Conclusions and Implications for Future Practice
After spending several months trying to incorporate transparent teaching practices into my everyday teaching methods and lessons, and evaluating student reception of these practices through observation, and informal and formal forms of feedback, I have been made even more aware of the necessity of open communication and transparency with students. Though some of my specific methods or plans did not work out as I intended, I realize that this is something I need to pursue further, and I need to put more effort into designing units that are not only student-centered and have opportunities for student choice and leadership, but are also clear in their objectives, goals, and rationale so that students have all of the information and tools they need to make appropriate and effective choices.
By the end of the Invisible Man unit, I was not sure to what extent I may have succeeded, or if I succeeded at all, because while I could clearly recognize and reflect on my own teaching methods, it was much more difficult to determine what my students were thinking and feeling about the class. However, there were several moments towards the end of the novel that did give me some hope.
On the second to last day that we would spend discussing Invisible Man, there was an extended advisory period in the morning, and I could see several of my students, who would be in my first period class next, getting restless. Two students in particular kept asking if we going to do something “fun.” To be honest, I did not think what I had planned that day was fun, by their standards, because we were reaching the end of the novel and a lot had happened in the chapter that we had to discuss in class. I told them that they could try leading the class if they really wanted to, and the two boys jumped at the chance. I was surprised, but handed them my lesson plan and was prepared to step in when needed.
Although the other students in the class were fairly subdued and quiet, and we did not get into as much of a discussion as I had hoped, the two boys seemed to really enjoy leading the class and posing questions to their peers. I was surprised at the level of depth in their questions, and as I watched them interact with class, I wished I had tried something like this earlier in the unit, because I think most of the students could have done well leading a discussion or activity with their peers.
I think the two students had a positive experience partly due to the open nature of my teaching and my constant attempts to be open about the content of the novel –symbols, themes, writing style – and the structure of the class, which meant that they were familiar with the procedures in class. I had also always been receptive to student feedback and suggestions about the class so I think they felt more at ease asking to take on a larger role that day.
On our last day discussing the Epilogue of the novel and sharing our general impressions of the novel and the main character’s development, many students were able to make strong, insightful connections, drawing evidence from across the text. While these are skills that they have been developing over the past four years in high school, Invisible Man is a long, complex, difficult novel to read and understand, so I was happy with what the students had accomplished that day in their final discussion.
Despite this, I still am not sure how well my attempts at being more transparent and open came across to my students. Because I put some of these techniques and activities into practice during only one unit, I think that I did not see as many observable changes in my students as I would have had I spent the entire year teaching this way.
Next year, when I have my own group of students and full control over the scope and content of the class, I imagine myself in a classroom that has structure, but also room for freedom and individuality and choice. I would like to have clear goals and guidelines, and an outline of a map for the year, and within that, I would like to allow my students some of the freedoms that I have read about other teachers offering, such as selecting some of the major texts we read during the year, or at least choose the order they are read in. I would also plan activities that enable students to foster their leadership, decision-making, and critical thinking skills, perhaps giving students rotating roles that would let them work collaboratively on a common task. I want students to have a voice in the classroom and to understand that their opinions and ideas are important, but that they need to have support and reasons for something they are proposing. Creating a classroom environment that encourages student autonomy and choice can be difficult in a traditional secondary school model, however I want to plan lessons and units that focus on these qualities as much as possible.
By the end of the Invisible Man unit, I was not sure to what extent I may have succeeded, or if I succeeded at all, because while I could clearly recognize and reflect on my own teaching methods, it was much more difficult to determine what my students were thinking and feeling about the class. However, there were several moments towards the end of the novel that did give me some hope.
On the second to last day that we would spend discussing Invisible Man, there was an extended advisory period in the morning, and I could see several of my students, who would be in my first period class next, getting restless. Two students in particular kept asking if we going to do something “fun.” To be honest, I did not think what I had planned that day was fun, by their standards, because we were reaching the end of the novel and a lot had happened in the chapter that we had to discuss in class. I told them that they could try leading the class if they really wanted to, and the two boys jumped at the chance. I was surprised, but handed them my lesson plan and was prepared to step in when needed.
Although the other students in the class were fairly subdued and quiet, and we did not get into as much of a discussion as I had hoped, the two boys seemed to really enjoy leading the class and posing questions to their peers. I was surprised at the level of depth in their questions, and as I watched them interact with class, I wished I had tried something like this earlier in the unit, because I think most of the students could have done well leading a discussion or activity with their peers.
I think the two students had a positive experience partly due to the open nature of my teaching and my constant attempts to be open about the content of the novel –symbols, themes, writing style – and the structure of the class, which meant that they were familiar with the procedures in class. I had also always been receptive to student feedback and suggestions about the class so I think they felt more at ease asking to take on a larger role that day.
On our last day discussing the Epilogue of the novel and sharing our general impressions of the novel and the main character’s development, many students were able to make strong, insightful connections, drawing evidence from across the text. While these are skills that they have been developing over the past four years in high school, Invisible Man is a long, complex, difficult novel to read and understand, so I was happy with what the students had accomplished that day in their final discussion.
Despite this, I still am not sure how well my attempts at being more transparent and open came across to my students. Because I put some of these techniques and activities into practice during only one unit, I think that I did not see as many observable changes in my students as I would have had I spent the entire year teaching this way.
Next year, when I have my own group of students and full control over the scope and content of the class, I imagine myself in a classroom that has structure, but also room for freedom and individuality and choice. I would like to have clear goals and guidelines, and an outline of a map for the year, and within that, I would like to allow my students some of the freedoms that I have read about other teachers offering, such as selecting some of the major texts we read during the year, or at least choose the order they are read in. I would also plan activities that enable students to foster their leadership, decision-making, and critical thinking skills, perhaps giving students rotating roles that would let them work collaboratively on a common task. I want students to have a voice in the classroom and to understand that their opinions and ideas are important, but that they need to have support and reasons for something they are proposing. Creating a classroom environment that encourages student autonomy and choice can be difficult in a traditional secondary school model, however I want to plan lessons and units that focus on these qualities as much as possible.
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