Observation Assignment #1

            On Monday, March 16^th, I visited Nathan Bishop Middle School in Providence, RI to spend the day observing Mrs. Krawzyk’s seventh grade science class.  My day began as I drove to the East side of Providence, where the school is located adjacent to the Brown stadium and surrounded by nice neighborhoods.  As I arrived at Nathan Bishop, I noticed that the school was larger than I expected for only serving grades 6 through 8.  I made my way up the front steps and to the main office where I signed in.  A student then came down to the office to bring me upstairs to Mrs. Krawzyk’s room.  On the way to the classroom, I noticed that everything seemed clean and new.  The locker-lined hallways were bright and welcoming.

            When I entered Mrs. Krawzyk’s room, she greeted me and told me I could grab a chair and sit in the back of the room.  Similar to the hallways, Mrs. Krawzyk’s classroom was bright and welcoming.  There were six tables in the room with four chairs at each where the students took their seats. At the front of the room I saw a white board that had the objective and agenda written on it. On one side of the white board was a word wall and on the other was a board with sentences to use the words in.  There was also a smartboard and teachers desk at the front of the room.  In the back of the classroom, Mrs. Krawzyk had another white board that listed homework assignments for the week.  Student work was also displayed on the back wall of the classroom.  One side of the classroom had a wall lined with lab closets and lab benches.  The opposite side was lined with big, bright windows which brought in a lot of natural light.  Mrs. Krawzyk had quite a few plants near the windows and the walls were decorated with colorful posters.  This was really nice classroom where students had a great environment for learning.

            There were 24 students in the class I was observing.  This class was made up of a diverse group of students with regard to race, class, and gender.  There were five African American students, one Asian student, and the remainder of the class was pretty much equal portions of Hispanic and white kids.  As I watched the students work, I noticed that most of them were participating. Some asked for help from the teacher.  Others who looked like they weren’t making progress on their assignment were approached by the teacher and asked if they needed any assistance.  

            Mrs. Krawzyk ran a very structured and organized class.  From what I observed it seemed as though the power in the room was in her hands.  When she needed the students’ attention, they gave it to her.  When she asked them to do something, most of them did it.  However, I also noticed that students were given a lot of choice in the assignment that they were completing.  This put some of the power into their own hands and I think that this added to their engagement during the class.

            Judging from my observations, I think I would have liked to be a student in Mrs. Krawzyk’s class at Nathan Bishop Middle School.  All of the students knew what was expected of them and seemed to enjoy the assignment that they were working on.  The class had an upbeat atmosphere and the teacher was very approachable.  As a teacher, it seems like Nathan Bishop Middle School is also a pretty nice place to work.  The facilities were up to date and the students were well behaved.  Overall, I had a great experience during my observations in Mrs. Krawzyk’s class.