Julie Quackenbush

February April 2017

Field Experience Reflection

Lawrence Lawson Elementary

I had the pleasure of observing both Mrs. Beth Roose and Mrs. Jenna Moser at Lawrence

Lawson Elementary in Sparta. Mrs. Moser and Mrs. Roose have roughly 12 students each whom

they support daily. The students they support are in grades Kindergarten through the Third grade.

Throughout my time at Lawrence-Lawson, all of the students and staff were very friendly and

accepting of having me visit in their classrooms. There were many great observations made in

various math and reading instructional lessons.

Lessons varied throughout the day. Students came in for individualized and mini group

instruction. Mrs. Roose provided mainly supplemental pull out instruction. She also co-taught

in classrooms and made observations on a daily basis. There were many valuable experiences

and chances for instructional time with the students. However, the most exciting and rewarding

part of my observational experience was the day I was able to accompany Mrs. Roose to test a

student at another school. On this particular day, Mrs. Roose and I met at this school to meet

with a third-grade student whos parents and teacher had requested she be tested for Special

Education services. Upon our arrival, we were introduced to the school principal. He seemed a

bit sad to hear if this student qualified for Special Education that she would be leaving their

school. He told us how he had started a program for students with Dyslexia, and remarked

that shouldnt that be all a struggling student might need?? It was in those moments before we

ever even began testing this student, that I realized how very little educators not in Special

Education truly understand about learner differences, capabilities and needs. It was an eye-
opening moment, when I realized that this principal had no idea about difficulties that students

face. Here he was, the principal, and he knew nothing of behavior disorders, or EBD. I felt very

sad. Mrs. Roose and I both had to explain to the principal and the students teacher how the

special education process works. I was able to explain about the IEP meeting that they would be

attending and how we would be testing the student and providing the results in order for

everyone to try to make informed decisions for the best interest of the needs of the student. It

was a very eye opening moment.

I accompanied Mrs. Roose and the student to a private room where I was able to observe

her administer the KTEA-3 (Kaufman test 3rd edition). I was able to follow along with the

prompts as Mrs. Roose read. After an hour and a half of testing I noticed that the young girl had

tears running down her cheek and I notified Mrs. Roose so she could stop. From her angle, she

could not see the student like I could. Mrs. Roose remarked that she had never before had an

experience such as this. It was a very valuable learning opportunity for me, not just on this day,

but throughout my entire time. I think that todays lesson about what people know, how they

know it and how we need to be mindful of each other are far greater than what I have learned

through my classes. Today I learned a very valuable lesson about being aware of the feelings

and needs of my students. Always keep the interest of others in mind!