Courtney Krueger

Professor Cella

EDU 102

Due December 2nd

Observations

Physical Environment

Over fall break, I visited 2 different schools and observed 3 different classrooms, all of

which had different physical environments. The first school I visited was Mendham Township

Elementary School in which I watched a kindergarten classroom. This classroom was decorated

a lot and there was a lot of posters and pictures that were up on the walls. Instead of desks, the

students were seated at tables of 4/5 students. I thought it was good they were in tables rather

than desks because they could interact with other students at their tables. The coloring of the

room was light colors and blue which gave the room a calm feel. The room was organized in a

very different way than most classrooms. There was a lot of clutter but it was organized clutter,

and there were bookshelves in the middle of the room which I thought was a bit in the way. I

liked how the desk were set up as well as the carpet they sat on for reading. There was a

bathroom within the room which was nice, especially for kindergarteners. This probably was

useful for the teacher as if the students needed to use a restroom they didn’t have to leave and the

teacher, Mrs. Culbertsom, didn’t have to worry about them getting lost in the hallways. The

temperature of the room was room temperature and was good because it was not too hot but not

too cold. Although there was clutter, the room was very clean and Mrs. Culbertsom made sure

that students washed their hands and didn’t dirty the room. Overall, I liked the setup and the
physical environment of this class, although there are some things that could have been done to

make it seem less busy/cluttered.

The second class I visited at Mendham Township Elementary School was a 2nd grade

classroom with Mrs. Pieper. This classroom was set up very differently than the kindergarten

classroom. The desks were set up in rows with a white board in the front and the teacher's desk

in the back. I felt that the desks in rows was a bit too structured for 2nd graders and maybe

would have been better if it was set up in groups, that way students can be more interactive.

There was a reading carpet next to the desks, however I felt that it was squished for the students

and would have been better if there was more room for the kids to be a bit more comfortable.

The lighting in the room was nice as there were a lot of windows which provided natural lighting

and made the room seem more bright and cheery. The walls of the room had a lot of things

hanging from them but it was not overbearing which was good. Overall, the presence of the room

was a great learning environment, however I did not like the setup of the desks and the carpet

and I feel like the environment could be even better if it was rearranged differently.

The 3rd class I observed was Mrs. Draghi’s 1st grade class at Benedict A Cucinella

Elementary School. Out of the 3 classes I observed, I like the setup of this one the most. The

desks were arranged in groups with the carpet in the center. I liked how there weren’t tables but

were desks so the students had their own personal space and could put books in the bottom of the

desks. I also liked how instead of having the desks in rows there were in groups, that way the

students have their own space but are also in groups and can interact more with other students. It

was very open and had a nice homey feel to it. There were big windows which gave the room

great natural lighting, causing it to be bright and calm. There was a lot of things hanging on the
walls but it was not too cluttered. The back section by the teacher’s desk was a bit cluttered but it

still looked organized and clean. The temperature of the room was very comfortable which

makes for a great learning environment. The classroom had a lot of blue and gray colors which

was fine however if the walls were painted a brighter color opposed to gray it would have made

the classroom atmosphere better. Overall, I really liked the setup of this classroom and felt it was

the best out of the 3 classrooms I observed.

Journal Entries

Learning:

Mrs. Pieper did a math lesson while I observed her second grade class. During this lesson she

taught the students, but she let the learning take place by themselves and did not force it. She did

this by introducing the topic and going over several problems with the whole class. She went

over different types of problems regarding the same concept so they would be prepared with the

variety of questions that can be asked. After the first example, she started calling on students to

have them answer parts of the problems to help the class work on it together. Then afterwards

she gave them a worksheet with similar problems to the ones went over in class to assess if they

could do it on their own. She sat at the back table and when students had a question or needed

help them would come back and she would help them. She would also take note of the students

that usually need extra help and ask them how they were doing. Then, when students completed

worksheet they would raise their hand and she’d call them back and check it. If they finished

early they went to the bookcase and got to free read. This practiced differentiated instruction,

teaching according to the students needs and recognizing that there are different types of students
and learners. Mrs. Pieper recognized how people work at different paces so she allowed students

who finished early to do something else that is also helping them learn, she also recognized that

some people struggle with math so she allowed those people to go and ask for extra help. She did

force learning upon them and let the students learn and understand that their own pace after she

introduced the topic.

Teaching Methods:

In her kindergarten class, Mrs. Culbertsom used a variety of different teaching methods in order

to properly teach her students information in an effective way. She started the first 10 minutes of

class with an interactive activity involving words starting with the letter ‘F’. She had the students

cut out a foot and draw pictures of words beginning with ‘F’. This activity related to the lesson in

a way that had the students physically doing something and learning in the process. She then had

the students sing a song, which is something that she later told me she is really big on. She

believes students learn effectively by singing and she included several songs in her lesson. She

read a story to them and asked them comprehension questions while reading which made sure

the kids were paying attention to the story and learning from it. She made sure that the students

understood what she was teaching. She did this by saying things like “thumbs up if you

understand” and “touch your brain if you remember”, which also made sure the students were

paying attention and aware of what they should know. Afterwards, she had the kids watch a

brainpop video, which is a different way she used to get her message across to the kids using

technology. She then went back to the letter ‘F’ and had the kids practice writing it using

chalkboard. This was useful for them because they saw how to write it and then had a chance to
actually write it. Using the mini chalkboards also was a nice change up front the traditional

“trace the letter on the lines” worksheet, which was given to them afterwards from homework.

Overall, Mrs. Culbertsom used many different methods which reached all different types of

students (visual, kinesthetic and auditory).

Classroom Management:

Mrs. Culberstom, being a kindergarten teacher, is aware of the activeness of kindergarten

students and how they are antsy and talk a lot. Knowing this, she tried her best to keep them

calm and paying attention. During the reading time she noticed one of the kids fooling around

with her headband, since it was a distraction she asked the girl to put it away in her locker. While

she was reading, she noticed there were some students that were talking a lot and she would

kindly ask them to stop and explain to them how she is talking so they shouldn’t be. If the

students talked over her she would ask everyone “who is the speaker?” to remind them that they

should respect whoever is talking and not talk over them. Because of their nature, the students

also loved putting their input into the story and making comments, Mrs. Culberstom explained to

them how they need to think and they can’t be doing that if they are talking and not paying

attention. She asked the students a lot of questions during the reading time, however sometimes

they tell long stories that didn’t really relate to the topic, Mrs. Culberstom would accept them but

try to redirect the focus to the reading. Also if too many people raised their hands or started

talking she would nicely tell them to put their hands down because she was going to move on

and that they would get a chance to voice their thoughts at a later time. To get there attention, she

also did things like clap and have them repeat or she should sing “stop, look and listen” and they
would respond back with “okay”. Kindergarteners have a short attention span and have trouble

focusing and behaving, which is why it is so important that Mrs. Culbertsom was aware of that

and used all of these techniques to help the students to pay attention and therefore effectively

learn.

Teaching Methods:

Mrs Draghi used multiple types of learning methods with her 1st grade class while I observed.

Mrs. Draghi made good use of all of the technology she had access to and at the same time

balanced her use of technology with use of concrete learning. In the beginning of the day she had

another teacher come in and do reading time which was a great way to start the day and to

effectively teach students and increase their reading skills as they learned different parts that

make up a story and learned how to create their own stories. They then did an activity in which

they took a stick and drew a picture from it and then made a story about it. This combined their

kinesthetic learning (drawing the picture) with what they learned in being able to create a story

of their own. She then had 1 student (which would change every day so all students get a turn) to

go up to the smartboard and pick a song to sing from it (I believe the website was called

GoNoodle). This used both technology (the smartboard) and physical activity (singing/dancing)

in order to teach the students something. She then gave them independent reading/writing time

which was a way for them to have time to learn on their own and at their own pace and she chose

3 students to be able to read using the ipad. Those students would be able to read on the ipad and

have headphones so it would be read out loud to them. This time was called “daily 5” and they

were allowed to read alone, read to someone, write, or listen to reading. For her science lesson,
she used an online picture book which she read to them while it was up on the smartboard and

she used it as a follow up as the previous day she had a guest speaker come in to teach them

about animals (which was their unit). For math, she used a completely different learning strategy

and she had group activities that the students would do and there were stations that they would

switch from. She referred to them as “learning centers” and there 3 of them which the students

rotated between, that way they got to learn multiple things in smaller groups.

Teacher’s Role:

As a 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Draghi had a lot of responsibilities inside and outside of the

classroom that she had to do. During the class, she was in charge of teaching the students in an

effective way, making sure they all comprehended what she teaching. As the authoritative figure

in the room, she was in charge of dealing with discipline issues. During the independent reading

time, two students were fighting over a book and Mrs. Draghi had to step in and put an end to the

fighting. She is the teacher not their mom, and because of that she did not want to just solve the

issue for them completely, but she wanted to aid them into learning how to solve their own

problems. She told them to use their words and to work it out on their own, which they

eventually did. When the students went to specials (which the day I observed was gym), Mrs.

Draghi said she usually gets prep time, however that day she had a meeting to go to. During

recess, all of the 1sst graders (the other classes as well) went outside and played on the

playground or on the grass. There were set people outside already that were in charge of

monitoring students, however Mrs. Draghi and the other teachers were in charge of monitoring

as well and making sure that all of the students were safe and that there were no issues. Next the
students had lunch and they all ate in the cafeteria. There are teachers assigned in the cafeteria so

Mrs. Draghi was not required to watch them during that time period. Because she has a lot of

prep to do, she said she usually eats lunch in the classroom rather than eating it in the teacher's

lounge like some of the other teachers do. Making sure that she has everything for her lesson is a

big responsibility she has which is why she doesn’t have time to go around socializing during

lunch while she has so much stuff to do. After lunch, the kids came back and she taught science

and math. She was also in charge of helping them pack up afterwards and getting them ready to

go home. Overall she had a lot of responsibilities throughout the day making her have a busy day

with little down time.

Interviews

Kindergarten:

1. Introduce the teacher and his/her background.

Mrs. Culbertsom graduated from the University of Virginia in 1979 with a BS in education. She

taught in Summit NJ for 5 years. She then took 12 years off of teaching to have a family. She re

entered the profession in 1996 as an aid in a kindergarten class. She then began teaching

kindergarten full time at Mendha and has been doing so for the past 21 years. She has taken a

couple courses at Kean University and attended many teaching seminars throughout the years. In

addition, she attended 3 summer institutes at Columbia teacher's college and did a Title 1

summer program.

2. What do you think is the purpose of education?

“The purpose of education is to instill a love of learning in all children and progress them across

a continuum at their own rate. The goal is to help the students to become good citizens that can

work together, are great people and are ready to take on the world.”

3. Why did you enter teaching?

“I entered teaching because I loved being with young children. I was excited to work with kids

and incorporate things like art, music, language to help the kids learn. I also really wanted to be a

mom and teaching was a career that worked with having a family.”

4. What are the advantages/disadvantages of a teaching career?

“The advantages are that you are sort of our own boss and you have the ability to be creative. But

the main one is that you get to touch people’s lives. You get to watch students change and it

makes you feel appreciated and that you made a difference in the world.”

5. How is technology impacting education?

“Technology has had a huge impact on education. It definitely gives kids more opportunity with

screens and helps with speaking , listening and viewing standards as well as brings the outside

world into the classroom. Technology should be used sometimes, but should not be relied on.

Students still need concrete learning with real physical things that you can’t get from using

technology.”

6. What advice would you give a person entering the profession?

“The main thing is to work hard. Also to take a good program of study consider studying things

like special ed on top of your degree. Make sure to keep up with the times and adapt to the way

the world is changing, especially with technology. Make sure teaching is the right career for you

and that you are teaching the right grade level. Be organized and always remember to have fun.”

7. What is your opinion of homework? How often should students be assigned homework?

“I give homework to inform parents and to give the students a second look at what they learned

in class. I give it to review skills that they learn but I don’t give a large amount because that’s not

good for younger kids. After all, it doesn’t make students smarter or anything, it’s only there for

extra review.”

2nd Grade:

1. Introduce the teacher and his/her background

Mrs. Pieper attended college and got a MBA in Business and Administration, She started her

business career working at AT&T. She then started subbing and loved it so she finished her

education through an alternate route program and has been teaching for the past 15 years. She

began as a 3rd grade teacher and is now a 2nd grade teacher.

2. What do you think is the purpose of education?

“The purpose of education is to teach children how to think and be problem solvers. To teach

them how to look at problems from different perspectives and think on their own to solve them. “

3. Why did you enter teaching?

“I started in substituting because the principal really needed help and it worked for my family to

substitute. I decided to teach after that because I loved it. I love kids and I love helping people

understand something.”

4. What are the advantages/disadvantages of a teaching career?

“The main advantage is when you look at a kid that’s been struggling and you finally see it click

for them. Or when you see the kids excited about school and to learn. It’s also great to see the

kids start to develop great character qualities like learning to work together and showing

kindness to one another. The bad things about teaching? Definitely the paperwork. There is also

a lot of extra stuff that you are required to get done because of standardized testing and pleasing

administrators. People are unaware of how much work goes into teaching and how much more

teachers have to do besides the 7 hour school day”

5. How is technology impacting education?

“Technology definitely makes teaching a lot easier. Especially the smartboard is a big help

because I can go over the work on the screen as the kids do it on their paper and I can do

interactive activities with it. It lets you immediately see who needs help and it’s convenient.

Technology also opens up many resources, I used to limited to only the books in my classroom,

but now there is an endless amount of books online to chose from.”

6. What advice would you give a person entering the profession?’

“Make sure to do research and get a good understanding of stuff that goes along with teaching so

you know what the job entails both in and outside the classroom. Find your passion in teaching. I
love my kids and they are the reason I get up for work in the morning and am excited to come

here.”

7. What is your opinion of homework? How often should students be assigned homework?

“I am opposed to homework, if students work hard during the day, they should be able to go

home and be kids. The only exception is reading because I believe kids should be reading at

home. Kids need family time, time to play, the option to to go to bed at a reasonable time. Some

of these kids are also in sports and are involved with other activities. They shouldn’t have to be

sitting in a class all day and then have to go home and do more work. The school district requires

me to give homework but I try to give as little as i can. Homework is only reinforcement, it does

not make them better students.”

1st Grade:

1. Introduce the teacher and his/her background

Mrs. Draghi went to TCNJ and got a degree in Education (K-5) and Sociology. She started

teaching in 2006 at Benedict A. Cucinella (I was in her first class) and she taught 3rd grade for 9

years and now this is her second real teaching 1st grade.

2. What do you think is the purpose of education?

“To help develop the minds of the students and make then understand how to learn. Things like

reading and writing and math are important but the most important thing is learning how to learn.
The kids need to know how to problem solve and have self control as well as properly follow

directions.”

3. Why did you enter teaching?

“I always babysat and loved working with little kids, but my mom was a teacher and I never

wanted to be like her so I never considered teaching. My freshman year I went to college as

undecided, however the following summer I worked at a girl scout camp and realized that

teaching is what I wanted to do.”

4. What are the advantages/disadvantages of a teaching career?

“An advantage is that the job is very rewarding. It’s amazing seeing the kids learn and grow.

They still obviously need improvement, otherwise they wouldn’t need to be in school anymore.

But even from the beginning of the year to now [October 18th] they have improved so much.

Other advantages are that there is a shorter work day and you get holidays and summer off which

is nice to have a break. A big disadvantage is that it is draining, both physically and emotionally.

All of the students are so different and have different needs and it’s hard keeping up with that. I

am fortunate that our administration is supportive and aids kids who have different needs, but not

every administration is like that. Also the planning can be difficult. It’s not like any other job

where you are told what to do, you have to be creative and plans can easily change you have

have to learn how to think on the fly. What you do impacts other people’s lives which is a big

responsibility.”

5. How is technology impacting education?

“It has a huge impact. We used to not have things like smartboards and ipads which is now very

useful. There are many things that students can’t experience first hand but they now can

experience through technology. It allows teachers to be more flexible and allows kids to see

things they wouldn’t otherwise be able to see. Like even in the lesson today I was able to google

what something looked like that the kids didn’t know about. Also some zoos have live feeds that

I will show the kids. Obviously it doesn’t substitute for the real thing, but it gives kids the

experience. Kids can engage in the reading with the ipads too. But kids also need to be able to

function in a world outside from technology so it’s important not to rely on it and to create a

good balance of how often to use it.”

6. What advice would you give a person entering the profession?’

“Learn to be flexible. Make a lot of connections so you can see a lot of different things. A lot of

what teaching requires is seeing what other teachers do and looking into different ways of

teaching and finding what works best for you. Experience a lot so you’re not shocked as to what

being a teacher entails. Also it’s very easy to get annoyed with children, but remember that these

kids have parents and family that they are everything to, so how you act really matters.”

7. What is your opinion of homework? How often should students be assigned homework?

“I don’t like giving a lot of homework. Over the years, especially as being a parent, my view on

homework has changed a lot. Especially in 3rd grade, it’s hard to remember that these students

are only kids. Those 8 year old are really intelligent and perform well in school. They have

complex minds and seem grown up so it’s hard to remember they are only 8. They need time

with their families and time to experience the world. I definitely give reading homework because
I believe reading is important for children. It’s important that the homework you do give is

meaningful. We are required to give sheets of math homework, however it does not take the

students that long, it’s good because it informs parents of what’s going on and I don’t grade it or

anything. The problem with homework is that it doesn’t always get across the way it’s meant to,

a lot of times parents end up doing most of it for the kids. I give little homework because it isn’t

very necessary, kids get enough practice in class, they don’t need more at home