Lower Level Class Observation

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We often see lower level courses as a way to make the transition for students coming from high school easier. We also see lower level courses as prerequisites for the upper level courses, but what really is the difference between a lower level and an upper level course? I personally think the difference is in a lower level classroom, I expect the classes to be bigger, more general, and not so in depth. In an upper level classroom, I expect the classes to be more interactive and have group projects that you have to do for yourself without the teacher standing and lecturing the whole time. To test this hypothesis, I observed a lower level humanities course, while my partner observed an upper level humanities course. Methodology I chose a major …show more content…

At first, I emailed Dr. Caldwell on January 29th, 2018 and asked to observe his MUS115 class. He replied very quickly to tell me he would've let me observe his Chamber Singers, but I had to decline because they were getting ready for a choral festival, and I wouldn’t have been able to observe during the time I needed to observe. Therefore, I switched to a different course and emailed Dr. Sumpter on the same day to ask if I could observe her MUS273 Piano II class from 1-1:50pm on Monday Feb. 5th, or Wednesday Feb. 7th. When she replied she told me that I would only be able to hear her give verbal interactions and not musical ones because everything was done on a headset. After a couple of back and forth emails we agreed that I would observe on Monday Feb. 5th. After my class I went to Moore Auditorium to find room 141, and although it took me some time considering the confusing hallways down there I managed to find the classroom and enter 10 minutes before class started. When I entered all of the students were in the room, but Dr. Sumpter wasn’t. I went to the side of the room and pulled out my pencil and …show more content…

The class I observed was very hands on, and the students had a good relationship with their professor. They seemed comfortable talking with her, and not just sitting there in silence when she tried to interact with them. She made jokes like "what would Mozart do?'. She seemed very susceptible to pathos. When she went over to the sick student she was listening to what was going on with her and it seemed as though she felt bad for her and was very understanding. I think maybe the class size and major/class may have had something to do with this good student-professor relationship. Since the class was so small and isn’t open to the public as a Gen Ed. Requirement. It was kind of like an upper level course in some ways, but still had some characteristics of a lower level course. In lower level courses students tend to sit further back from the teacher and are very silent unless they have to speak. The students in the class were closer to the teacher and in a very organized style. The students in this course didn’t take notes like in lectures, they were just hands on the whole time. All of the students had their phone secluded away from sight. Meanwhile in most of my lower level courses some of the students are on their phones or at least have their phones on their desk. I don’t particularly know if this class is just a blend between lower level classes or the mood was affected because I was there but

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