Field Observation

I think that my observation at Bishop Moore High School helped me to get a better idea of what I want to do in my future. At first I was only considering teaching the elementary level of education. Kindergarten, Children s garden was the area that I was planning on teaching. Songs and stories are used as the foundation before the formal education began (pg. 331). When I switched my major from Nursing to Education, my idea of working with children never changed. Now that I have had the opportunity to see what a high school teacher s day is like, it struck my interest and led me to considering teaching at a high school level. My fear of working with high school students is that high schools have always been considered obsolete (pg 47). This not only means that high schools come with drama, flaws, and broken situations but they are slowly moving away from teaching students what will really help them once they get out in to the real world. Aside from that the students in high school are fun to work with. The majority of the students seem hard working, from my observation at least, and seem like they want to be there. Its nice to see the way they look up to their teacher and can feel comfortable going to their teacher for specific help with the curriculum or even other issues going on in their home and social life. The other thing I enjoy about teaching at the high school level is the majority of all the high school s around the world are set up the same and have the same core courses. In the text it was stated that in the 1890 s, the classroom set up and instruction hasn t changed by much at all (pg. 48). Another thing that this observation has opened my eyes to is how helpful the teachers are to one another. One of the teachers had to step out for the last hour of his class because of a personal emergency and with in no time another teacher stepped up to the plate and took over for him. In the text it talks about communication among teachers (pg.51)

I think what I witnessed was an example of that. In all of the class rooms there were encouraging signs and posters that said things like hope, chase your dreams, and other encouraging words of wisdom. I think it is crucial to have a positive school environment. If you are constantly surrounded by positive out looks on life, it could help calm you down if you are having a stressed day. It even states in the text that a school that has an environment that is calm, safe, pleasant, and orderly is conductive to learning (pg 54). There wasn t a large amount of diversity at this school. I think that it should bring in a little more diversity. With out diversity we wont have cultural pluralism, which calls for an understanding and appreciation of the culture differences in our world (pg. 61).Since there isn t a large amount of diversity, multicultural education isn t something that has to be stressed about. Multicultural education allows students of different races and genders to all succeed at the same academic level (pg.63).One of the things I also realized while observing is that I think I myself want to teach in a catholic environment. I have been in a catholic school my whole life until college. I like that they pray and go to church as a community. Also I like that they participate in charities that the churches are involved in. Religion is slowly evolving in to the school community. Bible reading and the recitation of the Lord s Prayer were required by constitutions or by statues in a number of states (pg.266).In the text it talks about how large schools are often equally overwhelming for parents, who then tend to remain at a distance and uninvolved in their children s school lives (pg. 399). Thankfully this doesn t seem to be a problem at the school I observed. Bishop Moore is gradually expanding every single year and more students are becoming interested at being students there. Thankfully that is their main issue. They don t have enough room to expand the way they want to. Like most schools that have problems like gangs, bullying, and vandalism, Bishop Moore has very minor problems in that area (pg 136). Over all I enjoyed going back to Bishop Moore and getting to be an outsider looking in instead of a student. It definitely helped me figure out some decisions I need to make and also opened my eyes to teaching at different age levels instead of focusing on one age group.

Bishop Moore Catholic High School

Field Observation Marisa Salcido

Summer Schedule (Artifact #1)

Letter sent home to parents (Artifact #2)

Handout for Mass (Artifact #3)

Music Electives (Artifact #4)

Physical Education Courses (Artifact #5)

Honor Code
BISHOP MOORE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL HONOR CODE In order to promote a superior secondary education while fostering Christian values, Bishop Moore Catholic High School establishes this Honor Code. It is the responsibility of all students, parents, faculty, and staff (collectively member ) to uphold Christian morals and to nurture a caring community. It is also the responsibility of every member of Bishop Moore Catholic High School to ensure that Christian morals and this code of honor are carried into the adult world.It is the responsibility of every member of Bishop Moore Catholic High School to abide by this code of honor, and to report any and all violations. There will be:no cheating; no lying; no stealing; no plagiarism; no fightinghonesty among all members and respect for others propertyThese standards are not all-inclusive, and the administration reserves the right to declare a member in violation of the code for any conduct that is inconsistent with Christian morals. Discipline up to or including expulsion may be administered for violation of this code. Self-dignity and self-control are expected of each member. Violation of this code jeopardizes membership in the honor societies.

Interview
1. What challenges do you face as a high school teacher? Ms. Williams: Some challenges that I have faced as a high school teacher is discipline issue s. Before I moved to Orlando and taught at Bishop Moore I was teaching at a public school in Iowa. The students had horrible behavior and were disrespectful toward the staff constantly. Since Bishop Moore is a private school, I don t face those challenges any more. Aside from discipline, there haven t been that many challenges.

2.) What classroom management issues are common at this grade level? Which effective classroom management strategies do you utilize to help with effective classroom management? Ms. Williams: Being a 10th grade teacher, one of the main classroom management issues are getting the students to tuck in their shirts and wear there ID s. That is one of the main rules at this high school and I enforce it by either giving them a detention or making them step outside the classroom to tuck in their shirt/ put on their ID. If the bell rings and they are outside fixing themselves then that will lead to them having to go and get a late pass. The kids at this age level have the mindset of being invincible sometimes and self absorbed, so it gets hard to get them to quiet down at times.

Interview
3.) What tools do you use to increase parental involvement within your classroom? Ms.Williams: One communication tool I use is encouraging parent-teacher conferences. I make sure at open house to reassure the parents if they have any questions or concerns that I am always free to make time to have a parent-teacher conference. Also I send e-mails making sure the parents are aware of where their student stands, especially if their struggling.

Interview
4.) How do you collaborate with other faculty on campus in order to use effective instructional strategies with this age/grade level? Ms.Williams: When it comes to academics I make sure to let the other teachers who teach the same subject be aware of my lesson plans that way we can all be on the same page. As far as instructional strategies go, We all have the same poster in our rooms that have rules and discipline points on them.

5.) What strategies do you utilize to motivate the unmotivated? Do you feel that your strategies help with intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation? Ms.Williams: When I notice that a student isn t motivated, I take the time to talk to them aside from the class and find out what the reason is for them not being motivated and slacking. If its family or personal issues, I direct them to a guidance counselor. I try to re-assure my students constantly that I am there to help them and push them to be the best student they can be. I try to assure them that I am not the enemy and I want them to do well always. I think my strategies work best with extrinsic motivation.

Lesson Plan Example

Subject: Mathematics. Standard Category: Measurement and Estimation. Lesson Focus: Metric System. Teaching Strategies: Modeling, Whole Group Instruction, and Independent Practice. Assessment Strategies: Participation & Individual Practice.

Lesson Plan: PA STANDARDS

2.3.8A: Develop formulas and procedures for determining measurements (e.g. area, volume, distance). Related TESOL Standards: Goal 2: To use English toachieve academically in all content areas. Standard 1: Students will use English to interact in the classroom. Standard 2: Students will use English to obtain, process, construct, and provide subject matter information in spoken and written form.

Lesson Plan: Key Objectives in Accordance with TESOL Level:

Pre-Conversational Beginning: Students will be able to participate in group human modeling . Learn how to convert from one unit to another. Some ESL students may already be familiar with the metric system. Verbally Express the number of places the decimal or commas need to move. Intermediate: All beginner activites. Advanced: Help explain the metric system to an English speaking student if the ESL student is already familiar with the metric system. Materials: Twelve sheets of 8.5X11in. Paper, Black Marker, and Paper with metric units.

Lesson Plan:Procedures
Using the marker, make number cards by writing numbers (1-9) on nine of the cards. Using the three other pieces of paper, make two comma cards and one decimal card . Give brief explanation of the metric system to the students. Using the board, show how one metric unit can be converted to another by moving the decimal or comma the prescribed number of spaces. Students need to connect the moving of the point to multiplying or dividing by powers of 10. Ask for volunteers to help in modeling how to convert from one unit to another. Volunteers each hold a number card or appropriately placed comma or decimal card. Number cards should be held one per volunteer, so when the students stand in a line, they form a larger number. The teacher should assign one student with a unit card to stand at the end of the line. The teacher should call on a student who is at his/her seat to read the number that the volunteers have created. The teacher then tells the students to which unit the number needs to be converted.

Lesson Plan: Procedures

The students work together to help the person(s) with the comma or decimals to move to the correct spot. This should continue until the students are able to easily convert from one unit to the other, with different students taking turns at being the commas or decimal. The teacher should then write problems on the board for the students to copy and solve independently. Assessment: Students are evaluated based on their participation in the group modeling and their ability to solve the individual problems at the end of the lesson. http://www.paell.com/docs/LessonPlans/Math/Math_ Lesson8.pdf

Cafeteria

Breeze Way

Study Area

Library & Gym

Gym

Verification Form