An Observational Journal

Learning through observation is the key principle that supports teaching as a profession. In this situation, understanding the theories of effective teaching alone is insufficient; instead, one must prepare themselves to become a better, knowledgeable, and competent teacher by paying close attention to other teachers. This essay provides insight into the actions that occurred during three lessons when social studies was the main topic of conversation. The main goal of the paper is to make observations about what happens in each lesson with regard to the social studies education methodologies used, the responses of the students to the material explorations, and the classroom activities. This lesson highlights the importance of engaging students at all levels in rigorous work. The topic of discussion is world history, and specifically the topic looks at the US policies post World War II. The teacher is aware of the fact that the students are of different levels of ability in the sense that some are quick in understanding new concepts and answering questions with ease, while others experience more difficulty in understanding and answering questions.

To help all the students understand new concepts quickly, the teacher provides them with primary documents concerning the topic and also asks them to extract and analyze the most important statements concerning the concept being studied. This enables the students to evaluate the concept deeply and develop high level of understanding such that they become well prepared in answering any questions relating to the topic. For instance, to enable the students understand the new policies that the US is implementing after World War II, the teacher asks them to look at the Marshall Plan and extract the most important sentences that indeed seem to highlight new policies.

It is imperative to note that the idea of asking the students to extract most important sentences from the primary documents provided challenges them to analyze and summarize the most important points. The next most important part of the learning lesson involves questions and answers whereby students are required to give their different opinions on the concept being studied. In this session, the teacher challenges the students at different learning levels. For instance, after extracting the most important sentences from the Marshall Plan, the teacher randomly asks students to explain to the whole class what new policies the US is trying to come up with after the World War II.

The learning session is so interactive such that when one student raises a point, another student is challenged to give an opinion about what has been said. For example, at one point the teacher poses a question to a student to explain any new policy and the student point out that US is committed to promoting peace throughout the world. In order to put more emphasis on this particular point, another student is asked to challenge this point. The second student responds by affirming that indeed the US is committed to promoting peace in the world by eliminating communism and trying to help economies develop a democratic form of governance.

The other question that is posed to students involves identifying the differences between World War I and World War II. One student argues that the Great Depression is an important phenomenon that occurred between the two World Wars. As the lesson continues, the teacher walks around the classroom interacting with all the students. In this case, the lesson is interactive and accessible to all students at different learning levels. It is also important to note that different questions are asked to students depending on their level of ability. For students that struggle a little bit more in understanding new concepts, the teacher will ask them easier questions.

The lesson also balances the teacher directed instruction and the student-centered learning. For instance, the teacher allows the students to split into different groups for purposes of engaging with each other in discussions and trying to understand new concepts. The grouping enables the students who struggle to understand new concepts to get a different perspective from their peers such that they are in a better position to put across their ideas confidently. An important thing that one realizes about all students is that they have the content but they experience difficulties in trying to answer choice questions clearly and correctly. In this case, the teacher tries to understand the different levels of students by giving them different types of assessments and paying attention to how each student answer different questions.

In summary, there are three important points that can be extracted from this learning lesson. Firstly, the lesson is accessible to all students at different levels in that the teacher works around the classroom and asks students questions depending on their level of ability. Secondly, the lesson balances the teacher-directed instruction and student-centered learning whereby students are allowed to form groups and engage in discussions with less supervision from the teacher. Lastly, the lesson challenges the students at different learning levels such that they are able to progressively proceed to the next level.

Lesson 2: Continuity and change and the role of belief systems

This lesson mainly focuses on continuity and change and the role of belief systems in US. The lesson is very interactive and the teacher begins by reminding the students about the idea of continuity and change which they had covered previously. This quick preview prepares the students in understanding a new concept, belief, which is the main focus for the lesson. The concept is extended to include belief systems.

The teacher provides the students with charts which form the basis for learning the concept of belief. Students are asked to identify the patterns of beliefs from the charts provided and they include values, influence, ethics, religion, propaganda and conformity. In this case, belief is a set of values, ethics, influences, religious affiliations, conformity. It is imperative to note that the lesson is student-centered and the teacher asks the students questions as she walks around the class.

Having identified patterns of beliefs, the next part involves evaluation. The evaluation of beliefs is guided by questions and answers posed to students. For instance, one student argues that value is something that is of high importance to somebody. To better understand the value of beliefs, it is imperative to look at history and note how important belief systems are important to people.

In the effort to critically evaluate and understand the belief systems in the US, the teacher breaks down the lesson into a question and answer session where students are required to answer different questions based on their opinions. There are two main guiding questions for the lesson:

Is it possible for a nation to exist without a purpose? Why or why not?

Should a powerful nation be the world’s protector? Why or why not?

The first question challenges the students to critically think beyond the ordinary chronological account of events as outlined in the books of history and explain vividly the reasons why a nation exists with or without a purpose. Interestingly, majority of the students subscribe to the idea that a nation cannot exist without a purpose. However, only a few students are of the different opinion that a nation can exist without a purpose.

It is worth to note that a nation must exist with a purpose. Firstly, a nation exists with the purpose of improving the livelihoods of the inhabitants. For instance, businesses mainly exist in America because of the belief systems of the country that aspires to provide them with a favorable environment to prosper. Secondly, a nation must have a vision or strategy that ensures realization of its goals. In this case, the government is obliged to pursue certain goals that are crucial in the attainment of development agenda.

As the lesson progresses, the teacher walks around the class and challenges all the students to give their opinions on the question being asked. The second question challenges the students to think beyond the boundaries of America. Being aware that America is one of the most powerful nations, students are required to explain whether America should be the world’s protector. Majority of the students agree that indeed a powerful nation should be the world protector. The belief systems of America are such that they promote peaceful co-existence of other nations in the world.

The students are guided in understanding different components of belief and belief systems with the help of a cause and effect wheel. A belief is defined by certain actions that have causes and effect. In this case, the action may have a positive or negative effect. Destiny is a term used to describe the path of a belief system. It refers to something that is bound to happen and it is guided by a set of actions that. For example, America operates on manifest destiny. This means that America is destined for greatness.

Manifest destiny is the belief that drives America’s actions. In this case, no nation has ever existed without a purpose. This implies that a purpose of a nation is founded from its beliefs. America’s destiny is to expand its boundaries. In this case, America has an obligation to expand its territories. However, America also has a purpose to extend the boundaries of freedom to other nations. This is mainly achieved by promoting ideas of freedom as outlined America’s belief systems. This is also the reason why a powerful nation is obliged to be the world’s protector.

In summary, the lesson focuses on beliefs and belief systems in the US and their applicability in other countries. The lesson is very interactive and the teacher guides the students through various learning materials including charts. The lesson is also student-centered in the sense that it majorly relies on their opinions regarding specific questions. The teacher guides the discussion by providing an in-depth analysis of a specific concept. This ensures that the students are well-versed in the knowledge area such that they can put across their ideas confidently.

However, it is imperative to note that the teacher does not group students based on their different levels of ability. In this case, students at required to have a short discussion with their desk mates or raise their hands in order to agree or disagree with a certain point. For example, the teacher asks the students to lower their thumbs if they agree with the idea that a nation cannot exist without a purpose. Alternatively, students with a different opinion could raise their thumbs. The idea of raising or lowering thumbs is a powerful of identifying strong and weak students. Strong students take less time to evaluate a concept and answer questions correctly. Weak students on the other hand will experience difficulties in answering questions.

The most important steps in making sure that weaker students learn a lot is ensuring that they actively participate in class by reading sentences from the learning documents provided. Also, the teacher has a tendency to direct questions to such students so that they can critically think and understand concepts quickly. However, there are also brighter students as well as those with names that are easier to remember and this reinforces the teacher ask them questions more often such that they actively participate in class.

Lesson 3: Bystander Effect

In this lesson, students engage with multiple resources in order to explore the bystander effect. In the effort to actively engage the students in understanding bystander effect, the teacher asks questions in which the students can either agree or disagree. Those who agree move to one side of the classroom, while those who disagree move to the opposite side. It is worth noting that no student can choose a middle ground. They must stand on one side depending on the position they take and thereafter they are randomly asked to explain why they agree or disagree on certain issues.

The first question challenges the students to agree or disagree if they would be willing to make personal sacrifices certainly if armed forces have volunteered to assist the country during the period of war. The following are some of the reasons put forth by students who agree. Firstly, family comes first and it is the responsibility of any person to make sacrifices and protect their family in times of danger. Secondly, the war affects the country and therefore there is need for everyone to show they care for the country by making sacrifices.

Thirdly, it is the duty of every citizen to be at the forefront in protecting their country from all calamities including war. Lastly, the war affects relatives and the people we love and therefore it is important for everyone to make sacrifices so as to save the country from the effects of war. However, it is worth noting that some students disagree with the idea of making sacrifices since it involves taking risks and putting oneself in danger. In the effort to bring harmony between those who agree and disagree, the teacher explains that making sacrifices does not need to involve being at the warfront, but it may include making sacrifices such as providing basic social amenities including food and shelter to the victims of war.

The second question challenges the students to agree or disagree if America should be prepared to make great sacrifices to preserve their freedom and protect the freedom and rights of other countries. In this regard, a powerful country like America is often involved in protecting and safeguarding the rights of other countries. The main argument put forward is that freedom is very important to any country and to ensure peaceful co-existence, America needs to work closely with other countries ensure that their rights are protected.

However, some students believe that protecting the freedom and rights of other countries is not the business of America. The main justification here is that America should just act within her boundaries by making sacrifices to only preserve the freedom of her citizens. At this juncture, I notice that the teacher is focusing on students who are switching sides with regards to agreeing or disagreeing on certain issues. This is useful in identifying different opinions and ability of the students to evaluate scenarios. Some students are quick in interpreting a question such that they are in a position to explain their opinions confidently.

The last question requires the students to agree or disagree on whether there are certain of amounts of money that can pay for injustice. Surprisingly, all the students disagree with the idea that money can be used as a form of compensation for injustice. Firstly, it is not right for someone to use money as a compensation for their wrong doings. Punishment ought to be the ultimate remedy for any wrong doing. Secondly, in the event an injustice amounts to death then money cannot really be an appropriate way of compensating the aggrieved. Lastly, injustice involves taking away some values such as happiness from a person and in such circumstances money is not applicable since it cannot buy happiness.

The next class activity involves reading and analyzing an essay and answering some questions as to whether the content presented in the essay is descriptive or persuasive. In this session, all the students are seated. The essay under consideration involves a narrative of the American-Japanese family experience social challenges. The man of the house got jailed and the wife is left to take care of her family through hardships. The woman struggles to ensure that her get access to social amenities such as food, clean water and sanitation.

The essay is both descriptive and persuasive. It is descriptive in the sense that the woman narrates her ordeal including the challenges she is going through in order to ensure that her family stays safe and healthy. The irony of the situation is that when her husband gets jailed, she is left alone to cater for her family. The essay is also persuasive in the sense that the woman tries to persuade other people that it is possible to make sacrifices and defend their families even in times of trouble. The fact that she can tell her story confidently motivates other people to follow the same path and defend their families and the people they love.

The main objective of the lesson is to understand the bystander effect. Typically, the teacher is interested in knowing how each student would react if they witness somebody’s rights being violated. In this situation, one could either be a defender or a bystander. A defender will stand for and protect the rights of the victimized person. On the other hand, a bystander will stand on the sideways, remain silent and just watch as the person is being victimized. Alternatively, an individually could participate in violating the rights of another person.

Majority of the students subscribe to the idea that they will be defenders in the event they witness a person whose rights are being violated. However, in reality, most people are bystanders due to certain reasons. Firstly, bystanders suffer from pluralistic ignorance where they argue that they cannot step in and help if other people are not doing the same. Secondly, bystanders may notice the injustice happening but they fear to step in and act. Thirdly, some bystanders notice the injustice happening and assume that others will protect the victimized person. Lastly, some bystanders doubt their abilities such that they are afraid to participate in protecting other people. All these are different characteristics of bystanders.

The last activity involves an in-depth analysis of the bystander effect where the teacher divide the students into groups. Students in each group are required to analyze learning materials provided at their group stations and perform specific tasks assigned to them. Basically, the main activity involves watching a video and highlight any unusual thing happening. Each group gives a feedback on what they observe. The bottom line of this activity is to enable students identify violation of someone’s rights taking place. For instance, one group notices an act of slavery in the video whereby a person is told to keep moving and avoid staying in places reserved for white people.

Towards the end of the lesson, the teacher provides the students with a copy of UN universal declaration of human rights and they are required to identify human rights that stand out to them. Examples of human rights that are preferred by majority of the students include: right to education, freedom of expression, right to democracy, right to a nationality, freedom of movement, right to life, right to privacy, and protection from discrimination. Lastly, students are required to extract excerpts from learning materials provided and identify violation of any of the human rights. In this case, the students are required to prepare a summary of how they will react in a situation where human rights are violated.

The overall objective of the lesson is to make students responsible citizens such they avoid being bystanders and act wisely by defending the people whose rights are violated. The lesson is very interactive and informative as the teacher guides different activities and ensures that all the students actively participate.

Conclusion

In summary, the three teachers utilize different teaching techniques including social studies education strategies including group work activities, question and answer session, evaluation of charts and reviews of educational videos. The main idea is to get the students involved as much as possible so that they can easily understand different concepts.

References

“10Th Grade ELA/Social Studies”. Youtube. Last modified 2017. Accessed August 17, 2017.

https://youtu.be/NSY0dG59qjo.

“High School Social Studies”. Youtube. Last modified 2017. Accessed August 17, 2017.

https://youtu.be/DDdv3JXJ2nU.

“Reality PD | High School Social Studies | Engage Students At All Learning Levels In Rigorous

Work”. Youtube. Last modified 2017. Accessed August 17, 2017. http://youtu.be/15-

qWMHuja8.