After finally getting into the swing of things here at St. Edmunds, I had the opportunity to observe my mentor teacher’s teaching style while doing my intern work. I noticed how incredibly fast these classes seem to go and realized that this is due to how interactive the class is. Each class comes in with their book(s), planner, and laptop. My mentor teacher ensures that each student has each of these items before they even have the opportunity to settle into their seats. Once each student has the materials for the class, they spend the first 5-7 minutes reading their personal books. I think that this is a good way to transition the student’s mindset from their previous class to English. After those 7 minutes of reading, my mentor teacher lectures for no more than 10 minutes without student engagement (i.e., introducing new materials, explaining an assignment, providing examples of what is expected for the class, etc.) and then allows the students to work independently/ as a group on the assignment for the day. I truly believe that students learn best when learning from each other, and that method proves to be efficient in this classroom. Seldom do students complain in this classroom, mostly because their voices are heard more often than the teacher’s. In an environment like this, students are able to express what they are learning as they are learning it. My hope as a future teacher is to create a comfortable classroom environment where students know the routine but do not feel the class drags on because of the occasional monotony of a routine.
A blog dedicated to current, past, and future students of Duquesne University's Department of English and Theater Arts
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