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 * Teacher Observation Case Studies - Case Study 4**

Mr. Ramcharran is a seventh grade Social Studies teacher in a K-8 school with approximately 1,000 students. He is a relatively new teacher. His class has 28 students. The school has two computer labs as well as two mobile laptop carts and several Smartboards. Students do a pull-out technology period once a week where they learn word processing and some PowerPoint. He works closely with the technology teacher.

As you enter the class, you take note of how the room has been organized. The desks and chairs have been arranged in seven groups of four. The walls are decorated with student projects that are artistic and have a good amount of writing. The displayed research papers are of particular interest as they each have photographs, table and charts and are all neatly typed and formatted. Each project has a page explain how it relates to both the Social Studies and ELA standards. There is a row of desktop computers in the back of the room and a Smartboard at the front of the room.

The class settles down immediately and Mr. Ramcharran begins the lesson. The designated student for that day comes to the front and operates the Smartboard for the class, following the link to the class website which displays the objectives for the lesson – students will be working in groups to research five events from African American History and using digital cameras will take photos of themselves acting out those events. The student operating the Smartboard clicks on the link for the handout that explains the process and has specific roles for each group member as well as the specific number of events required and a box where a plan for each photo and slide can be sketched. Another student hands out the planning sheets to the students.

As Mr. Ramcharran circulates, the students use the planning sheets to sketch what their photograph will look like. Other students from each group use the computers at the back of the room to follow Social Studies links posted on the class website to research information for their PowerPoint Presentation. After the research has been completed, students in the groups write the text for each slide of their presentation in their planning sheets.

Once each group has finished planning, another group of students, designated as the technology crew for that day, proceeds to the closet and distributes one digital camera to each group. Students then begin acting out scenes from history. One group acts out a sit-in at a lunch counter, another acts out the swearing in of Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court. As the period draws to a close, the technology crew collects the cameras and returns them to the closet. Another student logs out and shuts down the desktops at the back of the room.

Once all of the students are in their seats, Mr. Ramcharran distributes the homework, a handout that asks the students to rate their performance as a group member and describe their plan for completing the project tomorrow.

//How would you advise Mr. Ramcharran?//