In the last video I tagged, the entire class hour was teacher centered. This was particularly frustrating because the teacher seemed unconcerned with the high number of disengaged students in the class. She spent a lot of time either going through a powerpoint or lecturing. Many of her students were completely tuned out and didn't seem to care about what they were learning. It was incredible to watch her continue to "teach" 20, 30, 40 minutes without asking questions to prompt the kids or get them more engaged. She seemed content with simply talking at them, and since there were no real behavior problems, the students remained complacent.
It was pretty clear that the teacher seemed more focused on finishing her planned lesson than having students engaged or actively participating in what they were learning. One thing I continued to find frustrating, was that the students all had their class textbooks sitting in the upper left hand corner of their desks. It was obvious that they had been instructed to keep the book there. All I kept wondering, was why the teacher cared more about the proper placement of textbooks on a desk than students learning in her class. Overall, I was unimpressed with the lesson's topic, execution and engagement. I would like to believe that after an hour long lecture, her students absorbed something. Otherwise, it was a complete waste of their time.
I'm really sad that the teaching you have been exposed through MET has been less than inspiring but it goes back to what you discussed in the article discussions and the desperate need for better teacher preparation and much more PD on how to engage students.
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