Practicum Questions

Focus on one student in the class.  (You may want to pick a pair of students.)  Try to see how much of the class period that student is actively engaged.  How did you measure this?  Describe directions or activities that engaged the student. Describe what was happening when that student was not actively engaged in the lesson. Explain how you will keep your students actively engaged during your lessons as a science teacher.  

I picked a student named Ava, who is a very good student.  She is usually paying attention and performs well in the class.  I would say she is usually actively engaged for most of the class period.  For example, we did a battle of the beak lesson and they got certain amount of time to complete each round.  She completed all her work, but then she would talk to her neighbor and become less engaged.  I think better time management could help and making sure there are other things to work on when students get done.  This way they can continue to be engaged. 

From your cooperating teacher, obtain the name of a special needs student (IEP, ESL, 504) in the class in which you will be observing and teaching. Contact the special education case manager or the teacher/counselor who knows this student. Read the IEP or other plan for this student. What instructional considerations must be taken for this student? What are the students' limitations? What goals and objectives do the case managers have for the science educator for this student?   

We had one student named Jaden who had a very long IEP.  He is nonverbal and also has a behavioral plan.  He has a para with him who I talked to about his IEP.  Jaden is very intelligent and usually knows what is going on, he just has a hard to expressing what he knows.  They took a quiz one time and his para read aloud the questions and he pointed to his answer.  He received an 8/10 on the quiz.  They way his IEP was organized was based on time, so his goal was to spend 70 minutes on science for example. 

List the safety features of the classroom and the building. How are environmental hazards handled in the classroom? Obtain a copy of a policy dealing with safety for the science classroom. How do the teachers inventory, store, and access chemicals and equipment? What safety considerations were made for a lab you have observed? What safety features seem to be absent from the classroom? If animals are in the classroom how are these handled.   

In the lab there are eye wash stations (that are handicap accessible) as well as folders for different procedures for different incidents like tornados or lockdowns.  There are no gas hookups, so there are no Bunsen burners or anything.  They don't use a lot of chemicals, but there is a locked storage closet where they keep chemicals and other hazards.  Some of the chemicals they have are some acids and bases and bleach, very basic things.  

What technology is used in the classroom.  Remember, technology is more than a smartboard or an ipad.  How is technology utilized by the students and teacher?  Are there limitations to the usage?  If so, what are they?  Can students use their smartphones in the classroom?  What is your cooperating teachers viewpoint on technology? 

I think my teachers likes to embrace the use of technology in the classroom.  She uses the chromebooks in a way that promotes collaborative learning,  I know there are issues with cellphones because students never put them away.  

 WW