A Lesson in the Corazza School-Challenges/Delivery/Differences from Past Teaching Placements

            The most recent lesson I observed within my placement classroom was a science-based lesson, specifically focusing on the bones and skeletal makeup of the human body. From my observations the teacher did not have any formal lesson plan or guideline prepared for this particular lesson. There was an informal structural guideline for the lesson with regards to the specified topics the teacher aimed to instruct on. The delivery was effective, but disorganized in a sense with regards to the classroom management. There was a high volume of student involvement throughout the entirety of the lesson, numerous students were eager to participate in the content being discussed. The teacher encouraged engagement by having a skeleton model that the students could utilize as visual and tactile aid in the content delivery. The students were eager to show their knowledge through the exhibition of the skeleton model.

            One particular challenge the teacher faced within the lesson I observed was with the behavior of the students. Due to the high level of engagement with the integration of the skeleton model, the students had a high energy level that translated into disruptive behaviors. While one student would engage with the model and the content there were small group discussions taking place contributing to the disruptive behaviors. An additional challenge faced by the educator was the high caliber of vocabulary being utilized within the lesson. There was a lack of introduction with regards to the unfamiliar, difficult vocabulary that is associated with the anatomy of the human body.  The students as a result would comprehend general ideas, but had difficulties with the specificities taught due to lack of foundation of anatomical vocabulary.

            Compared with my own experiences with teaching in America there were notable differences in the execution of the lesson I observed. There are more explicit standards that are targeted within the lessons I have executed/observed within my placements in America. An additional difference is the emphasis on language objectives within all content area lessons in America, compared to the lack of language addressed in the science lesson I observed. There was also a lack of a variety of components to the lesson I observed in Italy, when considering the content of anatomy there could have been diversified approaches to the content. But, throughout the lesson it was solely composed of student contribution and the teacher lecturing the material.