Case Study In Front and Deliver

Case Study

In

Front and Deliver

Part I. The Learning Environment and the Students

1.      Illustrate briefly the learning environment depicted in the movie you have chosen. Describe the physical environment as well as the learning views that may be depicted or emphasized.

A rundown urban school in a poor area of Southern California. It has an environment that values a quick fix over education and learning. Rebellion runs high and teachers are more focused on discipline than academics.  School was also severely lacking in educational materials such as computers and enough chairs for number of students, references and physical facilities. School is not well organized; unsafe security of ladies’ comfort room, faculty staffs’ offices and desks are messy, documents and other important papers are scattered everywhere. Not enough number of teachers and staffs for the number of students enrolled.

The learning views depicted is the behaviourist learning views because in order for the students to rise to the level of expectations the teacher will encourage them to have desire in learning. Bolstering, motivating conditioning the students before the class begin and repetition of rules in multiplying negative and positive addressing by a behaviourist teacher to his behaviourist students. Students learned best when forcing and associating, drills and guided practice work with them. The teacher stress student responsibility inside and outside the classroom and establish rules that lead to success and better understanding and respect to individuals but definitely call for value judgment. The constructivist learning view is also depicted in the movie wherein the students used examples or situations that are usually happening around them and/or with their interest. An example was when the teacher introduced negative and positive numbers and one of the students gave other meaning for negative-‘unemployment’. Information processing learning view was showed when answering the question of “how many girlfriends do Juan and Pedro have”. In here, students doubt if Pedro is bisexual, or can it be negative, or if they do have common girlfriends. In here, processing of information of the students measure as they want to complete the information to have a better learning. 

2.      Describe the classroom environment and the students in the classroom. What kind of learning style do you think the students possess?

The classroom was not obviously organized, plain and messy bulletin boards, vandalized blackboard and walls, insufficient chairs for students, impolite manner to different personalities of each individual and students don’t have any materials (books, notes) for learning. They don’t observe proper haircut, dress and grooming inside the classroom. Students are very liberated, utters offensive words and actions towards their classmates and even to their teachers. The worst things happened, were when some students were not afraid to go on late and be scolded and go on fights.

Ana and Javier are visual and aural learner, Claudia, Angel and Rafaela are read and write learners, while aural learners are Guadalope and Armando and the only kinesthetic learner is Pancho.

3.      Identify the different factors that affect student’s performance in the classroom and why these students’ misbehave.

Students misbehave in different ways such as Angel’s problem to his severely sick grandmother and do have night-out as a result of being late in class. Guadalope is the eldest sibling, so as a responsibility she always took good care of her younger siblings while hes mother and father are busy in work as a result, no time for herself and in her school works. Claudia has problem in her boyfriend and to her relationship with her mother while Ana wants to pursue her studies but she is needed in their family business, her fathers don’t value education. Pancho can’t handle the pressure in his studies while taking a job in repairing cars. Several factors affect their behaviours such as problems in home, love life, financial, wrong choice of friends, low self-confidence, and judgement made by their teachers and may be it also an issue of their complexion and racial statues. It’s not only the students’ misbehaviour affects their learning as well as the lack of resources of the school to provide the educational needs of their students.

Part II. Teacher Power and Theories of Classroom Management (Teacher)

1.      Did the teacher use a multi-modal strategy in teaching? What kind of learning style did the teacher address? Illustrate your answer by stating scenes from the movie.

The teacher used multi-modal strategy in teaching. Learning styles that he addressed are the visual, aural, kinesthetic and read and write learners. Kinesthetic and visual learners were addressed when he sliced apples and asked what they’ve got. Another scene was when he taught about multiplying negative and positive numbers, he addressed the visual and auditory learners when he wrote the equation on board and repeatedly said the equation with the students. Read and write learners address in almost all of the scenes during discussion in classroom, when teacher asked to read the problem on the board when the principal and the chairman of Math Department to observing his class. Visual learners are addressed through the use of boards, books and other materials in calculus.

2.      Discuss and describe the kind/s of Teacher Power Bases displayed by the main character (teacher) in the movie. Explain your answer and cite scenes from the movie that illustrates your reasoning.

There are two (2) powers or influences that are available to teacher in promoting appropriate behaviour and learning in the movie. Referent power is one in which the teacher was communicating his care and concern to his students as he suggested to the board of school that he wanted to have a calculus class in summer despite of the poor judgment of his co-teachers in the abilities of the students to pass the A.P Test. In this power, students behave because they like the teacher ma since he was only teacher show concern and self-reliance to them. He cares about their future, gives praises and positive nonverbal gestures as well as exerts effort, time and attention when they began the calculus class and all-through support on their one day preparation for the retest in A.P. Test. In catching their interest, teacher should be an expert. The teacher qualifies to be a calculus teacher because of his gaining expertise in computer and Mathematics. It depicted when he was giving lecture and he said “if you don’t have the ganas I will give it to you because I’m an expert” and when one of the student compliment him saying “the man knows everything”. He successfully communicates his competence through his professional knowledge.

3.      Analyse the teacher’s management strategies. What theory of classroom management do you think did the teacher use? How did the teacher handle misbehaviour in the classroom? What were the teacher’s goals in classroom management and in helping the students learn?

The theory of classroom management use is Collaborative Management. I strongly agree that influencing student behaviour is the joint responsibility of the student and the teacher. As a result a well-organized classroom, respectful individuals and successful students manage by the teacher. The teacher used his coping skill in understanding and handling different misbehaviours of his students as he sympathetically helps them to solve their problems. One situation when the teacher handles misbehaviour in the classroom was when Pancho was assigned to answer the problem on the board but he can’t and the teacher emphasizes the effect of his behaviour (low self-esteem) and help him recognized the logical consequences of his disruptive behaviour in the whole class wanted to pass the test. Quoted from real life Jaime Escalante "The key to my success with youngsters is a very simple and time-honored tradition: hard work for teacher and student alike".

The teacher’s main goal in helping the students to learn is for them to pass the Advanced Placement Test to get college credit but before they can achieve that the teacher want his students to have “desire”, a desire will drive them to pursue their goal “to pass the A.P Test” because as what he said “calculus was not made to be easy, it already is”. It is one of the strongest attribute wanted to achieve by all students, a desire to learn, intrinsically motivated. The most important goal he had established is to have self-confidence through great minds and the courage to be respected by people around them, to show to other teachers that they can excel even though some are doubtful of their capacities to pass the A.P Test without any discrepancies. 

Part III. Analysis, Synthesis, Personal Insights, and Application

1.      If you are the teacher in this classroom, would you have done the same management style or you would do differently? What would you do and why?

If I was the teacher in that classroom with those kinds of students, I would do same management style because this movie leads to a greater understanding of the school dynamic. It is one thing to read about teaching culturally diverse students in a textbook, but to actually see these methods in action speaks louder than words. It can be daunting to become a teacher and end up in a classroom where students are unruly and disinterested. However, it is very encouraging to know that there are ways to successfully engage these types of students, and have a positive impact on their lives. They soon find the courage to separate from society's expectations for failure and rise to the standard that Escalante had set for them.

2.      What do you think are the principles that you have learned from the teaching-learning process depicted in the movies/ how do you think these principles you have learned will help you in becoming a good classroom manager?

The fact that it’s based on a true story, I learned lots of principles from the teaching-learning process and those are:

• ·         It is essential that teachers be able to perform numerous tasks effectively, efficiently, and with excellence.
• ·         Children construct their own knowledge in response to their experiences and are capable of learning many things without adult intervention, being intrinsically motivated to learn, without external rewards to motivate them.
• ·         Establish routines for all day tasks and needs.
• ·         Resolve minor attention and disruption before they became major disruptions.
• ·         Respect students’ diversity.
• ·         Make good use of every instructional moment.
• ·         Learning is a cooperative and collaborative process.
• ·         Learning is a revolutionary process.
• ·         The process of learning is emotional as well as intellectual.
• ·         Teachers must ensure that the learners function as a caring community.
• ·         To teach is to touch lives
• ·         Teaching upside-down and step by step in learning and teaching.

Yes, I strongly agree that these principles will help me in becoming a good classroom manager with the appropriate power bases and effective classroom management theory to certain group of learners with different interest, learning styles, learning views with greater respect to their individual personalities.