Hi, my name is Cassie Papandrea, and I’m a senior at Castleton. I am student
teaching at Rutland High School, and I work with a class of juniors and two
senior classes. I’ve been in my placement for about seven weeks now, and the
differences between the two senior classes that I am teaching really interest
me. The two senior classes are British Literature, and they are both in the
middle of Macbeth. To further explain, there are about eighteen students
in my first senior class, which is in the mid-morning, and four in the second
class, which is the last class of the day. My class of four really gets into
the reading. They are comfortable with one another (I think that this is key in
the case of the reading) and make the reading dramatic. My larger class is less
enthused about the reading and always tries to be on their phones. It is
definitely easier to hide being on a phone when there are more students in the
class. This makes me wonder if it is just the students in my smaller class are
more interested in the material or if it is connected to the amount of people
in the class and the classroom culture. What differences can you see in your classes?
Hey Cassie,
ReplyDeleteThat is really interesting to think about. I'm not sure if it has to do with motivation factors or class size. I know that I have classes that also have the same issues. I have two 2-D art classes and two 3-D art classes and the same thing happens. One of the classes is super motivated and the other isn't for both of the different classes. I hadn't thought to look at class size though. (Although I don't think that its really a factor for my classes. They all have between 13 and 15 students.)
Hey Cassie,
ReplyDeleteI've been noticing the same differences in my placement. I have a 6th grade class with around 8 students and a 7th grade with 11 students. What's interesting is that the 6th graders seem to be more involved in the lesson compared to the 7th graders. Although it's a slight change in size from 8 to 11 I think it makes a huge difference. I feel as though a smaller group of students are more comfortable compared to a bigger class. I think the size directly alters the classroom environment, students are more open to answer questions when they aren't intimidated by the class size. I also have noticed that the classroom environment is connected to the relationships among students. If students are having a tough time working with one another than I see less involvement in the lesson. It truly is interesting to take a step back and analyze how classes can be different but so similar at the same time!
Hey Cassie,
ReplyDeleteI have also noticed that my smaller class is much more involved than my larger class. My smaller class is 6 juniors and seniors while my larger class is sophomores and freshman. My smaller class is quite quiet and I can get them to work really hard in class while my larger class seems to get lost in the crowd and choses not to work at all. It is interesting to view class size and class dynamic nice post.