Foundations and Assessment of Education/Edition 1/In Today's Schools Table of Contents/Teacher - Student Interaction

 Teacher - Student Interaction   Observations and Reflections from Today's Classrooms

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Something that always aggravates me, and something that I think that teachers should be aware of is favoritism. I don't think under any circumstance a student should be made to feel like someone else is better liked or favored. It's something that I have noticed in many of the classrooms that I have been in, even in college. If I ask a question of a teacher and she or he refuses to take time with me or answer my question, BUT they have more than enough time to speak with someone else...it really is aggravating. Certainly, teachers must have their favorite students but they should never show it in the classroom! Also, a student should always feel that a teacher has time for them. The student who asks to talk to a teacher after class because they have a problem should never be told that the teacher doesn't have time...etc. Obviously the student has made time to meet with the teacher, the teacher should recognize that and make time for the student. That is my teacher/student interaction pet peeve! Ldomm002 (talk) 02:08, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

At the school where I did my observations, student-teacher interaction was a very interesting subject. I observed chorus class at middle school in Suffolk where arts classes are considered less-important than "core classes". This caused many students to take the class as an "easy A". Most of these students did not want to have anything to do with the teacher, but of course she was just as nice to them, unless they were rude to her (which most of them were). Only a handful of students wanted to take chorus, meaning that only a handful of students liked the teacher. The sad part was, the teacher was always very nice to all the students- nicer than many of them deserved. Since I was a guest, I expected that the students would be kind to me, but many of them were standoffish, and some were even very rude.

At the school where I did my observations, teacher-student interactions were very prevalent. The teacher knew all of the children's names for the most part, and often asked the students to help her with simple things such as passing out papers or stapling papers to give to the other students. The teacher would also interact with the students by providing open discussions, and holding answer and question sessions. She would also read with the students through the textbook, and walk around the classroom as they completed activities to observe their progress and be there in case they had any questions about the work. The students would also interact with the teacher as well, they felt very comfortable speaking in class and asking the teacher questions. I felt that the level of teacher student interaction was great, and I feel lucky to have been able to have observed in such a great classroom. Rburt005 (talk) 02:57, 31 July 2009 (UTC) Sbutl016 (talk) 01:07, 31 July 2009 (UTC)

I have not done my observations yet but I have witnessed many student-teacher interactions. For the most part I would say that they are positive. Some I have seen are like a slap stick comedy and funny. However I have seen negative interactions between students and teachers as well. There is one teacher at a high school in Russell County that stares the student down when he/she is misbehaving. He looks at them so long the students face gets red and wants to dart out of the room. With this said this teacher does not have many dissiciple problems to deal with. None of the students want to be stared at. They find it to be embarrassing beyond embarrassing. Since schools in this county are small most teachers knew the students very well and a majority had went to school with their students parents. I don't think that I have ever witnessed a student/teacher who did not know something about the other. When I was in high school I knew a lot about my teachers. For that fact several of them were my neighbors and had watched me grow up. Funny thing huh? Maybe one or all of them brainwashed me into this profession.Hcomb003 (talk) 22:38, 2 August 2009 (UTC)

Student-teacher interaction is a big thing to me. It links in with understanding where your student's are coming from with their experiences and learning how to communicate with your students. My favorite types of teachers are the ones who tell stories and jokes whilst teaching, and encourage students to as well. There's a fine line between doing this well and going off on tangents though, but overall it rips apart the monotony of the average classroom. Good solid, social interaction with students makes them feel like an important part of the classroom, they tend to care more about topics at hand, feel more into learning. When I did my observation this summer, I had the luxury of having a good teacher to work with who always bounced questions at students, baring their sundry interests in mind. It did wonders to provoke responses, as long as the questions were not deliberately specific, and more or less designed just to invoke a response/opinion. Hsmit022 (talk) 21:24, 31 July 2009 (UTC)

At the high school where I did my observation I noticed that teachers attitude had a lot to do with how the students behaved. I observed in several different classrooms. From what I saw the more active the teacher, the more responsive the students were. The teachers that that stood in front of the class explaining the lesson, then later interacted with the students seemed to be the teachers with more control of the class. While those that either taught from behind a desk or returned thereafter a short lecture, having the students to work. It appeared to me to be the classes that were more likely to have student who were disruptive. Proving to me that it is important to be involved in your students learning other than planning lessons. Mlipl001 (talk) 16:12, 2 August 2009 (UTC)

During the entire time that I was doing my observations I tried to learn from the teachers how to treat the students. School know have so many policies and rules as to how to treat and engage with a student that one needs to be careful of every move. I observed both male and female teachers and can say that they were both very professional with all the students. Since they had been teaching both for over 10 years and are comfortable with the students they both had great relationships with their students.

I noticed that students came to them for help with different things. During the entire time of my observation I noticed that the students felt very comfortable talking to the teachers, asking for help and ideas. The teachers got along with their students and even thought they did joke with them I never saw the line of Teacher/Student fade. Students always knew who was the adult in the classa and in charge. Both teacher and student help very respectable conversations. If the teacher would hear something innapropiate they would quickly ask them to change the subject and let them know why. I think that teachers should be allowed to joke with their students as long as that line of teacher-students never is crossed.Bpenn005 (talk) 03:01, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

I think it has a lot to do with the subject that I observed but the interaction between the teacher and the students was evident almost the entire class. Because the teacher is actually the director of the ensemble the students are relying on him for the down beat, cut-offs and their entrances. Even though the students are producing the music the teacher has a lot to do with the articulation and the interpretation of the score. I really enjoyed my observation because instead of watching and participating from within the ensemble I was able to see the viewpoint of the director better. I also noticed from the director stand pint more behavioral problems than i had previously noticed from within. It cold have been because I wasn't in the ensemble to cause the problems, but that is a different story. I think that this observation opened my eyes to many different things that just reinforced why I wanted to be a Band director in the first place. Rcoll029 (talk) 04:11, 11 August 2009 (UTC)