Field Observation Paper

Teaching strategies are used in everyday classrooms. In my two days, fifteen-hour field observation, I had observed many strategies used by multiple teachers. Three strategies that stood out to me were, the attention grabber, technology, and group discussions. These were all effective throughout multiple classrooms. Students seemed to do well when the teachers used these strategies.
When class just begins, many students are distracted or talking to their friends. Teachers need a way to get the students attention without having to yell at the students to quiet down. I had observed many teachers use an attention grabber as they would call it. In a sixth-grade social studies classroom, the teacher would use “check your neighbor”, this was to indicate

that it was time to settle down and listen to the teacher. Students were to use the time out sign and show their neighbor without talking. The teacher explained if everyone were to tell their neighbor to be quiet it would cause more disruption. This strategy is effective because it signals to the student’s that they need to quiet down so the teacher can speak. I would use this strategy in my class because it gets the students involved but also quiets them down quickly.
Technology was another teaching strategy that I saw. The teacher used what is called a blend space, this is where the teacher put multiple documents and websites into one place. The teacher had the students go through the blend space and answer questions on a document. They use the resources the teacher has given them to answer all the questions. Everything is done online; this method gives the students the freedom to be active on the computer. They are also expanding their own learning. The students can watch videos and read documents that fit their level of understanding and build on this. I would use the strategy because it gives students a chance to learn on their own but also more knowledge on technology.
The final strategy that I observed was group discussion.

The teacher had a whole group discussion on a certain topic an example is about atoms. Students were encouraged to talk about what they know about atoms and what they think they are. They could bounce ideas off each other. Students could debate back and forth, this expands their communication skills as well. The teacher was putting in comments to help guide their discussion. Then the teacher also broke them up into groups, this furthered their conversation. In their groups they could research more about the topic and figure out what the topic was and how it works. I would use this strategy in my classroom, because it gets the students engaged in their learning. It enables them to communicate their understanding and learn from each other not just the teacher.
There are multiple other strategies that could be used through the classroom. The classrooms that I had observed used these three strategies the most. These strategies will help the students in their learning and understanding. The group discussion strategy is the method I will probably use the most in my class, it gets the students engaged and they will be working with others for the rest of their

lives.