These classrooms are vastly different. At the high school, the music room is rather small (although there is an unseen space behind the camera that isn’t really utilized). Each classroom contributes to student learning in its own way. At the high school, the teacher is able to see everyone pretty much equally, and they are able to all feel engaged because of the proximity of their placement to the teacher. It feels, however, at the middle school, that sometimes the students in the back of the classroom are not engaged as much as at the high school, although that could be for a variety of reasons other than the proximity to the teacher. Each classroom is very able to be set up for other activities by stacking the chairs and moving the “center” of attention – i.e., the teacher’s “podium” or stand, both of which have been done in my presence. Each classroom has a water fountain either in it or very close to it. The bathrooms are quite far in both cases, as are the custodian and principal’s offices. The performances areas are, in both cases, directly above and to the left of the spaces, and both rooms are equipped with storage either in the room or next to it. I do have seating charts but have been asked not to attach them here. The classroom situations in both cases seem to be working quite well for both of my cooperating teachers, and they both have systems in place to address non-engagement that have been successful when I’ve observed them. I have felt able and comfortable teaching in both environments and addressing concerns and being off-task in both situations. I taught a lesson at the MS last week, and I was able to walk around the room and I felt that all the students were being engaged equally and well. I have attached the lesson plan here.
Week 2
Marlena's Student Teaching Journey 
Hello, Marlena!
It’s great to hear your thoughtful comments on these teaching and learning spaces. Since I have seen the HS classroom at NEST+M, I can agree with you on all of the points you make. I immediately thought of how this room does allow for a close connection between performers and teacher which can be hard to replicate in larger spaces. Two things that immediately come to my mind for you to consider in your future teaching are class size/scheduling and hearing health. It seems that your CT at the HS has an appropriate balance of student numbers to what this space will allow. I have had opportunities in the past to make sure my schools’ counselors understood what was healthy for students and teachers in small spaces like this. A skilled performing arts teacher can teach sections of students much larger than that of other classes: English, Social Studies, etc. In small classrooms like this one it’s good to make sure the counselors know what is acceptable in terms of hearing health. In my teaching, we had decibel meters to keep track of this kind of data, and I also had a pair of musician’s decibel reducing ear plugs made for me. It seems as though these considerations are being taken seriously at NEST+M, and I’m encouraged by that.
I think the lesson plan you’ve attached is very strong. I really appreciate how you have scripted instructional steps and directives explicitly. There are other very strong components as well. Drawing on Dr. Parkes PowerPoint on lesson planning, I would encourage you to organize your plan in this way.
Standards of Learning – the exact words (Download what your CT uses- NYSED etc.)
Objectives– in your own words –SWBAT (students will be able to….)
What are your procedures for getting there? What will you say /do? What do you predict the students will say/do – script the instruction steps – activities, procedures, scripts, questions, add closure at end
How will you know when you are there? Assessment – how will you know if the students were able to…..
What you need in your room environment – materials, setup, instruments
What students need some additional modifications ? – differentiation
I mention this now, so that when you send me your lesson plan for our first observation, you can format it in this way. You may also have access to other lesson plan samples on the Canvas site for student teaching in the Week 2 Module. See what you think, and feel free to send me multiple drafts and ask questions. Great work this week!
–Robert
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Marlena,
After seeing you teach in the space, I can see how the shape of the room making it difficult to engage with the back of the class. However, you have shown a strong ability to circulate around the room to begin to support everyone’s learning. The idea of being able to move the center of the room and rearrange the space for different activities will be something interesting to explore further.
As we continue together this semester, I encourage you to add a section on this blog that reflects on your week in general. This section can either extend on the blog post or focus on events throughout the week.
Keep up the wonderful teaching that I have already seen and continue to use this platform to reflect upon it.
Lauren
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