3 Teaching Styles

I recently watched 3 different videos that focused on 3 different teaching styles. Video 1 was a video about roller coasters and physics. Video 2 showed a brief insight into 3rd grade math in China. And Video 3 focuses on Whole Brain Teaching. Below I critique all 3 on how effective they are both academically and behaviorally along with discussing the norms and procedures. Then I proceed to give a very brief overall thought process on them. Finally after all 3 video analysis I will discuss which method I would try to use for secondary students in social science courses. 

Video 1:

Academic: I believe that the lesson on physics, science. Math, and social sciences are incorporated in a very relatable and student-centered project. I thought the project can appear to be very difficult, however the teacher set up this project for the students to succeed. I think that this shows the high academic expectations that she had for her students. Incorporating all of these subjects, groups, and different stages exhibit this theory. 

Behavioral: I think trusting these students to collaborate their own work into the group section shows a high standard for behavioral expectations. These students must find a way to all contribute to their project and do it in a proper and polite manner. Also the fact that they must look at and modify their work when it fails shows strong behavioral expectations. To be able to look at your own work and try to fix it without getting upset is not only a great life trait but takes mental toughness at that age. 

Norms and Procedures: One procedure I noticed was the use of a fake monetary system in order to purchase materials for the roller coaster. I thought this was an interesting and helpful technique. Nice to see a teacher incorporate real life experiences. The norms were having different jobs for the students in the group which showed good teamwork. Also the use of each group having a representative discuss the how the project went.

Overall I think it was a very good lesson and an interesting one to see. 

Video 2:

Academic: After watching the video and reading the article on Chinese math curriculum's I believe they exemplify a high academic standard. One for the fact that they start at such a young age. The use of math in such early years is putting a lot of pressure on these students to succeed from such a young age. Also the fact that they on average dedicate 15 hours to math alone shows a high academic standard.

Behavioral: Again I think that the implementation of math in such a early stage of school contributes to the ability to be held to a higher standard behaviorally. I believe having such a high standard academically from both the parents and the teachers enhances the behavioral standards for these students.

Norms and Procedures: In the video we can see the teacher saying something and the students either repeating it or something that I assume follows what she says. They know they have to follow what the teacher is doing and I am guessing it’s a norm well established.

Overall I thought it was much more difficult to understand what was going on in this video. I also think the article didn’t do the class structure justice.

Video 3:

Academic: I believe the video, though it might be short, shows the expectations set academically for the students. How they were almost trained to respond to phrases and hand movements showed that the teacher wants them to pay attention to detail. Also I got the vibe of student-centered learning while they were pairing up and reading together.

Behavioral: Again I believe the use of hand signals and phrases shows a strive for behavioral excellence. These students seems to understand that they must show great behavior within the class. You can clearly tell that the teacher has high expectations and is very encouraging to hers students, she reaffirmed her belief in their abilities.

Procedures and Norms: Obviously the procedures and norms are the fact that students are expected to follow teachers orders and communicate accordingly. The procedures have already been described with hand and vocal gestures to get students to pay attention. I believe these are helpful for the norms because they get the students involved in a fun and relatable manner.

Overall I thought that this was a very interesting video and the teacher and student cohesiveness was very apparent. This clear strategy contributes to the academic and behavioral excellence shown in the video.

Final Thoughts:
I think personally for my student-centered learning ideals I would try to incorporate aspects of video 1 and video 3. I really enjoyed how each student had to rely on each other for the project. I also enjoyed how the teacher incorporated multiple subjects in her lesson along with life lessons. I would try to expand my students mind they way she did. I also liked how video 3 showed how well behaved the students were because she used hand signals along with her lessons. Also how they paired up and read together, a very student-centered approach. I think that a combination of incorporating different subjects into my material along with student interaction and learning would be beneficial for high school students. Especially considering the fact that part of a social science curriculum deals with human interaction, using these traits in the classroom theoretically makes sense.