By: Shawn Cox
Submitted: 2010-09-24 18:13:46 | Word Count: 914
A giant leap into the past - observational reflections in the classroom"
I was hit with a familiar sense of dejavu when walking through the gates of Glendowie College. I had been here before but in a different time. Passing the school corridors I passed a photo of myself taken by my first boyfriend for bursary photography in 1994. Is it really already 2004? I felt an eerie sense of stopped time, me with the same school bag, the same length hair and (unfortunately) same height. Nothing had changed at all, nothing except the reason for being here.
As an ex-student of Glendowie College this area of school had been out of bounds. It was reserved only for 'appointments' with the Deputy Head or Principal. It felt like an absolute privilege to be here which made me feel all the more nervous. My hands were sweaty when I knocked on the Deputy Head's door but all anxiety disappeared as I received a very warm welcome. I was briefed on the school's policies and then on the classes I would be observing. I had been given 4 classes, a Year 13 accelerate English class, a Year 9 English class, a Year 10 Drama class and a Year 12 Media class. Before I headed towards the staffroom to meet my associates, I mentally prepared myself for what was going to be a nostalgic trip down memory lane. It had been exactly 10 years since I had stepped foot in these classes - only this time I would be introduced as their student teacher.
School had always been a positive experience for me. As a family we moved around a lot. I calculated I have attended 3 primary schools and 4 secondary schools during my 13 years of education. Schools offered structure and stability in an otherwise unstable environment. It was an arena where I could muck around with peers and explore my own skills and personality. I found school self-defining and the people I met and things I learnt impacted a great deal on who I am today.
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My memories of particular teaching styles during school are a bit hazy. I probably never recognized them in terms of 'styles'. Instead we judged the teachers in terms of whether they were knowledgeable, approachable and showed an understanding of what 'struggles' we were all going through! (God, we had it easy then! If only we knew!).
Upon reflection I can certainly pinpoint those lessons that made lasting impressions. They were ones that had interest, choice, challenge and recognition. I remember my Year 9 science class at Takapuna Grammar held great interest for me because it was enjoyable and fun. The teacher was enthusiastic beyond belief. We used to work outside and hug trees in order to understand photosynthesis! His approach was very hands-on and involved loads of group-work. We were once given a choice of a topic which we had to research and present in pairs. I will never forget how much time my friend and I put into this project. We were thoroughly engaged, to the point where our presentation had the whole class lying on the floor for a whole period in an effort to try and hypnotise them. Style was therefore important to my learning. They nearly always had that certain bit of quirkiness or eccentricity that captured my interest.
Reflecting on my own experiences, the most effective teaching techniques that worked for me involved group projects; such as individual assignments where we were given a choice and ownership of what to study; character studies in Othello or being sent outside to write poetry. I wrote about an ant that I watched that morning and still have it to this day. If I were to focus on Gardner's seven intelligences I would say I learnt more where the teaching style was visual, interpersonal and intrapersonal. An example of this would be in 6th form history. I did not have an affinity to dates and politics however one lesson we were taken to see the Magnum Photography Exhibition. These photos changed my whole perspective on history. I did a study of Don McCullin's work and learned about history through his lenses. So in summary I think I tended to learn more through doing having to research, collate and compile information in a way that was understandable to me.
My classes from memory were of mixed ability. Although I was more aware of what my peers had done the night before than whether they were excelling or bombing out in the subject. There also tended to be a healthy bit of competition between some of us girls. We used to joke around about our marks and downplay it if we got a high mark, although secretly we were quite chuffed with ourselves. It is interesting to note I saw similar behaviour in both of my English classes. The intelligent students, seem to be the ones that tend not to take part in the discussions, they sit at the back and pretend not to care. Every now and then they will ask the teacher privately for some input, but hardly ever in front of their peers.
My time at Glendowie to observe particular teaching styles within 4 different classes was invaluable. Although I learnt much from shadowing one student and also from observing the media and drama classes, I am already over my 250 word limit (sorry), so will focus on what I observed within the two English classes.
