Observation and Description
The lesson is taught by Lisa Polacsek for the fourth-graders. As learning theories may have some aspects in common, it is necessary to take into account those that are more related to the lesson in question. As such, the learning theory observed in the video can be considered relevant to social learning theory established by Albert Bandura.
This theory presupposes that students learn from each other in the process of interactions. Besides, theory of social development by Vygotsky presupposes that students can learn something new in the process of social interactions. Finally, we can see discovery learning established by Bruner in action as students discover new facts in the process of learning.
The teaching situation includes division of students into science groups of six students in each; the roles assigned to every student are aimed at engaging every student into the learning process. Moreover, a teacher takes a role of an observer who does not interfere in the scientific activity of the group. The students are grouped so that there are about the same boy to girl ratio whereas the number of members is equal in all groups.
The lesson takes place in a large room where students can see the erosion when they poor water on soil: one person reminds what they should do and/or see at a specific stage; another person supplies water; the third person tracks the water; the fourth person serves as a messenger when a team has some questions to a teacher, etc. The teacher performs the role of an observer who can talk to a messenger only.
The observed teacher-to-student interactions presuppose that one student in each group whose role is a ‘messenger’ can only speak to the teacher directly while all other members of the team cannot do that. For instance, in the video the teacher asked a student to remind who can talk to her and talk to the messenger instead of talking to her. This approach is aimed at making students cooperate.
The observed student-to-student interactions include management as every team has a manger. Besides, students have to talk to each other because they should ask for a teacher’s help only via ‘messenger’. In addition, other members of the group also have their roles that imply certain actions within the group such as tracking the scientific activity or managing water supply. In other words, student-to-student interactions are based on the roles assigned.
Analysis, Exploration, and Reasoning
The purpose of the observed lesson is to teach students understand erosion as a natural phenomenon and make students cooperate with the help of dividing them into science groups and assigning specific roles to them. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the meaning of every role and duties that every student has to perform within a group.
The teaching strategy implemented in the observed lesson can be characterized as problem-based learning because a teacher implemented a real-life situation into the teaching-learning process in order to show students everything in practice. The topic of the observed lesson was erosion.
So, students had to see in their own eyes how the process of erosion destructs soil with regard to the time necessary for such destruction and scale of it. The strategy is aimed at making student learn the natural phenomenon by observing how things work in the real life.
The teacher’s possible purpose for implementing a teaching strategy observed in the video includes two aspects. The first aspect is the knowledge acquisition and practice. When students can see how things work, they can better understand the concept of erosion and other phenomena that can be seen in class. The second aspect is the social interaction and communication as to manage the entire class a special strategy was required. As such, roles assigned helped the teacher to make sure that all students are engaged and no mess occurs.
The level of student engagement with the observed lesson is high because every student has a specific role which presupposes work in team and particular duties for every role. So, students look excited and they gladly accept the roles assigned and do everything required. It would be impossible to reach such a level of engagement without roles and a task (a range of duties as every student should be in charge of a certain stage of the process) for every student.