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Karen Osorio

Professor Christensen

Education 201

29 November 2017

Field Observation Assignment #1

1. My first impression of the classroom environment is that it is very welcoming. The

moment I walked in on my first scheduled field observation day I was immediately

greeted by Ms. Brothers (the cooperating teacher) and her students. They seemed excited

and happy to have me there. The physical environment was well organized. Every part of

the classroom had its purpose. The classroom was very small in comparison to my son’s

classroom at a newer school which are both elementary schools and first graders. But Ms.

Brothers managed to create easy access around the room.

2. Ms. Brothers students are very culturally diverse. There are African-American, Hispanic,

and Caucasian students in her class. There are also more boys than girls in her class.

None of her students are physically challenged. A couple of her students were ELL.

3. Yes, there are posted class rules inside her classroom.

Classroom Rules:

1. We will follow directions.

2. We must be kind to others.

3. We will work hard.

4. We will keep our classroom clean.

5. We must remember our voice levels.

6. We will share and take turns.

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4. Ms. Brothers does enforce her posted rules. If students comply they receive ClassDojo

points, if they do not they get points taken away. ClassDojo is an app that parents can

download to see throughout the day if their kids are behaving or misbehaving. I have that

app on my phone myself and it is a very useful to way to communicate with a teacher.

Another consequence for not complying with class rules is taking away participation

from fun class activities.

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Assignment #2

1. The workflow of the room is ideal. The little classroom space they do have is used

efficiently. There are 16 students in her class. The desks are in the middle of the

classroom. There is a designated sitting area and circle table in the back of the

classroom.

2. I believe the physical arrangement of the classroom is the best it can be, given the

small square foot area. Of course, ideally, they would be moved into a bigger

classroom with more square footage to not be so clustered.

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Assignment #3

1. The daily schedule is:

9:10-9:25 Number Talks

9:25-11:00 Math

11:00-11:50 Special Period

11:50-12:10 Instructional Read Aloud

12:10-12:40 Lunch

12:40-1:10 Enrichment

1:10-1:40 Writing

1:40-3:21 Integrated ELA/Social Studies

3:21 Dismiss

2. Instruction is delivered in small groups and whole groups. Throughout the day she

will shift from whole groups to small groups depending on what is being taught.

3. Ms. Brothers teaching style is traditional, but she also incorporates new technology

into her teaching. She shows and tells. She gives students permission to express

themselves and say what is on their minds. She keeps students engaged.

4. Ms. Brothers incorporates all three learning styles into her lesson plans. She verbally

gives information, as well visually shows them on a screen how and what to do. Most

of the time children are doing the same thing she is doing on the projector. She shows

and tells. Students get to play learning games. For math she solves problems with her

on the project while they have the handout on their desk and are solving problems

along with her.

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5. Yes, students are very engaged in the lessons being presented. While she is teaching

she is asking questions and the children seem eager to answer her questions. The

students are always asking why and how everything is done the way it is done, and

the teacher explains.

6. No, none of her students are isolated from the class. Everyone is included in all

activities unless they are misbehaving then isolation is used as punishment.

7. When it is time to transition Ms. Brothers has students place arms and hands on head

and has them recite a winning team which is the school motto. Then they clean up

and start on new activity. She also counts down from 10 letting kids know to be in

their seats and ready for the next activity.

8. An attention getter she commonly uses is Give me 5. Students raise their hand and

stop talking and listen. When she claps students clap back and they are aware that

means to give her their attention.

9. Some students get tired of being in their seats, so they will get up and walk around.

Ms. Brothers will tell them to get back in their seats and if they keep on doing it they

will have ClassDojo points taken away.

10. Ms. Brothers procedures help maximize instruction time. She has a scheduled time

for each section. There are scheduled bathroom breaks. All of this helps instructional

time.
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Assignment #4

Physical characteristics:

1. Jim Thorpe E.S. is an older school located in the east side of Las Vegas heading

towards Henderson. It actually has another elementary school right next to it. I asked

Ms. Brothers if she knew why they had built two elementary schools right next to

each other. She told me that in the past Treem E.S. was meant only for kinder through

2nd grade and that Thorpe was supposed to be for 3rd grade through 5th. But now both

schools are kinder-5th grade. Thorpe is an older school. It is small with an older

design to it. It only has one entrance and one-way parking. It is located in a residential

area. Even though it is an older school it is maintained. The playground and

landscaping appear to be in good condition.

2. The interior of the school is also small but comfortable. The office is tiny there is no

seating area for parents. Across the office is the cafeteria and further down are the

classrooms. There is lots of hallways if it wasn’t because of the signs letting you

know where you are, it would be pretty easy to get lost. Around the entrance of the

school there is mainly flooring, and the rest of the classrooms and hallways are

carpet. The school is well maintained. The paint looks fresh. There is student artwork

in hallways. I went in October, so the school had pumpkins and fall colors for

decoration. Every guest or parent must go through the main office and sign in and

print out a badge and wear it while in the school.

Culture of the school:

1. The mission of Jim Thorpe elementary community is to create an educationally

enriched environment where all children master fundamental skills and concepts, and
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achieve individual excellence. The school motto is “Keeping the dream alive.” Their

mascot is the Olympians.

2. Staff and visitor interactions in the main office were generally pleasant. People spoke

to each other with respect and were polite. The students are extremely polite. While I

was walking to my classroom I had a lot of children say hi to me on my way there.

3. Students are constantly interacting and socializing. They are very playful with one

another. They tell each other everything and point every single detail out. They say

what’s on their minds. They tell each other exactly how they feel about one another.

4. The school is a one story building with the main office being in the very front. Across

from the office is the cafeteria. Towards the back of the school the classrooms are

located and so is the computer lab. The library is in the middle of the school. They

have an enclosed open area right in the middle of the school. There are signs

everywhere letting you know where is what.

5. When teachers say Olympians, students reply with a winning team. That shows

school pride. In the month of October, the school had their fall carnival. Students

brought their families to school and some chose to dress up. It demonstrates that the

school has a tight-knit community.

Culture of the classroom:

1. There are positive phrases around the room to encourage learning and success.

2. The level of student participation in Ms. Brothers class is pretty high. For the most

part most students participate. Out of the 16 kids in he class I would say about 4 are

overall quiet.
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3. The interactions between teacher and students are mainly positive. Students are aware

that the teacher is the one in charge. Students show respect towards their teacher. Ms.

Brothers has a welcoming attitude and is kind towards her students.

Assignment #5: Cooperating Teacher Interview

1. Tried different career paths, but found those different careers were not for her.

Decided to get into teaching and realized this is the career for her.

2. The main challenge she faces as a teacher is the amount of assessing she must do

for each of her students. Students are assessed in all subject areas.

3. She finds the best part of being a teacher to be the “Aha moments.” When

students are understanding and learning what is being taught to them especially if

they were having a difficult time grasping a concept.

4. To determine where students will sit in class she begins the school year by using

Kagan mats seating chart. Through out the school year she adjusts the seating

chart depending on behavior, RTI, or IEP.

5. She works with different groups to make sure they are up to standards.

6. The amount of time she interacts with parents varies greatly. It is dependent on

whether the students are picked up by parents. She will usually interact with most

parents once or twice a year. She will see the parents more if a student has

behavioral problems.

7. Ms. Brothers puts in about 10 grades a month for each student. Each assignment

has different standards. Depending on standards is how grading gets done.

8. On average it takes her about six hours a week and sometimes comes in on

weekends to finish preparing lesson plans.

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9. To maximize instructional time, she comes prepared and has supplies ready

before-hand.

10. She uses Class Dojo, which is a computer program that allows parents to see how

their child did at school that day and week. She either gives points or takes them

away dependent on student’s behavior. When a student gets to either 40, 80, or

120 points on Class Dojo the student gets to pick out something from the treasure

box. If student misbehaves consistently sets up plan to improve behavior. Takes

away participation for bad behavior.

11. Technology teacher puts resources in emails. For the most part each teacher takes

care of their own responsibilities.

12. Evaluations vary each year. An average of six times a year. The Nevada educator

performance framework rubric with evidence is used.

13. If evaluation is not favorable could result in write-up. If the score average is not

maintained after a couple of years teacher will be fired. Could be quicker

dependent on if teacher is on probation.

14. Ms. Brothers found that the amount of time put in is what surprised her the most

about teaching. There is a lot of training on new concepts. A lot of time spent on

conferences and committees.

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Assignment #6 (Observing a Student)

The student I decided to observe is an African-American student named Jenaya. Ms.

Brothers was giving a writing lesson. She wrote a sentence with grammatical errors on the board

and asked her students to point out what was incorrect in the sentence she had just written. Ms.

Brothers instructed to raise their hands before giving an answer, but the children couldn’t help

themselves and were blurting out the answers. Jenaya noticed right away the first letter of the

sentence was not capitalized so she immediately told the teacher. She also noticed the spacing in

between words was off and there was no period at the end of the sentence. At the beginning she

was blurting out her responses but once the teacher instructed the students to raise their hands

she began doing so. She seemed very interested in the lesson and engaged. She is a very smart

girl who was able to point out the mistakes in the sentence fairly quick. She is full of energy and

eager to learn. Jenaya seems to be a visual and kinesthetic learner. Though I would say she

benefited from seeing, hearing, and correcting the information herself. She is definitely one of

the students who participate the most in that class. She always wants to answer the teacher’s

questions and be involved in whatever activity is going on. Jenaya is a very smart and alert girl

who has a passion for learning and loves attention.

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Assignment #7 (Summary)

The 10 hour field observation is a great way for a future teacher to determine

whether or not he or she wants to continue on this career path. The observation gave me a better

in-depth look to what being a teacher entails. Ironically, I was assigned to a first grade class and

my son is also a first grader at a different elementary school. A lot of what they were learning,

my son was also learning. What Ms. Brothers was teaching, my son was bringing home for

homework. They also use the same parent communicator I use for my son’s school ClassDojo.

I was aware of a lot of what she was showing me and telling me because I was doing the same

thing for my son’s school.

I learned just how much the teacher is in charged off. The works hours are long. They

recently had a fall carnival and teachers were required to plan and work the carnival. So, for that

day not only did they have to take care of their regular work load they also had the whole

afternoon occupied working the carnival. Ms. Brothers made me aware that teaching is only one

of her jobs she is responsible for being a part of meetings and committees that take up a lot of

time. I realized it will be a demanding task keeping the attention of young children for six hours

of the day. Ms. Brothers would have her students get up and dance for a couple of minutes to

reenergize them when they were getting tired. She would let them pick a song and the children

would dance. I also learned about HALLS which stands for hands still, attention forward, lips

quiet, listening ears, and silent feet when walking in the hallways. Since it is important to be

considerate of the other classes going students are taught this technique to remind them to be

quiet when walking around in the school.

A lot of the information that is in the text correlates with what actually goes in an

elementary school. The number of hours and assessing of students required both were in the
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book and Ms. Brothers agreed. Ms. Brothers used the projector a lot to show and tell how to

write and do math a lot. She also would separate the class into three groups she would work with

one of the groups, another one would be working on an activity, and the last group would either

be reading or writing. After a certain amount of time they would rotate. I would use these

teaching techniques in my own classroom. The field observation overall gave a more in-depth

look to what teaching demands. Because of the observation I have an idea of what to expect once

I become a teacher.