Lainey Losekamp

April 29, 2015

Video Analysis-Declaration of Independence
Reading/Language Arts I Methods

A highly effective classroom is a classroom filled with engaged students and the
learning is student centered in the classroom. Students are able to perform behavioral
expectations and understand assignment expectations that are clearly presented by the
teacher. The instruction is varied by the teacher and is adapted to meet all learners
diverse needs. The learning involved in highly effective classrooms is related to life and
all of the learning tasks are completed.
As I analyzed my video, I noticed different behaviors that I was not aware of how
I was executing while teaching the students in the classroom. Some these behaviors I
notice did not display the characteristics of a highly effective classroom. These
behaviors included not giving the students enough time to answer; I was speaking more
than the students; and I had a tendency to call on boys more vs. girls. The area I
choose to focus for my analysis is on the tendency of calling boys more vs. girls. During
my lesson over the Declaration of Independence, I called on the boys more than the
girls. My video tape only recorded 30 minutes, but during that 30 minutes I asked a total
of 20 questions. Fifteen of those questions I asked I called on the boys to answer. This
only gave the girls five chances to voice their ideas and thoughts in the classroom. I did
not even realize I was calling on the boys more than I was calling on the girls. Another
element I noticed while I was teaching was that I was calling on the same three boys.
The first boy I called on answered 6 of the questions, the second boy answered 3 of the

questions, and the third boy answered three questions as well. Personally, I do not
agree with research stating that, Teachers tolerate more calling out from boys than
from girls (Childhood Education, 1996, and pg. 1). I believe what happened was that I
was very nervous and kept referring to the three high-ability students because they
knew the answer. When I happened to call on other students, they either paused a
while before they answered or they were not correct. I was really nervous about
teaching the Declaration of Independence because my teacher stated that is a difficult
concept to teach to fifth grade students. I called on the higher-ability students, so the
other students didnt have any misconceptions about the wrong answer being stated in
class.
The next time I teach a lesson I plan on working on all my weak areas such as
wait time; measuring teacher talk versus student talk; and calling on boys more versus
girls. If I improve on these three weak areas, I will be able to create a highly effective
classroom.

Works Cited
Ampersand. (2006). Gender Bias In The Classroom: Do Teachers Give Boys
More Attention? AlasaBlog, Weaver. Retrieved from:
http://amptoons.com/blog/2006/11/16/gender-bias-in-the-classroom-do-teachers-giveboys-more-attention/