Beachwood Field Expierence

   Going to Beachwood was a fun experience for me. My favorite part was visiting the two classrooms and seeing the different ways the teachers motivated the kids. In Mrs. Karims class, they were taking a test, but it wasn't just any test, it was a group test. At first, I personally wasn't too fond of this idea. I thought that not all students would be benefiting from this because some students would do more work than the others or know one area and not the other. But she explained to us that she would grade one problem from each students test, making each student recheck their answer because they don't want to hurt not only their grade, but their peers as well. This is a really great idea, I got a chance to see the students helping each other and explain why one had the correct answer and the other one didn't. These students were on task the whole time, which was very nice to see. the only concern I have with this teaching style is that this class in particular was an advanced math class. I would like to see how it would work out with students who aren't as strong in the math area, and if it would still be effective.  
    The other classroom I went to was Mr. Smiths. In there, they were going over the vocabulary homework. At the beginning of the class, they were discussing an upcoming test. He was telling the class how he wasn't sure, but he thinks he will make it a group test. The students all commented on how they wanted it to be a group test. I thought this was a familiar thing,coming from a class that just took a group test. I am beginning to wonder if it was just that school or if it is all middle school students who like group testing, and why? Is it easier or do the kids just like the support? Later in the class, when the teacher was going over the homework, he made a deal with them that if they got 20 questions right in a row, he would give them one extra bonus point. I thought this was a good idea because the students were engaged and excited to get that extra point. I noticed that the teacher would call on everyone to make sure they were all involved, which was a very good idea, but also noticed that when he called on certain people, other students didn't have confidence that he or she would get the answer wrong, which they didn't because Mr. Smith would peek at the students work,to make sure they had the right answer. Halfway through you could tell that some off the students were losing interest, and the Mr. Smith would change the tone of his voice to make the students stay on task a little longer. He would also challenge the students by saying "No one has gotten this one right today in all my classes" which motivated the students to make sure they had the correct answer, which I thought was a pretty neat idea.