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Reynoldsburg High School (Day 1)

Reynoldsburg High school for anyone who might not know, it is my alma mater high school. Over spring break I had decided to do three hours of class and student observations under a couple of history teachers.

Some background knowledge of Reynoldsburg High School is that it is very diverse and different in terms of socioeconomic status between students. There are students that range from the lower class to the upper-middle class being the highest. Reynoldsburg High school is funded very well and is up to date on a bunch of things when it comes to technology. In every classroom at Reynoldsburg High School there are smartboards.  Also, an interesting fact is that there is close to 1,500 students that attend Reynoldsburg High School.

Over the course of two days, I observed two classes. First, I examined Mr. McDaniel's 9th and 10th grade American History classes, and last I observed Mr. Fleming's 9th grade American History class. I observed many things when I went in and examined Mr. McDaniel's class.

Observations: Mr. McDaniel's 10th grade American History class

• students sit in tables with groups of 4 - this encouraged talking and discussion between students, so they can help each other with homework and assignments
• the teacher was able to keep the attention of the students the whole class.
• The teacher didn't sit down at his desk once - he was always standing
• the teacher was very interactive with his students when they got stuck on a problem and would help with them work through in many different ways
• able to integrate the smart board very well in class to teach
• the students were extra focused that day because it was the week before OGT week.
• in terms of the classroom setting, it seemed to be boring: not a lot of posters, not so much color, doesn't pop out and make you want so say that this class is interesting
• the teacher provides the students with good hints and tips to help the students succeed when taking the OGT
• cell phones seemed to be a problem. seen more as a distraction than a helpful tool.

Observations: Mr. McDaniel's 9th grade American History class
 

• very big class - upwards of over 20 students
• same classroom setting
• in this class, students were more willing to help each other/they felt comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas on their assignment
• also, the teacher was very in tuned with asking many questions during discussion and most of the students seemed to be very reciprocal.

Overall, for my first time observing a high school class, it felt a little weird. It was a new environment for me. Instead of being a student in high school, I was an individual with tasked to evaluate and observe how a class is ran. Mr. McDaniel is a very comical teacher with a little sarcasm built into him, but the students in both of his classes really like him. He was very relatable. He always could relate a topic of discussion they were talking about to his life and how it could of related to the student's lives too. The biggest thing I saw within these classes was he stayed away from the banking concept/method and did his own thing that seemed to helpful for the students.