Running head: OBSERVATION #1 SETTING 1

Observation 1

Jeremia Vergara

Raritan Valley Community College

Professor Kimberly Schirner

March 01, 2019

SETTING 2

Education 230 Field Experience

I. Observation #1
Setting

II. Grade Level

Pre-kindergarten Special Education

III. Setting
Facility of the classroom is in an urban town. The school is public and specializes
specifically in early childhood care and education. This classroom has a main teacher,
two to four assistant teachers and seven students.

IV. Pre-observation
The way the classroom is set up doesn’t seem important, but it has a huge
impact on a child. The classroom I’m observing in is set up in a way for the
children to navigate easily around. I would assume that the children would know
where all the toys and books are if they ever want to play or read together. The
toys should also be appropriate for the students, such as toy cars. “Although it is
generally agreed that children learn through play, it is also clear that they do not
come to school for the fun of it...In western countries kindergarten are typically
well-stocked with play materials and other equipment” (Prochner 2011). My
cooperating teachers told me that the children were not potty trained, so I would
assume they would use a changing table or perhaps pull-ups for the children.
Tables should be arranged in ways that the children could talk to each other, or at
least sit next to each other so they all get used to one another. The room should be
eye-catching and colorful without too much distraction. Play areas spark the
imagination of the children. A teacher’s desk sometimes isn’t useful in a
classroom for early education, but for special education, the case may be
different.

V. Data

 Children put their jackets in the closet/cubby area behind the teacher’s desk
 Assistant teachers do not get a desk as they sit next to the children.
 One of the children has a special chair meant for his short stature.
 Schedule is placed next to the classroom entrance.
 There is a bathroom with a sink and toilet. There are also diapers in there for
the children.
 Children do not come in with extra clothing.
 Bathroom is attached to another classroom.
 Play area is placed in the center of the room closest to the windows.
 Morning meeting rug is placed where there’s a Smartboard.
 There are separate work areas for each child to work in during program times.
 A shelf of activities involving fine motor skills is located near the bathroom.
SETTING 3

 There is no changing table for diaper changes

 Children are not potty trained.
 Children enjoy playing with the toy cars and train tracks.
 Program areas (or work areas), are separated with movable walls.

VI. Analysis
In the mornings after breakfast, the children go to a drawer full of activity
folders. The folders have activities that could be matching, sorting, or something
involving the alphabet. The connecting bathroom makes it easy to contact the
teacher on the other side. Sometimes my cooperating teacher needs a helping
hand with a student. During my time of observation, it would be breakfast, play
time, morning meeting, then program time. Play time would either be in the gym
or the playground depending on the weather. Play time is important for the child
and it is recommended that they play for at least an hour. This benefits exercise,
socialization, and executive function (McCarthy, 2018). Play time in the
classroom involves going on the play carpet. Most children just play with the
small toy cars or dress up.
Sometimes the tables would be used for activities like craft time or even
programs. Crafts would include painting something that had to do with the theme
of the month. Since March was the beginning of Spring, the children were told to
create a sun by using a paper plate and yellow finger paint. The children also eat
on these tables, though they’re not often cleaned after each activity. The teacher’s
desk contains pencils and pens for recording progress during program time. The
teacher’s desk has a good view of the room. Thankfully with a small number of
students, it’s easy to catch conflicts. However, it’s not easy to see if every child is
eating their food or sleeping during nap time.
SETTING 4

VII. Recommendations
Children need room to function and move around. Special education
children especially need to be involved in classroom activities so that they may be
able to show progress. “When working in an inclusion classroom, the layout
should allow teachers and paraprofessionals to move around easily and walk to
students’ desks without obstructions. Such an open-floor layout allows teachers to
help students quickly and provides them with an environment that feels both safe
and inviting, resulting in better in-class behavior and fewer disruptions” (Manno,
2015). The assistant teachers are effective in their work and thoroughly enjoy
being with the children. They are also responsive to the lead teacher. However,
they allow the children to be distracted with their positive reinforcements, such as
toys. The children also have a clear view of the play area, as seen in the classroom
layout. This leads to a large amount of distraction during program time.
Sometimes the children hide behind the shelves near Work Area 3. It’s a blind
spot from Work Area 1. I would recommend switching Work Area 3 and the play
area. This way, the distractions are lessened, and the children cannot see who is
playing during programs.
Naps are needed during this age, as toddlers require at least 1 to 3 hours of
rest during the day (Gupta, 2016). The placements of mats are important. If mats
are put near toys, the children would go to the toys. If the mats are put near the
tables and chairs, the children would try to kick them. The children aim more for
the teacher’s desk to disrupt. The open space in the first classroom layout are
where mats are usually placed. Children who are least disruptive go on the
SETTING 5

morning meeting mat for nap. I would recommend that the disruptive children go
to where Work Area 4 is. There aren’t that many toys or furniture there to distract
them. The teacher’s desk would be moved closer to where the morning meeting
rug is. There’s a better view of the classroom there, and it would also be a good
place to see the children play in the play area.

VIII. Post-observation

As mentioned before, the child’s environment is crucial to how they learn.

The importance of naptime and playtime also prove essential to a growing child.
Playtime improves social skills, cognitive ability, and motor skills. These skills,
especially motor, are considered important for children’s physical, social, and
psychological development and may be the foundation for an active lifestyle
(Hestbaek, 2017). The openness of the classroom is great for naptime, but it proves as
a distraction sometimes if the children decide to run around. However, with the
correct and appropriate discipline, the child only needs to be told once to stop running
and to walk. Negative behavior stemmed from children growing impatient to the
point where they’d grab the closest person to them and start hitting them. Through
this observation, I understood how serious special education should be taken and how
the set up of the classroom helps the child improve and grow.
IX. Citations
SETTING 6

Classroom FloorPlanner. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.kaplanco.com/resources/floorPlanner.asp

Hestbaek, L. (2017). Influence of motor skills training on children’s development

evaluated in the Motor skills in PreSchool (MiPS) study-DK:

Gupta, R. C. (Ed.). (2016, April). Naps. Retrieved from

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/naps.html

Manno, M. (n.d.). Association of American Educators. Retrieved from

https://www.aaeteachers.org/index.php/blog/1548-creating-inclusive-

spaces-the-importance-of-classroom-design-in-special-education

Prochner, L. (2009). “Their little wooden bricks”: A history of the material culture

of kindergarten in the United States. Retrieved from

https://eds-a-ebscohost-com.ezp.raritanval.edu/eds/pdfviewer/

pdfviewer?vid=5&sid

=292b10e2-3df1-4889-9e66-b8af5913ded5@sessionmgr400

X. Appendix