms. Hebs either introduces a new concept or hands out a worksheet for the students to work on. When introducing a new concept, she tells them to get their iPads out and download the PowerPoint so that they can follow along. This process doesn’t take too long (maybe around 15 minutes), but once the lesson is over, she gives them a worksheet to practice the new material. Essentially, if you are a student in Ms. Hebs’s class, expect to get a worksheet. Sometimes, the worksheets turn into the homework that they review the next day. The students work on the worksheet until the end of class, so there isn’t much closure to the class except on Fridays when she tells them to have a good weekend or reminds them that they have a test next Monday. The only times they don’t get worksheets is when they have a test.
Based on my observations, I can infer a few objectives that Ms. Hebs has for her class. They are: to practice old and new material, encourage students to ask questions, and develop the algebraic skills of each student. As an algebra teacher, the last one is pretty intuitive. All the worksheets illustrate the first objective and the fact that she always encourages her students to ask questions proves the second objective. I believe that her class is loose but also structured at the same time. The schedule is very simple, but she expects her students to complete their work either in class or by class tomorrow. Does Ms. Hebs have motivational strategies that encourage her students to work? In order to see those moments, I think that you’ll have to watch her when she helps a student. She uses positive reinforcement to encourage her students to continue working through problems. Words like “beautiful”, “you got it”, “you know what you’re doing” are used frequently.
I believe that Ms. Hebs’ class structure is very flexible in that she doesn’t try to rush her students through so many activities that are back-to-back-to-back which is great. That means that students can take as much time as they need (or as much as she can give them) to work out the problems and ask questions. This is definitely intentional because her students are at different levels due to how the previous year was not a typical year and by giving them all a general worksheet to work on together, there are chances for them to help each other and get a grasp of certain concepts at their own pace at the same time. Does this work? I believe it does most of the time. Sometimes, students use the worksheet time to joke and play around with each other, which leads to them not working on the worksheet. Adding on, their iPads have been used for things other than a calculator so it’s also a source of distraction. Either way, she expects them to finish the worksheet eventually, so the students have to be self-reliable and make sure that they complete their work on time.
Hmmm… what observations do I have? Ms. Hebs and I both think that the 1st and 2nd hour are polar opposites of each other. In what way, you ask? Well, 1st hour is quiet while 2nd is loud. 2nd hour is more energetic and active than the 1st hour (but then again, who likes doing math first thing in the morning?). And the biggest difference: 1st hour struggles much more with the material than 2nd hour. There are students who have completely finished the worksheet before class in the 2nd hour, but there are students who have only answered 1 or 2 questions on the worksheet before class ends in the 1st hour. Also, 1st hour is where I help guide students through their math problems while I check answers in the 2nd hour. It’s very interesting seeing how different the classes are.
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Chisom,
Thanks for your great post! When I was working at Breakthrough this summer our mentors would always talk about the importance of listing things on the board for students to read when they walk in. It is cool to see this in a real classroom by a real teacher. I also can definitely relate to asking if anyone has any questions and getting blank stares back.
I like that Ms. Hebs has the students follow along to the PowerPoint, seems intentional and in support of a variety of learning styles. Interesting that she is so reliant on worksheets, but it seems to, as you mention, allow for flexibility. Sounds like the way she utilizes the various methods work together, however I’m not sure they would work for all teachers or classrooms.
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Worksheets seem like a really good way to plan out a lesson, it sounds like Ms. Hebs has a really consistent lesson plan which will help students come into class each day knowing what will be expected of them and be able to do it. It seems really conducive to promoting her students’ motivation, although I can remember my middle school algebra experience feeling really rigorous. Your observation that the second class is more energetic and struggles less than the first class resonates a lot with me, I think that a lot of the efficacy of teaching depends on how much folks are willing to learn and participate. Even a sound lesson plan isn’t guaranteed to reach all students equally, there is a vygotskyan explanation for the second class doing better, perhaps there are more MKOs in the second hour than in the first because of random chance, and these are contributing to the success of the lessons.
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Chisom,
I am very intrigued at the class structure that you describe here. It is interesting to me the ways in which certain subjects have to have more rigid structure, such as high school math classes or science classes. It is interesting that you said that Ms. Heb’s class is both loose and structured at the same time. I would think that the structure is inherent in a math class where students are generally there to memorize facts and reproduce them. In contrast, the elementary school classroom I work in is incredibly loose. Molly has a schedule on the wall that outlines their day, but they rarely stick to that schedule. If Molly notices that her students are not interested in what she is teaching then she changes the subject and has them doing something that is more captivating for them. I can see how this would be hard in an hour-long math class where you have little flexibility in what you need to teach and the time in which you have to teach it.
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Hi, Chisom!
Despite the differences between algebra and English, your class seems remarkably like mine. My teacher, Jaclyn, has to fight to get students to ask her questions, and she uses motivational strategies like praise in an attempt to elicit the desire to continue learning. To me, this constant struggle seemed so demoralizing in the moment, but we are at a point in the term where the students seem to have opened up more and more. However, possibly the biggest similarity between Ms. Hebs and Jaclyn is the way that they both feature worksheets so heavily in their class time. I also believe that this style works most of the time, as it gives the students a tactile way to stay grounded and engage with the material. Now, I want to keep my eyes open for the way that learning objectives change from worksheet to worksheet, and see if there are objectives that they are limited in.
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