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Signature Assignment: Fieldwork Pedagogical Observation Paper

Gino, I, Fragoso

Azusa Pacific University

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Abstract

This paper will discuss the pedagogical models observed in a third-grade classroom. It

will focus on the differentiation of the lessons in the classroom as well as the methods the

teacher utilizes to promote equity and diversity. The paper includes references to the descriptions

of the models described. This paper also includes a short interview of two teachers, one from a

general education classroom, and the other from a special education classroom. Their views in

pedagogical choices will be compared. The aim of this paper is to find the reasoning behind the

choices made by the teacher being observed and how their methods can help in my future

classroom.
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Table of Contents

ABSTRACT….……………………………………………………………………………………2

INTRODUCTION….……………………………………………………………………………..4

Pedagogical Models……………………………………………………………………….5

Differentiation……………………………………………………………………………..7

Equity and Diversity………………………………………………………………………9

Interviews………………………………………………………………………………...11

CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………..13

REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………………..15
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Signature Assignment; Fieldwork Pedagogical Observation Paper

As teachers’ welcome students into their classrooms they must be aware of the needs of

those students as quickly as possible. By learning the needs of their students’ teachers are better

able to create lessons that will challenge them and expand their knowledge. Because each student

is unique, they all have unique needs and learning styles. In order to serve those needs, teachers

need to utilize different methods of instruction, or pedagogical models, to teach content to their

students. Beyond the utilization of pedagogies teachers will have students with special needs.

This requires that teachers know the different styles of teaching that work best with students that

require special considerations. Teachers can have, in their classrooms, students that are so bright

that the standard methods of instruction can bore them in certain subjects. They can also have

students with learning, or other, disabilities that require more than the standard pedagogical

models’ teachers were used to before these students were brought into their classes. Teachers

will even encounter students who primarily speak another language and are English language

learners (ELL). With this vast array of students in the classroom teachers must model equity for

the diverse students in a classroom. Equity is not the same as equality, which would be equal

instruction for all students. It is making sure that each student has the right amount of instruction

that meets their needs so that all students have an equal chance at success. These views can be

seen very differently for a teacher from a general education classroom than those of a special

education teacher. Two teachers have been interviewed for this paper which will show how some

views are the same and how they differ. During the observations for this paper all of these topics

were examined and make up the body. By observing how teachers promote these principles in

their classroom I am better able to promote them in my future classroom.

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The classroom observed is located in the Azusa Unified School district and is named

Allice M. Ellington Elementary School. At Ellington Elementary, the classroom observed was a

third-grade classroom led by Mrs. Salinas. A teaching veteran of over 20 years, Mrs. Salinas

leads a class of 25 students. In her classroom there are students who are pulled out for special

education lessons, ELL students, and GATE students. Meeting the needs of all these students is a

difficult task which Mrs. Salinas takes very seriously. The school enrollment is made up of 89%

Hispanic or Latino students, 74.7% are socioeconomically disadvantaged, 22.3% are ELL, and

15.6% are students with disabilities (California Department of Education, 2017). Mrs. Salinas

classroom is comprised of students with various backgrounds and educational needs.

This paper will follow a four-part model. The first part of this paper will discuss the

observations made in the classroom in which I was instructed to look for the different

pedagogical models used by the teacher. It will then, discuss the observations of the classroom

regarding differentiation of the lessons for students of different needs. This part will also discuss

observations made while I worked with an ELL student. The third part of the paper will examine

the observations on equity and diversity. Finally, the paper will compare the answers of the same

questions teachers who were interviewed were given. It will discuss the similarities and

differences between a general education teacher and a special education teacher.

Pedagogical Models

Pedagogical models refer to the various technique’s teachers use in the classroom. In the

third-grade classroom being observed the teacher used direct and indirect instruction. The lesson

observed was part of an ongoing unit on native Americans that the students have been focusing

on. This focus is tied into all other subjects to help the students scaffold their learning.
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During the literacy lesson the teacher began with direct instruction when she reviewed

the steps to find information in a text. Direct instruction is a teacher centered pedagogy where

they provide the bulk of information to the class (Borich, 2017, p. 255). The teacher began with a

reminder of the procedures to take when looking for information from a text. She told the

students that they must read the passage first to themselves to get a basic understanding, the first

pass is to skim for a basic understanding. She then had the students follow along with her as she

read the passage. While reading she paused at several moments to make observations of the

passage and explain key takeaways. By modeling the procedures, she is giving the students

constant reinforcement of procedures they will eventually learn to use on their own. She then

explained that the first pass at the reading was to gain an understanding. The second reading is to

look for information that could be useful. The passage was about native Americans and the

tribe’s culture. After the initial reading the teacher had the students re-read it themselves while

looking for information on where they live, how they gather food, and different cultural

traditions. She then modeled on the projector how to find the facts and where to underline. By

modeling she is helping English language (EL) students and students at lower reading levels

because she is showing where the important information is located so they do not have to look

for it. This is a form of accommodation since the students did not have to review the entire

article on their own but simply the facts. The lesson was itself a review which she used to

scaffold upon previous lessons. The lesson was also culturally appropriate because it was a

lesson on culture where the information was presented as historical fact.

Observed around the classroom were sentence starters, graphic organizers, and many

other helpful tools. The Web organizer at their large group area indicates that the teacher

stimulated the students recall of information to build new information upon it. Borich (2017)
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writes, “students retain new information better when it is connected to information that has

already been learned” (p. 214). By having the students remember previous information the new

information presented will be more easily remembered. Once the students finished underlining

and finding their facts the teacher had them write a summary of the tribe pointing out the

sentence starters they could use. She then allowed the students to work on their own while she

circled the classroom doing formative assessments on the students by walking around and

checking in with students that may need help. She also had some students work with the class aid

and me to help form their sentences. This accommodation to the lesson provides more support

for the students that require it. The teaching of the concept of traditions and cultures falls in with

the concept attainment model which help students develop patterns to make sense of the world

and organize new information (Estes & Mintz, 2016, p. 62).

Differentiation

Differentiation in a lesson are the changes that are made to the instruction of the students

to meet their individual needs based on observations, assessments and possibly the child’s

individualized education plan (IEP). The lesson being described showed evidence of universal

design for learning (UDL), which is a manner of making lessons with every student in mind from

the beginning. There were two lessons observed which will be the focus of this portion of the

paper. Both lessons had spiders as their main focus, but each were a different subject.

During the first lesson observed, the teacher opened with a review on different aspects

they had learned about spiders so far. Borich (2017) writes that teachers who differentiate must

reflect on previous lessons to see what worked best and that “they take the time necessary to

adapt and differentiate their lessons to fit their learners’ needs, prior histories, and experiences

and to analyze and critique the success of their lessons afterward” (p. 36). During the lesson the
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teacher integrated a craft with a video that explains the steps on how to assemble the craft along

with the lesson material that each of the three spiders hunt their prey in different ways. The video

was paused at several points by the teacher to re-explain the material and point out facts which

the students had already been introduced to but needed re-enforcing such as the different parts of

the spider. The teacher demonstrated the importance of the lesson by differentiating for all the

students. The worksheet was changed beforehand to get through the lesson and time constraints

by having the spider that the video explained would be drawn by the student and having it

printed already so that the students only had to color it in. She communicated to the students that

the reason it was already printed was to get to the content. This is an example of an

accommodation which changes how instruction is given which help learners with “special

characteristics” (Estes & Mintz, 2016, p. 8).

During a similar spider lesson a few days later I was able to work with an EL student.

The student I worked with read a few reading levels behind the rest of the class. This was evident

when the student read picture books while some of the other students in the class were reading

chapter books. A few times I was able to sit and read with the child aiding in pronunciation and

blending of some aspects of English that the student was not familiar with. While working with

the student at reading the teacher just told me to have the student read to me. I helped the student

read through a few chosen picture books since the time I was able to observe was their reading

time. The spider lesson came into play as the students began to talk about the differences while

writing their own facts about the spiders. This lesson was challenging for the EL student because

of the large words being spelled. The student already spoke English well enough, but the

academic writing was where the student struggled. UDL came into this lesson because of all the

front loading through videos and activities that they had done which helped the student tell me
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what facts about the spiders they remembered and needing assistance mostly in spelling and

framing their sentences. The teacher has provided sentence starters on the board which helped

the EL and many of the other students form their own.

The way the lessons were presented with many pauses and repetitions of terms and words

so that the students would better recall the information. Even though the first spider lesson

seemed like a craft, the information they were gathering during the activity was clearly useful in

the following lessons which tied together different subjects. The differentiation in the lessons are

becoming clearer as more time is spent with the students.

Equity and Diversity

Although pedagogies and differentiation in the classroom are important, they all are

methods to make a classroom equitable. Equity in a classroom is about providing each student

with the same access to knowledge based on the student’s needs. One method classroom’s do

this is by promoting diversity to make each child feel included. The description of the lessons

observed will demonstrate how the teacher creates an equitable environment and promotes

equity.

During a lesson on literacy the teacher takes the time to review how to use their

dictionary reference books. She engages her entire classroom and draws what she is describing

on a white board while demonstrating on a reference book as well. Although this was a review

some of the students required, the more advanced students were answering many of the questions

the teacher asked. After each answer she took the time to slowly repeat it making sure to engage

the slower learners. Estes and Mintz (2016) write, that because students minds grow at different

rates, “the result is that a child may be good at one part of the curriculum while struggling with a

different discipline” (p. 6). Equity is a difficult subject to observe, but when the teacher slows
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down a lesson to re-teach how to use their resources to some students while giving other students

the opportunity to demonstrate their mastery is equitable. The students who needed the additional

help were re-taught how to search for words, while the advanced students were able to

demonstrate their knowledge and increase their confidence in their skills which promotes

learning.

Diversity was a more easily observed subject since the current lessons were themed

around native Americans. The students are continuing their lessons on native Americans and the

lesson observed had the students at different learning stations on laptops which included subjects

that each student was struggling with. The diverse portion of this lesson was that as students

finished their task, they continued a weaving project. Borich (2017), writes that diverse students

are “those from low-income families, those with different cultural experiences, those who are

English language learners, and those with physical, cognitive, and emotional challenges” (p.

201). In this transition activity the teacher took the time to help a struggling student who has an

IEP to re-teach how to weave. This demonstration of inclusion is an example of how the teacher

creates a safe environment for her diverse students. Not only was the skill re-taught to the

student, but the teacher modeled language and patience with the student that her other students

can pick up on.

Equity in a classroom is not about giving all the students the same amount of one on one

time or making sure each student has a pencil to write with. Equity is the way teachers try to give

each student the time or tools they need to succeed. This is done by creating a safe environment

for the diverse students in a classroom.

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Interviews

For these interviews, I was given a list of three questions which to ask a general

education teacher and a special education teacher (Akl & Boden, 2018). For the general

education teacher, I interviewed the teacher whom I observed, Mrs. Salinas. The special

education teacher I interviewed was Mrs. Aguilera. The first question asked was which three

pedagogical models did they prefer. Mrs. Salinas answered that she preferred direct teaching,

front loading, and modeling (G. Fragoso, personal communication, November 30, 2018). She

explained that she uses direct teaching because it is the method that teaches the content to the

students in the most equitable manner because she can pace her lessons (G. Fragoso, personal

communication, November 30, 2018). The front loading allows her to help students have a base

for them to scaffold their new knowledge on top of without it becoming lost. The modeling

which has been observed allows her to not just show her students what she expects of them but

guides them through the process so that they at least have a basis for their knowledge if they

need to be retaught. The special needs teacher, Mrs. Aguilera, answered that differentiated

instruction works best for her because it addresses the range of learning styles in her classroom

and includes strategies for learners with difficulties (G. Fragoso, personal communication,

December 06, 2018). Secondly, cooperative learning allows her students to work on social skills

in small groups for the achievement of a higher goal (G. Fragoso, personal communication,

December 06, 2018). Lastly, she uses experiential learning to provide authentic learning

experiences which allows her students to learn using real objects (G. Fragoso, personal

communication, December 06, 2018). These teachers are similar in that they teach in the best

manner they feel addresses the needs of the students. Mrs. Salinas differentiates instruction for

her students but did not list it as a preferred pedagogical model perhaps because, unlike the
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special educator, she does not see as many students of such widely different requirements.

Because some concepts are difficult to grasp for students with special needs, real world examples

are crucial. In a typical classroom with more students, real world experiences can be costly, or

take up a large amount of instructional time. This strategy is best suited for a special needs

classroom because they work at a slower pace than a general education classroom.

When asked if content or the needs of the students was more important, they both

answered in different ways. Mrs. Salinas said that “if they don’t pay attention, they can’t learn”

(G. Fragoso, personal communication, November 30, 2018). This is because she feels that

students have to have their needs met in order for them to pay attention and retain the content

being taught. Mrs. Aguilar answered that both were important because, “I have to be able to

relate to my students using the best strategies, modalities, and motivators” (G. Fragoso, personal

communication, December 06, 2018). By using the best strategies, she is able to teach the

content to her students, but teachers cannot know what the best strategies are without trying to

meet the needs of the students. Both teachers were then asked what else determines their choices

in their daily teachings. Mrs. Salinas answered that she feels so strongly about meeting the needs

of her students that her lessons are always behind because she does not rush and does not move

ahead until something has been mastered (G. Fragoso, personal communication, November 30,

2018). Mrs. Aguilar said that content and student ability drive her choices, “I believe students

become more motivated (and actually retain more) when they can share their learnings with other

students; my job is to monitor and provide support for student collaboration” (G. Fragoso,

personal communication, December 06, 2018). These teachers’ similar answers are based on

their views of what their students need to succeed. Their differences are based on pedagogical
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models geared towards their different environments. As teachers, we must make the best learning

environment so that students can feel motivated to learn the content they require to succeed.

Conclusion

The observations done over the past eight weeks have been targeted in a single

classroom. As a teacher, I need to be able to learn from the example of other teachers and the

content in my classroom. As I face students of different backgrounds and needs in my future, I

must be ready to utilize the best pedagogical models I feel will help my students succeed. As

inclusion gains support, I will face students with a wider set of needs in my classroom and must

be ready to differentiate the lessons for them whether that be gifted learners, ELL students, or

students with special needs. I must also create a safe and equitable classroom that supports not

just the learning diversity of the students but the cultural differences as well. Teachers must

model how to interact with cultures they find unfamiliar and teach students that if they learn

about the unfamiliar, they will see how similar they can be. At the end of the observations, Mrs.

Salinas filled out a dispositional rating of my time in her classroom. The area she felt I needed

work on was initiative in task completion, because in a lesson in which I worked with an ELL

student I was too lenient for her and wanted me to push the student more. As the classroom

teacher she had a better idea of how far the student could be pushed before it became a negative

experience for them. As a future teacher I must ensure that I know where these lines are for all

my students, so I can encourage them as much as I can without overwhelming them. The

observation process was encouraging because I was able to see all the models we discussed in

the classroom in a real-world setting. Much like Mrs. Aguilar, the experiential learning through

the observations helped me retain more of the information than if the observations had not been

done at all. As teachers we must know that there is always more to learn which will make us
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better teachers. We must model this thirst for knowledge for our students so that they will keep

wanting to learn and improve academically and as people.

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References

Akl, M. & Boden, K. (2018). The art of teaching II: A pedagogical models approach to

instructional design. [Word Document]. Retrieved from https://sakai.apu.edu

Borich, G. D. (2017). Effective teaching methods: Research-based practice. Boston, MA:

Pearson.

California Department of Education. (2017). Alice M. Ellington Elementary School 2016-17

school accountability report card published during the 2017-18 school year. Retrieved

from http://sarconline.org/SarcPdfs/9/19642796011217.pdf

Estes, T. H., & Mintz, S. L. (2016). Instruction: A models approach. Boston, MA: Pearson