Site Visit Notes

Westfield Middle School

March 1st (12:30-3:30)

6th period
To start off the class the students did a one question warm-up
together as a class. The teacher made sure everyone participated. She had
some students explain the steps in their own words and other came to the board
and demonstrated the steps to the class. The students got very excited about
being able to write on the board (privilege?/motivation?). Instead of textbooks,
Westfield now has chromebooks (very distracting). Today was an exploring day,
the students were told to try to solve new problems by themselves to get
prepared and familiar with tomorrows lesson. The students were able to work in
groups and discuss the problems together. The teacher made sure to remind the
kids to not waste too much time on one problems, since it was a new lesson and
they werent expected to know much. I can see why it could be beneficial for the
students to try out the problems beforehand but I feel like it could be a little bit of
a waste of class time. Couldnt that be done at home? Id assume it would be
better to do class notes and then have time to work on examples in class so the
students can benefit from having a teacher in the room and being able to ask
questions.
7th period-
To start off the class notes the teacher showed examples on the
board of each vocab word they were going to discuss. After doing the examples
together as a class she had the kids put the steps into words and write them
down. The teacher came up with different acronyms to help students remember
the notes for next weeks quiz. For example, to help them remember the work
mode she associated it with the word most- because mode is the number that
shows up the most in a sequence of numbers. After they were done taking notes,
the teacher had students sum up the notes out loud without looking at their
notes-this helps them think about the notes which will help them remember it.
8th period-
Right when the students came into the room they checked their
answers from last nights homework with an answer key displayed on the
overhead. The students then asked the teacher questions and she walked
around the room to stamp their homework. The students played a jeopardy game
to review for tomorrows test. Each student had their own board and marker to
work out the problems (once again they love writing on whiteboards), a student
was then called up to the front of the room to explain the steps they took to
answer the question, this determined if their team would get the points for their
chosen jeopardy square. This is a great way to review because students love
games and this definitely got their attention. I didnt catch the teacher mentioning
anything about review homework for tomorrows test so I wonder if she gave any.
9th period-
 9th period class was taking a test so I joined a history class. To
begin the class the students started out with a quote of the day, they then
talked about the meaning and connected it to everyday life. They then watched a
video from History Channel, then they discussed the video and summed it up in
their own words and connected it to our life today. I can easily agree that
restating a lesson in your own words can help you understand the concept and
by connecting it to your life today you will help your brain remember it.
March 8th (8:30-11:30)
1st and 2nd period-
The students took a IAAS exam to determine their math
placement for next year (8th grade). They were asked to separate their desks
and after the test began I was asked to walk around the class and make sure the
students with in the right section during a given time. Is this the only tests that
determines their placement for next year?- Later I found out that this isnt the only
test the teacher uses to determine the student's placement- she uses overall
grades and performance in the class as well.
3rd period-
Before class started the teachers told me to observe the students
carefully, because they were considered a harder group of kids and that is why
there were two teachers in the room. To start off the class the teacher put a
problem on the board, while the teachers walked around and checked last nights
homework. They then went over homework answers as a class and took a quiz.
Students who did not finish the quiz were given extra time during their lunch.
Since this is a harder group of kids, do you offer extra help to the students on
their quizzes when they come in during lunch?-They do a little. They allow the
children to ask them more questions.
4th period-
Since the students havent been listening to the teacher or doing
their warm up, the teacher said she wouldnt stamp homework until they showed
her their finished warmup. After they finished their warm up and got their
homework stamped they worked on class notes. The teacher first started out with
showing them a review problem and showing them how to solve it on elmo. Then
she gave the students an example and told them to do it on their own. She
always showed them another way to solve the problem so the students can pick
which way they prefer to solve the problem. I really liked how she showed the
students two different ways to solve the problem- half the class prefered one way
and the other prefered the other way (one was more of a visual way to solve the
problem for those who are visual learners)
March 13th (8:30-3:30)
1st period-
The teacher asked me to walk to the school's library with two
students who have been absent for a few days and watch them take a quiz from
a few days ago. Then she gave me a copy of the class notes and had me walk
through the notes with them that they have missed. We then worked on some
examples.
 2nd period-
The teacher went over notes from the prior week and had the
students explain important keywords in their own words and how to solve the
problems step by step. The students then worked on practice and review
problems in class as the teachers and I walked around the class answering
questions. I always liked working on problems in class because it was easy for
me to focus, as well as it allowed me to ask any questions that I am unable to
ask at home.
3rd period-
The students worked on warmup. Then we did a find a pattern
activity. The students were given an envelop with: positive numbers, variables,
double variables, negative numbers, etc. The students were asked to put all the
individual pieces in groups without any other instructions. Some students came
up with some very interesting groups. Some sorted them from smaller to larger
numbers, some variable or no variable, some positive or negative. Then we
showed the students the proper groups and had to them sort the pieces. Then
we practiced adding and subtracting the pieces. I thought this was a great activity
because it got the students to participate and they even got excited when they
were able to sort the pieces into any groups they liked. This was great for anyone
who is a visual learner.
4th period-
The teacher had me work with a student who has been absent
and explain to him the two different ways to solve a problem that the students
worked on the prior week. He then worked on the homework he has missed and
asking me questions when he was not sure how to do something. The other
students played a class game to help review for a quiz- this got the whole class
to participate and pay attention when they usually dont. This reminded me of the
video we watched about Ms. Yurkovetsky multi-language classroom- she used
games to grab their attention- which also worked in this class.
6th period-
Students worked on a review assignment on their chromebooks
for tomorrows quiz. We walked around and answered questions and made sure
they werent doing anything else on the chromebooks. I know that I would have
been distracted by them back in 7th grade, so I wonder if there is some type of
change in grades from when textbooks were used and now with chromebooks.
7th period-
The students were taking a unit test-used dividers. They took a
questionnaire at the end of class for the main office. The teacher had me grade
some of the hw in the students notebooks for completion while the students were
taking the test. Some put a lot more effort into their notes and example problems
than others- the teacher said this had a huge effect on test scores.
8th period-
The students graded their homework from last night, then they did
some practice problems and graded those. When they were ready the students
were able to start their formative exam. Those who didnt finish the exam were
able to finish it the next day. The teacher also allows test corrections with a list of
 all the steps explained in words. I like that she allows that because it allows the
students to learn from their mistakes. Whenever Id get a test back Id just look at
the grade but I wouldnt try to solve the problems again to see what I did wrong
and this enables the students to actually practice the concept until they get it
wrong-good way to study for a class final.
9th period-
The teacher had the students do a heads down, hands up
activity where 5 fingers up meant you got the concept and you were ready for the
formative, 3 you need some practice, and 1 you dont get it all all. Most of the
students gave a 5 or 4 so the class did some practice problems and then worked
on the formative. They have to watch a video of their notes for homework and
then do some examples. I love the reverse classroom. I asked the teacher if she
noticed a difference in grades between the regular and reverse classroom and
she said she has because students wouldnt actually work on the practice
problems as carefully as they do in class. She also likes how the students can
rewatch the notes multiple times if something is not understood.
March 15th (8:30-11:30)
1st and 2nd period-
Teacher had me work individually with the students in the library-
we went over notes and did review problems, while the class played a review
game inside. Ive noticed they love to play math review games- gets them to
participate.
3rd period-
The students finished a quiz that they did not finish from Tuesday.
I walked around and noticed that many students dont struggle with the steps of
solving the problem but with their addition, subtraction and multiplication skills.
4th period-
The students received a pop quiz because they didnt listen to the
substitute teacher yesterday. This was kind of like a punishment for not
respecting the teacher. The students then worked on notes and example
problems. They were quiet for the rest of the class when usually they are a very
loud class-they were shocked how mad the teacher was about their behavior. I
liked that she made them take the quiz- teaches them the importance of
respecting adults.
March 20 (8:30-3:30)
1st, 2nd, 6th, and 7th period-
The class had a very long day of notes. The teacher tried to come
up with as many ways as possible to help the students remember key points-
acronyms and songs fuzzy wazzy was a bear, circumference equals pi r^2(r
square) and she had them play with 3-D shapes to help them find area and
circumference. I still remember the teacher teaching my class the fuzzy wazzy
circumference song and I still sing it in my head when I need to use the
circumference equation.
3rd period-
The teachers and students discussed the notes that the students
watched at home. They then worked on practice problems throughout the rest of
 the class time. Teacher wrote down practice problems throughout the boards in
the room and assigned two people to each problem- they worked on it together
and once they were done they called over a teacher or I to check the problem.
They then erased their work and rotated to the next problem.
4th period-
The students took a test. Before the test the teacher asked the
students if they have any questions and asked them to pick two questions from
their review packet to do on the board as a class. After the students took the quiz
they were able to take out their chromebooks and begin on tonights homework
assignment- new notes from the next chapter.
8th and 9th period-
The teacher reviewed the notes the students watched on google
classroom the night before and allowed the students ask questions. 8th period
had a lot more questions than 9th period because 9th period scored a lot higher
on the algebra placement test than 8th period. The teacher then divided the class
into groups of 4 and had them work on practice problems. After doing 2 examples
they had to call the teacher over to check their work and allow them to move to
the next pair of problems. I think this is a good idea because it allows the teacher
to fix their mistakes or clarify when the problem is still fresh in the student's head.