Science Classroom Visit

On February 5, I observed Ms. Karen Musser, who is a Biology teacher at Mifflinburg Area High School. The first period class is Biology 1, so the majority of students were freshmen. This particular lesson was focused around water movement in a cell. The objective of the day was posted on the board, and read "Demonstrate comprehension of tonicity by getting A or B on the quiz".

Ms. Musser began the lesson by facilitating a discussion about the difference between hypertonic and hypotonic water movement. She showed hand motions to help students remember and continued to repeat the vocabulary words for the students. The students then took a quiz and completed a coloring worksheet about cells. Ms. Musser had a daily agenda posted on the board, which gave the students a better idea of what the period would look like. I thought that this was a great idea, which provided structure for the students.

Ms. Musser had a great teaching style, and displayed a very enthusiastic attitude. It was evident that she was very organized and knew a lot about the topic that was being discussed. She provided the students with a variety of teaching methods, which helped give some variability, and created a more learner-centered classroom. For the most part, students were engaged in the lesson. When students had a question, I noticed that Ms. Musser would give them some helpful information, and then ask a question back to them. The students tended to answer their own questions this way, and it seemed to aid in comprehension.

The students in Ms. Musser's class seemed very disciplined and did not test Ms. Musser in any way. There were a few typical chatty students, but for the most part students seemed well behaved. To refocus student's attention, Ms. Musser addressed them directly, which seemed to work well. One student sat at the back table with his head down, so Ms. Musser tried to engage him by asking him to read and answer a question.

Overall, I was very impressed with Ms. Musser's ability to make the lesson realistic and relatable to student's personal lives. I thought that she did a great job facilitating learning and understanding. I found Ms. Musser's teaching style very engaging, and enjoyed watching the students participate in a variety of tasks.