1. Are the teacher's directions usually clear?

Allison's directions were typically clear and understood by the students.


2. Is the questioning clear and appropriate? Do the directions address higher order skills (Bloom's Taxonomy)?

I think that I've almost always made a reference to Allison's questioning the class. It is very clear and appropriate. Allison's child centered classroom does address higher order skills. By becoming a sort of guide to the students' learning experiences, Allison gets her student's to recall past learning experiences and build upon that previous knowledge. Once they understand the concept they apply in to other tasks with minimum help or explanation from the teacher.

3. Does the teacher use positive terms (yes, good) ? Can the teacher find a positive comment even when an answer (verbal or musical) is incorrect?

Allison did use positive terms, but not as often as I think she should have. If the students were doing board work, sometimes she would say "good" and other times she wouldn't say anything at all. It was a little inconsistent. She was more consistent with finding positive comments for incorrect answers. She would say things like "Are you sure? Try that one again." or "Would you like someone to help you?" A few times she did give a student a simple "good" when there answers were inaccurate. I feel this was brought on by distractions from other students. Most of the time the other students caught the incorrect answer, but others (especially in the younger grades) they went by unnoticed.

4. How does the teacher acknowledge pupils' comments and ideas?

Allison would acknowledge comments that were serious and went along with what was going on in the classroom. With the comments that were not about what was going on, she typically made a comment about how it had nothing to do with the learning of the classroom and continue with the lesson.

5. What effective non-verbal communication does the teacher use?

Allison made eye contact with her students frequently. This, of course, meant different things at different times. It was at times accompanied with a smile to encourage positive behavior or with a firm look to discourage inappropriate behavior. Allison also used proximity to discourage inappropriate behavior. She would stand or sit close to a student who was misbehaving. She would also hold up her hand in a "stop" fashion or give a thumbs up.