Observation#1Renny,Pleaseaddoneortwoparagraphsthatprovideasummative interpretationofthewholeobservationinlightofwhatyouarelearningaboutwaysteachers addresseventssuchas911.Iwillprovideagradethen.thanks. Researcher:RennyFong Place:PS130Manhattan,Room505 Purpose:ObservingaFifthGradeLessonon9/11 Participants:32Students,15Female/17Male,28Asian,2Hispanic,2Multiracial 1FemaleTeacher,AfricanAmerican,21YearsTeaching Date/Time:October,11,2012(10/11/12)@9:00AMDuration:About40minutes Background/Context:IaskedateacherifIcouldobserveherteachingorrevisitingalessonon 9/11.Itwasexactlyamonthafter,soshetaughtalessononterrorismwiththestudents.Iwas atotalobserver.

MorningMeeting
OBSERVATIONS 9:00AMTeachersitsonchairbythecomputer Teacherasksstudentstocometothemeeting areawithnothing. Tellsastudenttotakeoffhishatoff.Asksa persontoputawaterbottleawayintohisdesk. Teachertellsclassthattheyaregoingtotalka littleaboutthedaysscheduleandthentheyare goingtodoasactivity.Teachersays,Weregoing totalkalittlebitaboutSeptember11th.Todayis October11th,whichisexactlyamonthafterthe anniversaryof9/11,elevenyearsago.Iwantedto doafollowupoverthenextcoupleofdays. Teachergoesovertherestofthedaysschedule. Asksclassifthereareanyquestionsaboutthe daysschedule. Noquestions. Asksforacoupleofstudentswhowentto yesterdayeveningsmiddleschoolfairtoshare aboutanythingtheysaworheard.Shesays, Theresnorightorwronghere. Twostudentsraisetheirhands. Onetalksaboutwhereismomwantshimtogo nextyear,andanothertalksaboutwantingtogoto thesameschoolashiscousin.Teacherresponds toeachchildscommentwithaquestionorasking forfurtherclarification. Teachertellsstudentsthatiftheydidntgettogo, theycouldgoontheinternetorgoonschooltours hostedbytheParentsAssociation. Teachertellsstudentsshewantsthemtogoback totheirdeskstogettheirsocialstudiesnotebooks. Studentsgototheirdesksandbackpackstotake outtheirnotebookswithouttalking. QUESTIONS/INTERPRETATIONS Teacherhasanestablishedroutine.Shedirects studentstothemeetingarea.Sheisseatedatthe frontoftheroomandsittinginachair,while studentsaresittingonthefloor.Sheisina positionofauthority.

Anamazingcoincidence!Iknewthedatewas October11th,butdidntevenputtogetherthatit wasexactlyamonthaftertheanniversary.Perfect! Iamgratefulthatshefitthisintoherscheduleand allowedmetoobserveherclassfortwosessions

Ifounditinterestingwhenshesaidthatthereisno rightorwronghere,afteraskingherquestion. Doessheaddthissostudentsdontfeelafraidof beingwrong?

Teacherencouragesstudentsbysuggestingother opportunitiesforstudentstolearnmoreabout middleschools.

Teacherprovidesmanydirectivesandstudentsare abletofollow.

Ilikehowshecreatedthistransition.Now, studentsarereadytolearn.

LessononTerrorism
9:05AMStudentssitbackatmeetingarea. Lightsareturnedoff,InteractiveWhiteboard (IWB)isturnedon. Asksstudentstowritedateintheirnotebook andthenasks,WhatdoIwantustobeable todotoday? Studentanswers,Whatdoyouthinkthe wordterrorismmeans? Teacherclarifiesandgoesoverwhat SWBATmeans(Studentswillbeableto...) Asksstudentagaintoreadoutthesentence shewroteontheboard,Studentswillbeable todefineterrorism. OntheIWBisapagewiththedateontop,the wordSocialStudies,andSWBATdefine terrorism,followedbythequestion,Whatdo youthinkterrorismmeans?Ilikehowthe teacherestablishesthegoalsofherlesson here,sothestudentsareclearabouther expectations.Here,Iwouldhavebeen curiousaboutnotonlywhatstudentsthink terrorismmeans,butwhatquestionsdo theyhaveaboutit.

Teachergivesstudentstimetocopydown Thestudentsarecopyingdownthewordson thequestionandtowritedownwhattheythink theIWB,whichtakessomeawhiletodo,so thewordterrorismmeans.Tellsthemthey theydonthaveasmuchtimetoreallythink donthavetowritecompleteorfullsentences. toohard/longabouttheword. Tellsthemtheyhavetwominutestodothat. Studentsquietlycopyofftheboardandjot downtheirthoughts/notes. Teachergoesoverprotocol.Shewillcallon Ilikethisprotocol,becausethenstudents oneperson,andtheywillgoontothenext donthavetowaitfortheteachersresponse person,andthenext,untilshecalls,Next everytime,beforethenextstudentanswers. andlast.Studentaskswhethertheyhaveto pickoppositegenderandteachersaysthey canpickonanyone. Overhalftheclasshastheirhandsraised. Teachercallononeofthestudents. Firststudentresponds:Peoplethatmurder otherpeople.(Teachertypeswhatthe studenthasshared) Studentsseemeagertoshare.

Itsgreatthattheteachercantakenoteson thecomputerasstudentsaresharing.It wouldbegreatifastudentcoulddothis,and theteachersitsamongstthestudents.Im Teachersaysnext,andstudentpicksanother thinkingiftheroomwasbigger,theteacher studenteachtime. wouldhavetheminacircleduringsharing. Secondstudent:Ithinkterrorismmeansfear. Ithoughttheresponsesofthestudentswas (Teacherasks,Fear?) greatandhoweachchildhadadifferent definitionforit.Surprisingly,thereadingsIve

Thirdstudent:Ithinkhurtingpeople.

donesofartalkabouthowsometextshave defineditoneway,butthenuseditdifferently Fourthstudent:Ithinkterrorismistakingover. withinthesametext!Forexample,onetext (Teacherasks,Takingover?) mentionedhowterrorismhadtoinvolve civilians,yettheymentionedhowanattackon Fifthstudent:Ithinkitmeanspeople amilitarybasewasanactofterrorism. assaultingthecity. Iwonderedifanyofthestudentsneverheard ofthewordorwerentsureaboutit.Because Teachersays,Nextandlast. thisteacherdidaseriesoflessonson9/11, Imassumingtheyhaveagoodsenseofthe Sixthstudent:Destruction? word. Teachersays: Ilikethewordsyouguysarecomingupwith sofar. Teachersaysthatitseemsthestudents knowquitealotaboutit.Nowsheposesthe question:Haveyoueverheardthisword beingusedandhow?Teacherasks studentstoturntotheirneighborstoshare aboutit. Teacherdirectsstudentseyestothefront witha3countdown. Teachersharesthatshewaslisteninginon somegroupsandshesharedthatsheheard 9/11mentionedinonegroupandoverheard peopletalkingaboutthetelevisionandthe news. Whenteacheraskediftherewasanything anyoneelsewantedtoadd,onestudent mentionedOsamaBinLaden,atwhichpoint anotherquicklysaidinalowvoice,Hes dead.Theteachertypedthestudent responses.Shetyped,Peoplebeing surprisedwhilewalkingdownthestreet,and TheInternet Teacherannouncesthattheyaregoingto watchaBrainPopvideo,atwhichpointthe classcheersandteachermentionstome thatweclearlyneedtokeepsubscribingtoit asaschool. BrainPophasgreatshortanimatedvideos whichteachstudentsaboutconceptsfrom everysubjectarea. Thestudentsdidntseemtohaveasmany connectionshere.Somestudentsstarted askingeachotheraboutmiddleschools,and otherswerestillsharingtheirdefinitions,as theymaynothaveheardthiswordused aroundthem.Othersdidhavesome experiencewiththeword. Iwonderifthispointifitwouldhavebeen morepowerfultoshareaboutstudents feelingsaboutthewordandwhatitmeans andwhattheythoughtaboutit.Inother words,Howdoesterrorismaffectthemin theirdailylives?

StudentswatchaVideoaboutTerrorism

9:15AMTheteachertellstheclassthat beforetheystartwatchingthevideo,she wantsthemtocopyaquestiondown:What havewelearnedaboutterrorism?Shetells themthatattheend,shewillgivethemsome timetowriteaboutitandwhattheyhave learnedaboutitandthentheywouldtalk aboutit.

Iliketheideaofhavingapromptsothe studentshaveafocuswhenwatchingthe video.Again,Ithoughtitmighthavebeen interestingforstudentstowritedownany questionsorthoughtstheymighthave, insteadofjustwritingabouttheinformation thatthevideoprovides,whichisalso important.

Oncethevideostarts,almostallthestudents Thesevideosdoagreatjobofkeepingthe arequiet.Shepausesandsaysshehasto studentsattention.Thetopic/titleofthisvideo waitforafewstudentstogetfocused. isWhatisterrorism? Thevideo(5.5minutes)goesoverhowthe wordisusedalot,yetpeoplemaynotknow whatitreallymeans.Thisvideotriesto explainit. Firstittalksaboutwhataterroristis,what theydo,andwhytheydowhattheydo. Teacherpausesvideoeveryfewsecondsto letstudentstakenotesortohavesomething clarifiedthatshefeltthestudentsneededto knowabout. Teacherclarifiesdifferencebetweenawar andanactofterrorism(like9/11)andhow terroriststargetregularpeopleorcitizens (wordusedbyastudent)liketheWorldTrade Center. Shepausesthevideototelltheclasshow terroristscandresslikeregularpeople,like on9/11,whentheplaneswerehijacked. Thevideogoesoverhowterrorismhasbeen aroundforthousandsofyears. Thevideogoesoverwhathappenedon9/11 inNYCandWashington,DC.Italso mentionedOklahomaCity. Thevideothengoesoverthemotivation behindterrorism. Theteacherpausesthevideoeveryfew secondstoletstudentstakenotesaboutwhat hasbeensaid.Eventhoughthevideois animated,whenitgoesoverwhataterrorist isandwhataterroristdoes,thereisalotthat couldbediscussedlikebombings,suicide missions,etc.Ratherthanfocusonthose details,theteacherchosetoclarifyterms relatedtoterrorism.(whichwasthefocusof herlesson)Thisvideotalksabouthow terroristsoftentargetciviliansandarehardto detect,astheyblendinwithcivilians.

Shealsopausesthevideotosayhowtheline betweenmilitarypersonnelandterroristscan beblurryrightnow Teacherpausesvideotosaythatterrorism didnotbeginwith9/11andhasoccurred thousandsofyearsbeforethat.Ithinkthis wasgreattomentionandtoclarifyforthe students. Whentheteacherpausesthevideo,itseems tobeaclearindicationthatsomethingthat wasjustsaidisimportantandthatthey shouldbetakingnotes.Here,theteacher herselfgoesoverwhyterroristsmightdo whattheydo,fromthevideo.(e.g.,land, religion,politicalbeliefs,etc.)Tryingtostopa certainwayoflifeandtomakepeopleafraid, asterrorismhastherootword,terrorinit.

Thevideomentionshowterrorismwill probablyalwaysbearoundandyoucant

reallyendit.Thekeyistonotbeafraid.

Shesharedwiththeclassthatthekeyisto liveyourlifethewayitssupposedtobelived andtoenjoyit.Beinformed,toknowwhats goingon,andtoknowthefacts. Ithinkitsgreattogiveareallifepersonal example.Iwishtherewastimeforsome studentstosharetheirstories.Here,the enemyistimeandtheteacheriskeeping thelessonmovingalong.

Teacherspausesvideoandsharesabouther experienceonbeingonaflight,AA74,that wasstuckatJFKandhowrumorswere startingtospread.Shetoldthemshe decidedtoremaincalmandnottopanic.She wentoverwhywehavefiredrills,sopeople wontpanicinarealemergencysituation. 9:25AMTeachergivesstudentsacoupleof minutestowritedownwhattheyhavelearned andtowritedowntheirownthoughts.Most studentsarewriting,andsomestudentsare lookingaround. Teachertellsstudentstobeawarethatthey willbetradingnotebooks(someoneelsewill bereadingwhattheyhavewritten) Teacherstopstheclasstogivethem directionsonhowtheywillbeswitching placesandrespondingtosomeoneelses writinginthatpersonsnotebookwith somethingthatstartswithIthink,Idoubt,and Iwonder.TeacherputsthisontheIWB. Remindsthemtocommentonwhatother studentswrote(notgrammarand punctuation),andnotonwhattheydidntdo. Studentsputtheirnotebooksontheirown tables.Somecontinuetowrite. Studentsmakeswitch,whereonetableof studentsmovestoanothertable,rotating aroundtheroom. 9:35AMStudentsgotomeetingareato shareoutwithoutnotebooks.Reminds studentstopickstudentswhodidnothavean opportunitytospeakyet. Studentresponses: StudentOneTerrorismiswhenagroupof terroristsgetstogetherandplanstospread violence,fear,andtheirmessage.

Itsgreatshegivesthemindividualtimeto reflectandtoputdowntheirthoughts.Thisis mucheasierforsomethanothers.

Theteachermanagestheclasswellwithher directions,andherexpectationsarevery clear.Again,oneofthebigissuesistime,as somestudentsdontget alotdownonpaper,sinceallofthese responsesareinwriting,andnoteveryoneis astrongwriter.

Itismostpowerfulwhenthestudentsgetto sharetheirthinking,andIlovedhowthe teacherpushedsomeoftheirthinkingwith furtherquestions.Givenmoretime,Icould

StudentTwoTerrorismiswhenaterroristor seethestudentsgettingevendeeperin groupofterroriststrytoshowpeopletheir conversation. religionsorbeliefs. Teacherrespondsbysayingthatshewants topushheralittleabitwithaquestion.Alot ofpeopleshowpeopletheirreligionorbeliefs, butthereisaveryspecificwaythatterrorists doit.Howdotheydoit? Studentresponds:Bytryingtoscarepeople andtryingtomakeotherpeoplehavethe samebeliefsthattheydo. StudentThreeTerroristsblendinwith commonpeoplesonoonecantellthemfrom others. StudentFourIlearnedyoucannotend terrorismbecauseithasbeenaroundfor thousandsofyears. Teacher:Iwanttoaskyouguysaquestion aboutthiscomment.Becauseitsalways beenthere,willitalwaysbethere?Isthere anotherreasonwhythevideosaysthat terrorismmightneverend? Student:Itwilltakeaverylongtimeforthe worldtoend. Teacherclarifies:Isee,becausetherewill alwaysbepeoplearound. Teachertypesandreadsout: Youcantendterrorism.Peoplewillalways... [thenasks,Somepeoplewillalwaysdo what?] Otherstudent:Fight? Anotherstudent:Toprotectus? Teachersays:Notjustprotectingus. Anotherstudent:Therearealwaysgoingtobe Whatgreatinsightfromastudent!Tomake peopletryingtoprovesomething,thatthey sureeveryonegotit,Iwonderifshecould areright. havehadotherssummarizewhatthestudent saidthatmadehersay,Ithinkthatsgetting Ilovedhowtheteachershowedher disagreementwiththevideobygivingan exampleofsomethingthatexistedforalong time,butthendoesntreallyexistanymore, likeaWalkman.Whentheteacher mentionedthatbeforetheywereborn,there wasntalwaysemailwhenshewasgrowing up,afewstudentsmadeasoundandopened theirmouthswide.Justbecauseitsexisted foralongtime,doesitmeanitwillneverend?

Teacher:Ithinkthatsgettingtoit.Therewill toit.Ididlikethattheteacherclosedwilla alwaysbepeopletryingtoprovethattheyre lessonandtakeawayfromit.Lookingforward rightandtherewillalwaysbepeoplethatwill totomorrow! useviolentmeanstotrytodoit.Thatswhy terrorismwillprobablyneverend.But,that doesntmeanweneedtowalkaroundbeing afraidthatmeanswejustneedtobeaware.

SummativeInterpretation Afterconductingthisobservation,Iwasleftwithsomanyquestionsandwonderings.I lovedhowtheteachermanagedtheclassanditshowedthatshereallyplannedherlessonwith agoalinmind,asshestatedinthebeginningofherlesson,Studentswillbeabletodefine terrorism.Thiswasherexplicitgoalthatshesharedwiththestudents,butthenIwonder whethershehadmanyimplicitgoalsthatarentmadeexplicittothestudents.Wastherea higherpurposeinteachingthestudentsabout9/11? AsIobservedthislessonunfold,Ialsostartedthinkingabouthowtheroleoftheteacher affectswhatthestudentslearnandhowtheylearnabouteventslike9/11.Dothestudentsview theteacherasastorytellerorabroadcasterofinformationorafacilitator,oraninformant,or areferee,oraparentalfigure,oralecturer,oradirector,orachoreographer,orascientist,ora preacher,etc?Also,howdoestheteacherviewthestudents?Dothestudentsplaytheroleof anaudienceorreceiversofinformation,ortransformativeintellectuals(Giroux),ordemocratic students,orscientists,etc?And,howdoestheteacherviewherself,beinginherposition?The environmentthattheteachercreatesforthestudents(e.g.,tellingvs.questioning,teachertalk vs.studenttalk,amountoftimeforquestionsanddiscussion,etc.)hasthepotentialtoplaya significantandmakeaprofoundimpactonwhatandhowthestudentslearnandunderstand abouteventslike9/11.IfeelIwillonlyscratchthesurfaceofthecomplexityofthe teacherstudentrelationshipandhowthisaffectshowstudentslearnaboutaneventlike9/11. IamthinkingIwillfocusinonthisteacherandthisclassroombecauseoftiming,andthe factthatIwanttogetmuchdeeperintothisdynamicbetweenteacherandstudents. GradeA