Class_Sizes_to_Big

The question in this assignment is a very broad based question and it is very difficult to pin point just one problem and high light that as the critical problem. In order to try and highlight what the critical problems are, I interviewed staff at Allen Glen School in Allensneck. Having spent time at the school and having interviewed the teachers there, there were mixed view as to what they thought what the problem was. Some said that they found parental involvement was almost non-existence. Some said that the teacher support was poor as the teachers do not work together as a unit but work on their own and there is no calibration. Deputy head of school said that he felt that the resources was and issue as its very difficult to teach when you do not have the material to teach them with. Majority of the teachers actually felt that discipline was the biggest problem and that it’s very hard to teach when the attitude of the boys is to cause havoc and not appreciate the opportunity they have. I am basing my viewpoint based on what I saw at Allen Glen School. This is a government school in Allensneck. I agreed with what the teachers had stated that they did find resources being of a limitation. I also noticed that the subject teachers were not working together but alone and doing their own thing. I also found that discipline was a huge issue and that maybe due to the class sizes being large. Statement From my time at the school, I feel that the right problem statement for this assignment is “Class sizes are too large for 1 teacher to manage”. From my observation I found that the class size were large (approx. 35 children in a class) and the classroom size was also small so come afternoon the room was hot and smelly. This also made it hard for the children to focus. In a classroom size of 35 children it was very difficult for the teacher to get every child’s attention and then was someone constantly missed- behaving or pushing the limit with the teacher. There has been extensive research carried out on this issues some articles are: “Class size affects in school system around the world: Evidence from Between –Grade variation in TIMSS” by Ludger Wobmann and Martin R.West (PEPG/02-02) discusses the impact of class size and how it affects the level of education received. In my opinion having read fair amount of articles, I felt that the class size was the biggest problem in the school as with the class sizes so big the teacher struggled to maintain discipline and therefore struggled to get through the study material for the day. The teachers were left feeling completely drained and tired by the end of the day and by Friday they could actually take no more. The boys were extremely disrespectful and did not value the teacher or her efforts. There has been studies carried out with respect to advantages and disadvantages to a large classrooms (The Advantages & Disadvantages of Class Sizes by Robert Godard Suggestion. My suggestions would be to have smaller class sizes or have a teacher assistant in the class to help manage the children as we are aware from the studies carried out that small class sizes are more likely to increase academic performance in students. Students have been shown to score higher on tests and performance-related tasks. However, these studies only focus on the short-term effects of class size; there is a lack of conclusive date that this is a lasting effect. (The Advantages & Disadvantages of Class Sizes by Robert Godard) In reality it would be very difficult to reduce the class size due to limitations within the school and shortage of experienced teachers. The best possible solution in this scenario is to try and get a teacher assistant to help the teacher. Summary During the 2 weeks I was at the school the first week I observed the classroom environment in 3 classrooms I also observed the amount of education getting through to the children. At the end of the first week I asked the teachers to fill out a questionnaire (see Appendix 1). From this you can see that the teacher are not in a good space and are extremely frustrated and are struggling to cover the syllabus. In the second week I stepped in and started to help out either by assisting some groups or help keep the class calm. I basically acted as an extra pair of hands, I did not do any academics with the children I just made sure that the work was carried out and that I helped with the discipline. I followed instructions given to me by the teacher. I then got the teachers to fill out the questionnaire again (See appendix 2) and as you can see the teachers are not so negative and exhausted. They feel that they have covered more academics than they have previously been able to cover in a week. They found by me being there they were able to delegate some tasks and spend more time teaching and observing the children. The teachers also felt not as exhausted. They did say that if they had to invest in resources they would actually seriously consider taking on an assistant. In my opinion by having a smaller class (I.e. the class split between teacher and assistant) the teacher was actually able to go round for the first time and check on the children’s work and was able to see which children were struggling and which were ok with the subject matter. This highlighted to me the knock on effect between the teachers and students and what a huge difference it had made just in that week. I also personally felt that the children’s attitude had slightly changed as they were aware of another adult in the class watching them. I can also understand that the option of an assistant in the class may not be possible as I am aware that it is difficult to find assistant teachers and also finance is also another big issue for the school. However, one solution to lack of assistant teachers is to employ students studying to be a teacher to work as a teacher assistant. So instead of having a 10 week practical experience they actually get a year or more depending where they are in their studies. This would be a huge advantage to the newly qualified teacher as well as the school benefitting. This process is carried out at the school at which I work at where they offer students studying through to work as interns for the year. This has allowed me to gain real experience of teaching as well as gaining experience. At the same time the teachers get enormous amount of help from me whether it’s administrative, lesson cover, lesson support, research and discipline. I personally feel that from the experience gained from my year at the school I will be a far better teacher at the end of the year than if I just did a 10 week practical. The above solution will certainly not fix the problem but it’s a step in the right direction. And in my opinion the stated hypothesis was confirmed correct.