I observed three classes from Learning Tree International School in Tokyo. I observed a first grade class, a third grade class, and a fourth grade class.

First Grade

The first grade class was setup so that the four student tables were perpendicular to the white board, where the teacher was standing. The students were sat in groups of 2-4 at each table. There definitely seemed to be a difference in the attentiveness of students depending on their position. The further tables were not as attentive as the ones closer to the white board / teacher. 

On a wall in the classroom were the following rules.

1. Use an inside voice.
2. Keep your hands to yourself.
3. Listen to your teacher.
4. Raise your hand when you have an answer or question.
5. Finish all your work. 

Although the rules were posted on the wall, the teacher never referenced them with the students and they weren’t discussed at the beginning of the class. I’m not sure to what degree they factor into the class behavior, as I didn’t observe the teacher or students acknowledge them.

The activities I observed were group activities in which the teacher would ask questions and the students would write their process and answer on white boards and raise them to show the teacher, a group reading where the students moved from their chairs to the front of the room where they sat on the floor, and individual worksheets done at the tables. Of these activities, the reading was the most well organized, with the most kids on task. I think because of the closer proximity to the teacher, the students found it easier to be engaged in the activity. The position of the tables, somewhat far from the teacher, caused some students to engage in their own discussions unrelated to the class during group work.

Interestingly, the teacher seemed to do very little in terms of managing behavior. There was a lot of chatter unrelated to the activity, tipping / improper usage of chairs, and speaking of languages other than English that were unacknowledged by the teacher. (While they are studying multiple subjects, one of the goals of the school is for students to learn English, so talking in another language during class time is not supposed to be allowed.) The teacher didn’t use any particular strategy with these distractions, and instead opted to continue the lesson unhindered. Interestingly, the students managed to stay on task and answer the questions appropriately, despite the talking out of turn and non-related chat happening. 

Third Grade

The third grade class was arranged with 4 tables set in a spread out diamond shape. The teacher would walk around the room and occasionally return to the white board to write definitions. This seating arrangement did cause some students to occasionally have their back to the teacher or the whiteboard depending on his position, but in this particular class it did not create any behavioral issues. 

The teacher did not have any rules specific to his class posted on the wall in his classroom. 

I only observed one activity during the class, which was an group social studies reading and discussion. During the reading, the teacher would call on students to read a paragraph, and occasionally pause them to ask a comprehension question or write down a definition. The selection of readers seemed to be random, though the selection of students to answer questions was done based on hand raising. Sometimes the teacher would also ask students to get up and move around the room to demonstrate certain vocabulary words that appeared in the passage. (For example, he asked a student to demonstrate moving “erratically.”) 

The students were generally on task and following along during the reading. While a basic reading and discussion might have the potential to lead to lack of student engagement based on ability and understanding, in this instance I didn’t observe any major behavioral issues. The teacher’s usage of randomly selecting students and use of humor helped keep the students engaged. 

Fourth Grade

The fourth grade class was by far the largest of the three classrooms I observed, and the teacher made wise use of the space. The area closest to the white board had the student tables arranged in a U shape, with the students sitting such that they were all facing the white board and could easily see the teacher. Behind the table area was a wide open space. The U arrangement was very beneficial in maintaining student engagement, because it was very easy for the teacher to interact with every student, and the students were all able to easily see the teacher and board. The teacher stayed inside the U when interacting with students, allowing her to quickly jump from student to student for feedback.

The teacher had a rule chart on the wall, which reads:

Classroom rules!

Be ready to learn.

Dream big.

Say please and thank you.

Try new things.

Take risks & make mistaeks. (sic)

Follow directions. 

Raise your hand.

Believe in yourself.

Work hard.

Classroom rules!

These rules were not referenced directly in class, and because of the nature of the poster which also seemed to contain words of inspiration that aren’t necessarily rules or procedures, I am not sure to what degree the teacher enforces the rules on the poster. Nevertheless, the positive attitude displayed on the poster was reflected in the class.

The activities I observed were group work involving white boards in a similar manner as the first grade class, an active game using the wide open space, and individual math work, with problems being presented on cards rather than on a worksheet. The students performed the white board activity effectively, added in part by the close arrangement of the tables, which facilitated group work. The active game in the back of the room was good for maintaining students energy levels, as it was getting late in the day at this point. Although the students were generally engaged during this activity, the higher amount of movement and energy did cause some students to briefly wander towards windows while waiting for the next turn. The individual work was also effective because of the positioning of the room, which allowed the teacher to monitor the work and offer immediate feedback on student responses.  

The only potential behavioral issues came during the active game, but the teacher was quick to address them simply by addressing the student’s name directly and repeating her instructions. This quickly pulled them back on task.

Conclusion: Withitness

Of the three teachers, I would say the first grade teacher demonstrated the lowest amount of withitness. She either purposely ignored behavioral issues such as misuse of chairs and non-related chit chat, or she truly didn’t notice. Nevertheless, she continued on in her class and even the students who were demonstrating the issues still managed to demonstrate understanding of the topics. Perhaps there is something to be said for ignoring some minor things, as long as the student can remain on task. This requires a knowledge of an individual student’s behaviors though.

The Third and Fourth grade teachers both displayed high amounts of withitness in their class. The third grade teacher managed to keep his entire class focused on the reading and discussion using humor and good comprehension questions. I will say that some of his humor seemed to border on singling out individual students, and it would be something to be wary of. In his particular class, no student seemed offended by his humor, but this could change depending on the student.

The Fourth grade teacher also had high withitness. Her classroom arrangement allowed her to quickly respond to all students, and she also offered direct and immediate feedback for class work. The overall positive atmosphere in the class helped a lot, with the teacher giving very good praise of the student’s efforts.