Observe and Analyze Classroom instruction
This signature assignment is about observing and analyzing classroom instruction in at least 2 classrooms. The two classrooms that I chose to observed is special education and general education. In this assignment I will give a synopsis of my observation, how the instruction differentiated to meet the needs of identified students, identify strengths and needs based on research based practice, and I will suggest what are the next steps teachers can take to improve their lesson.
The first class that I observed was Mrs. Black's class of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in a special day class. The lesson was observed from 10:30 to 11:00. The content was English language arts on root words. The standard on the board was a fourth grade standard 1.3- use knowledge of root words to determine the meaning of unknown words within a passage. There were two groups going on simultaneously. One group with the teacher and the other group with the aide. Three students were at the listening center. The room is designed in such a way that all students are able to see the board clearly. Small group arrangements are made in the front, back, and side of the room. There is a classroom library with adequate space for multiple children to occupy. There are three computers available to be used at the same
time. Mrs. Black also has many resources and student work covering the walls for the students to utilize. The walls were covered with vocabulary words, calender, rules and consequences, rewards, the alphabets, writing process and lots of students work. The students in the room were very respectful of the rest of the class, teacher and aides in the room. The lesson was on the root words...
... middle of paper ...
...amazed by the teacher in how well behaved the students are especially having a class of twenty-six students to one teacher.
These two classroom observations gave me the experience to know what to look for in a classroom observation. It was also beneficial to have two different administrator in different occasions accompany me on the observations. I learned a lot from both administrators. They provided me with suggestions and feedbacks in what I observed in the classrooms. This was a great experience.
Works Cited
Marzano, R. J., Waters, T., Mcnulty, B. A., (2005). School Leadership That Works From Research to Results. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Marzano, R. J., (2003), What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
According to Blase, Blase, and Phillips (2010) educational leaders in high preforming schools effectively balance administrative and instructional leadership and provide stability, predictability and support. The current paradigm of educational leadership is management of facility, budget, school safety, and student discipline. Administrators must place more emphasis on methods to balance the responsibility of instructional leadership. It will require effective leadership characterized by their ability to redesign their schools into an effective organization. This can be done by a leader’s willingness to take risk. Risk taking would involve the leaders’ commitment to work collaboratively with teachers to set school wide and classroom goals suited to meet the unique needs of the students. It would require educational leaders to refuse to adopt a manufactured educational program but to make a commitment to their students and teachers to create a learning environment that is unique and relevant. Educational leaders would evaluate teachers on the effectiveness of their instructional practices. Each teacher would be held accountable for data that supports the need for goals developed for their classroom and methods used to track progress, use of instructional strategies, how assessment will be incorporated to drive instruction and monitor learning, and the effective use of assessment
Mrs. Gerard has a wonderful and bright kindergarten class. The students are all unique and diverse in their own ways. A few students were of different races and ethnic identities. There were several different lessons taught throughout the field experience, as well as many different ways of evaluation. The teacher-student, student-teacher, and student-student interactions were excellent and Mrs. Gerard’s classroom management skills have created a wonderful classroom-learning environment to which you can see different theories being used.
The day I walked into the sixth grade classroom at County Elementary, for my very first job of Substitute Teaching, I was nervous and wondered to myself, “How am I going to teach this group of kids?” Rows of desks all facing the front was the only thing that seemed familiar to me. So with a deep breath, lesson plans in hand, I pressed on. The day consisted of me lecturing and the students infrequently responding. For years the prevailing thoughts on classroom setup have been what I call a teacher centered approach to learning. This involves the teacher at the front of a classroom giving a lecture, and expecting the student to regurgitate it later on a test. Sound familiar? Teacher centered classrooms were the norm for many of us. The problem with this approach to learning is not all students learn in a lecture focused setup. Many people need to have the material presented in different ways; this allows them time to processes, and really understand the material. I am going to show you how taking into account multiple intelligences, and using different teaching approaches, other than the traditional teacher centered approach,
...om environment as a whole. The pupils seemed to thrive under these new techniques for teaching and their motivation for class activities continually grew with my new attitude to teaching. I also found my teaching to be a lot better as a result as I engaged much more with the pupils are our pupil-teacher relationship blossomed around this change in assumption
For my 3rd observation, I observed one full day in a preschool/kindergarten classroom. The number of children in the classroom this day was 20 with ages ranging from 3 to 5. The teaching style in this school is Montessori. This means that formal teaching approaches are not used. Some of the casual teaching used in this classroom is rather than giving the students worksheets to challenge the student’s thinking, the teacher uses the students and other manipulatives for learning. For example, the teacher gave seven students cards with the days of the week on them. The teacher had the students with the cards go to the back of the classroom and scramble themselves up. The others stood by the board. The students that stood by the board got the chance
My main field experience this semester was in Ms. Schreyer's third grade math class at Trinity South. I was in the classroom on Tuesdays from 8:30 to 12:00 and Thursdays from 10:30 to 2:00. When in Ms. Schreyer's class, I observed two different groups of students because of the way the class rotations work. The first group that I observed is Ms. Schreyer's homeroom. There are 17 students in her homeroom class, and four of them have IEPs for either learning support or emotional support. On Tuesdays I arrived as the students arrived, so I was able to see the morning routine. The students bring their materials to the classroom, go to breakfast, and, upon returning from breakfast, complete a bell ringer activity. The bell ringers alternate between math,
An average day in Ms. Monterroza’s classroom, begins with the students finishing their writing. There is always a group working with the teacher, normally the group includes the students that don't speak much English and the students that struggle with writing. Normally their writing is based off of a book that was just read or a major event going on. Most students are up walking around, asking how to spell certain words and talking to their friends. If the kids aren't working on English, they are finishing their math. Some days, the class will be working on math instead of their writing. The kids work in groups at their table, although Ms. Monterroza instruct them to work alone. She has a group of kids that are slower in the comprehension
Yarbrough, R., & Gilman, D. A. (2006, October). From five days to four. Educational Leadership, 64(2), 80-85.
I observed at St. Eve’s Learning Center location in their preschool room. The center has a naturalistic feel to the environment and all of the staff is friendly and welcoming. The classroom displayed best practices, modern theories and research, and followed expected standards set by their accreditations.
The most intriguing thing is when the two people come to evaluate and shocked to see the teacher is doing a great job. The classroom is an open field where there are no tables or desks, but the kids are learning, for example, Winnie reciting the Shakespeare Sonnet was both intriguing and engaging. I
Special education is such a broad and sensitive topic to talk about as well as the several issues that come with the Special education topic. And although there are a variety of issues, such as: special education children being accepted, segregated from their peers, the financial ability to support many special education programs, and the fact that a lot of teachers are not properly certified and do not know how to handle special needs children; there are also many resolutions. Special education Awareness, peer understanding, support from the local and state government, proper teacher certification, and most importantly social unity and understanding amongst peers are all a part of this controversial issue and they will also help maintain and resolve the growing concerns in the Special education programs and the children.
The class I visited is comprised of 24 five and six year old children, a lead teacher and a ‘Para-Pro” who assists the teacher and provides support and guidance for the children. Within the classroom itself, there are 6 tables organized in the center of the room in a grid formation. Children have their own workspace at a shared table. Around the perimeter of the room are ‘centers’ where each day, the children work on tasks such as listening, story development, gross and fine motor skills, math, reading and other important skills that are needed to develop socially and academically. In several places on the walls, there are displays or ‘brag boards’ where children can post their work that they feel best represents their efforts. The walls are brightly decorated and are filled with pictures, letters, numbers and other basic elementary school information. It is energizing and interesting without being chaotic or overstimulating.
Being a student for the majority of my life, I had never fully understood why anyone would desire to be a teacher. But after four semesters at College, I am slowly changing my attitude. As an education major, I now attend real classrooms and observe the wonders of how a young child’s mind works. Through my observations in actual class settings, I have also come to realize how delicate a child’s mind is and that the slightest external influence can build or destroy that child. I too want to experience the joy and wonder of seeing a young ingenuous mind finally understanding a new concept. I want to see the student blossom and grow as a result of change and experience, not only in a classroom setting, but also through social interactions with his or her peers.
The school that I visited was new. It was the first year of the school opening. The school board had combined two schools into one, so the students had to adjust to their new environments and new individuals. They seemed to be getting along well with each other. Since the school is new the teacher has to adjust to new problems that araise. Times for the subjects and times for using the computer labs change. So the teacher must always be fixable for anything. In this observation of this classroom I learned about the enjoyment of teaching. How you have to adapt to each of the students.
I attended a second grade class at Smallville Elementary on February 22, 2014; the class began promptly at 0855. There are 26 children in this second grade class. There are 15 male students and 11 female students. The student diversity is 2 Hispanics, 1 African-American, 1 East Indian, and 1 New Zealander (White but with an extreme accent). Three children were left-handed.