COOPERATING TEACHER INFORMATION - CSN FIELD OBSERVATIONS

Dear Cooperating Teacher,

Thank you for assisting in the preparation of a new generation of Nevada teachers. Our
education majors are required to complete 10 field observation hours in these courses:

EDU 201 Introduction To Elementary Education

EDU 202 Introduction To Secondary Education

EDU 203 Introduction To Special Education

This class is where many of our students actually make the decision whether they will continue
further study of the profession. We appreciate you joining us in providing these students with a
wonderful first experience in the classroom. If at all possible, please utilize the student to assist
you in supervised classroom instructional activities if you deem them ready.

We are hopeful that the information we have enclosed with this letter, which has been approved
by the Nevada College Consortium, will help you with a clear sense of how this field experience
works.

When the student has completed his/her required observation hours, please complete and sign
the “FIELD OBSERVATION TIME LOG” and “FIELD OBSERVATION STUDENT
EVALUATION” (along with the student). Then, return these two pages to the student who will
submit them to his/her professor. For your convenience, the student has provided you with
CSN contact information below. Please contact the CSN instructor if there are any questions or
concerns.

Also, before a final grade for EDU 201, EDU 202, or EDU 203 courses can be assigned, the
CSN professor MUST receive your official email verification that the student successfully
completed his/her 10 hours. Please also “cc” the student on this email as soon as the student
has completed the 10 contact hours. The student WILL NOT receive a final grade in the course
until the email is received from you.

CSN Course # & name: >>> EDU 201 Introduction to Elementary Education

CSN Professor: >>> Susan Bridges

CSN Professor’s phone: >>> (248)240-0372

CSN Professor’s email: >>> susan.bridges@csn.edu

Student’s name: >>> Lizbeht Cruz

Student’s email: >>> lizbeht.cruz@student.csn.edu

Should you have any concerns or questions about this process, please feel free to contact the
instructor directly, or the CSN Education Department at: (702) 651-4400.
ASSIGNMENT 1 (Observations): After arrival, take a seat in a nonintrusive location to begin your
classroom observations. Complete the questions below:

Observation 1: What are your first impressions of the classroom environment? Is it warm, inviting,
organized, etc? Describe the physical environment in detail. >>>

My first impression of the classroom environment is it being well-lit along with organized.

The classroom being well-lit ensures students a positive workplace. The classroom is spacious

with every item having a dedicated space. Tables, which can be split into three parts, are

cleared off with school supplies provided in the middle of the table. Countertops and sinks are

also cleared off and cleaned. The teacher’s desk is organized as well, with the current lesson

out. The classroom overall feels welcoming and comfortable.

Observation 2: Please describe the student make-up of the class, including gender, ethnicity, ELL,
students with physical challenges, and any other apparent attributes that are important to note. >>>

The student make-up of the class includes both males and females. The ethnicity of the class

includes predominately White students, followed by African Americans, followed by Asian-

Americans, lastly followed by Hispanics and Latinos. The tables are mixed with different

make-up of the students. There appears to be no students with physical challenges in the

classroom.

Observation 3: What are the posted class rules in the room? (exactly as written) >>>

The class rules posted are expected to be followed schoolwide. This set of rules is called the

“patriot-pact”.

Principle 1: Respect other peoples’ comments, opinions, and ideas.

Principle 2: If you are being bullied or witness bullying, tell someone.

Principle 3: Keep your eyes on the target when someone is speaking.

Principle 4: Respond to adults with Mr. Or Mrs.

 Principle 5: When a guest is present, they are to be treated with the same respect as their

teacher or parents. Greet new people and make them feel welcome.

Principle 6: Swearing is not allowed at Leavitt Middle School.

Principle 7: No technology is to be visible in the hallways. Technology is only to be used in

class when given permission by the teacher.

Principle 8: Always say please and thank you and do not ask for a reward.

Principle 9: If someone drops something, help pick it up.

Principle 10: Hold the door for the person behind you.

Principle 11: If someone bumps into you, say excuse me (in a pleasant manner), even if it was

not your fault.

Principle 12: Own your Own Journey:

-Be honest.

-You are responsible for your decisions, not your teacher, family, and/or friends.

Observation 4: Does the teacher enforce these posted rules? Are rewards or consequences being used
for compliance or noncompliance? >>>

The teacher does enforce the posted rules, as they have expected to follow the rules regularly.

A reward for participation students can earn is jolly ranchers. They are given randomly or

unexpectedly. Students are also rewarded with blue tickets for good behavior or participation.

These tickets are given randomly to ensure students are willing to participate. The tickets are

also given to students for arriving at class on time, since being late to class has become a

problem for students. These tickets can be used on Fridays in class to buy items from a

treasure box or snacks, that only the teacher provides. Consequences for noncompliance

include giving students warnings and separating them from other students when being
 distracted.

ASSIGNMENT 2 (Classroom Layout): Use graph paper or drawing software to create an accurate
overhead view, labeled drawing, of your assigned classroom before answering the questions below
Classroom Layout Question 1: Describe the workflow of the room. Is the space used efficiently? >>>
 The classroom tables, which can be split into three parts, are labeled by numbers and colors.

Table 1 is red, table 2 is green, table 3 is purple, table 4 is yellow, table 5 is blue, and table 6 is

orange. The labeling system allows the teacher to call the table as a whole group. The

workflow of the room allows students to walk around the classroom without running into

things. The teacher is easily accessible to all students as the pathway to her desk is free. The

teacher can also walk around the classroom with the layout, observing her own students. The

space is used efficiently as students can move freely even in their own chairs.

Classroom Layout Question 2: In your opinion, how can the physical arrangement of the room be
improved? >>>

I personally believe that the classroom is physically arranged in a great layout with great use of

space. Especially since the counters and sinks cannot be moved. She organized her space well.

The only thing I would change is making the tables angled straight in the same direction,

instead of angled to the side.

ASSIGNMENT 3 (Instruction): Observe any instructional time in your assigned classroom, and record
your observations when presented with the questions below:

Instruction Question 1: What is the posted daily schedule for different subjects or periods? >>>

The posted daily schedule is shown at the beginning of each class. On a slide show on the

smart board displayed as the classroom agenda. The classroom agenda includes a question for

each student to answer, a joke of the day, and what the class will do that day. This is repeated

for every period but changed every day.

Instruction Question 2: Is instruction done in small groups, centers, whole groups, individual? >>>

Instruction is done in whole groups, small groups, and individually. However, typically

instruction is given to the group of students. The teacher stands in the front of the room,
 making herself visible to everyone. She then gives instruction to everyone at the same time,

ensuring everyone is given the same material, and is giving her all their attention. This is easier

for the teacher as at the end of class students with questions can approach her with them.

Instruction Question 3: How would you describe your cooperating teacher’s teaching style? >>>

I would best describe my teacher’s teaching style as a demonstrator. When she teaches the

class, she includes activities such as labs, PowerPoints with vocabulary, and other websites

provided with the Interactive notebook. She would also be somewhat of a facilitator, because

she wants her students to develop critical thinking. She does this by having students

experiment by themselves on simulation websites and take notes on what happened.

Instruction Question 4: Does the teacher incorporate the sensory modalities (learning styles)? If so, give
examples. >>>

The teacher does incorporate the use of sensory modalities when teaching. The learning styles

she utilizes are visual, auditory, and tactical. Visually, she uses pictures that correlate with

what she is going to teach that day, displayed on her smart board. She makes students draw

pictures as well when it comes to learning the definitions of vocabulary. Auditorily, the teacher

shows the class videos that correlate to the lesson and speaks on the lesson. Tactically, the

teacher creates science experiments throughout the unit, where students will be able to

understand the concepts with hand on tasks.

Instruction Question 5: Do the students seem engaged in the lesson(s) that are being presented?
Please explain. >>>

Students are engaged in the lesson being presented. Many students participate or answer when

the teacher asks questions. Not only are they answering, but they are looking at the teacher or

the board with the material presented. Students are seen to always be doing their warmups,
 vocabulary, and lesson assignments. If students seem to be confused or lost, they make sure to

ask the teacher questions.

Instruction Question 6: Explain the use of culturally relevant materials, teaching strategies, class décor,
etc. that meet the needs of today’s culturally diverse student population. >>>

With the modern use of technology is incorporated. Chromebooks are used for the lessons that

students will be working on. They use a program called Canvas where they will get their e-

texts from and submit their assignments. Class decor is mainly colorful to ensure color

coordination and catch the eye of students. Culturally relevant materials include notebooks for

notes along with annotation tools such as highlighters, pens, and pencils, to be used at the

student's preference.

Instruction Question 7: Is instructional time managed efficiently? Please explain >>>

Instructional time is managed efficiently, the teacher never runs out of time while instructing

her lesson. Each lesson is planned out accordingly with the time provided. For example,

starting off with the agenda of the day, a warmup on the lesson that will be presented,

vocabulary that students will write down definitions for, an article on the lesson, followed by a

discussion of the overall topic. This ensures that the teacher has enough time remaining for any

questions on what was presented.

Instruction Question 8: How does the cooperating teacher handle transitions from one subject or period
to another, and are these transitions efficient? >>>

The cooperating teacher handles the transition of periods from one to another well. It is

important to ensure that every period gets the material being taught. Sometimes teachers may

forget that they have told the class they are currently with something, as they told the class
 before what they wanted to say. To avoid this, the teacher prepares her plan to be able to be

repeated. She prepares materials that help her be able to re-present material such as flash cards,

notes on the assignments, and printed worksheets.

Instruction Question 9: List ways that the teacher attempts any “attention getting” commands? (Ex:
Countdown, Light flicker, Heads on Desk) How effective are they? >>>

The teacher attempts to get the class' attention by simply yelling “class” or “guys”, recollecting

the class to pay their attention towards her. The teacher also does a “high-five” method where

the teacher shouts “high-five” and all students should raise their hand. This is then followed by

a countdown from five by the teacher. Students are more reactive to the “high-five” method as

it requires students to move their arms.

Instruction Question 10: What specific behavior issues does the teacher have to deal with? How does

the teacher deal with these behavior issues? Be specific. >>>

Some behavior issues that I saw were the use of headphones in a students’ ears. The teacher

simply tells the students to take it out and put it away, the students follow the command.

Another student behavior issue is students getting distracted by talking to each other during

class and disrupting class. The teacher gives these students a warning to recollect themselves

and pay attention. If this behavior is repeated, the teacher separates the students by moving

them to another chair at a different table, ensuring they will not talk to each other.

Instruction Question 11: Are there any policies or procedures in place that help or hinder instructional
time? If so, explain them and how they help or hinder use of instructional time. >>>

Some procedures that help instructional time would be the teachers' use of a warmup at the

start of class. This helps the teacher gather the students together as a class and ready to put
 their focus on science. The agenda the teacher creates for herself helps make sure that she

instructs the students what they need to learn that day. It also ensures that she can fit all the

material with the amount of time she has with each period.

Instruction Question 12: What philosophical teaching orientation(s) best describes this teacher? Give

examples. >>>

The philosophical teaching orientations that would best describe this teacher are progressivism

and essentialism. Her progressivist teaching style begins with having to do project-based

learning across the whole 6th grade department. She also has whole group discussions which

incorporate essentialism, as she makes the discussions focused on science with real world

examples.

Instruction Question 13: Outline the lesson plan for a teaching lesson you observed. What preparations
in advance were need for teaching the lesson? >>>

Firstly, the teacher uses a classroom agenda slide to get students to discuss. She then tells the

class the unit question they will have to figure out by the end of the lesson. Which is followed

by a warmup to get their minds thinking about material for the lesson. Vocabulary is then to be

written down on a paper with a definition, example, and a picture. Following the vocabulary,

students read an article independently and annotate it. The teacher then discussed the article

with the students, making sure they understood what they read. Lastly the teacher wraps up the

lesson, giving an overview of what they learned. To have this lesson plan ready the teacher

would have had to prepare by doing what the students will have to do. For example, read the

article herself and annotate it so that she understands the article ensuring her students will too.

She also prepares slideshows in advance like the agenda and vocabulary. She will also print

out worksheets beforehand for herself and the students.

Instruction Question 14: Describe both teacher and student uses of technology in the classroom. >>>

Both the teacher and students use technology in the classroom. However, the teacher mainly

uses technology instead of the students. The use of technology includes a computer connected

to a smart board that presents material of the textbook through slideshows. While students

write down on worksheets or their unit book. Students typically only use technology when

there is an assignment provided on canvas for them, or if an online simulation is being used to

learn. No outside technology from students is allowed, and the teacher also does not use

outside technology.

ASSIGNMENT 4 (Culture): Using the information provided below, carefully observe and evaluate the
culture of the school where you are assigned to observe. Remember you are evaluating the school for its
educational culture, place of learning, sense of safety, invitation for learning, promotion of self-
actualization, development of values and socialization.

Physical Characteristics: Look at the physical areas of the school to determine atmosphere, comfort,
and feelings the school creates for students in the educational setting.

1. Consider the school property: building, grounds, fencing, equipment, landscaping, trees, parking lot,
crosswalks, gates, signs and symbols. >>>

The school's environment is well kept. Throughout the school, walls are well painted, the

building walls, hallway walls, and walls inside classrooms. School gates are locked so that

students cannot access non-school property. The sidewalks have signs signifying that students

are walking, so that cars are aware. The quad landscaping is well kept and cleaned with no

trash. Trees and other plants are tall, green, and watered, surrounded with mulch. The school's

environment is clean for the number of students there are, floors are swept and vacuumed, with

multiple trash cans available. The field is spacious and maintained.

2. Next, study the interior of the school: halls, floor coverings, lighting, doors, windows, hall colors and
decorations and entrance security. >>>

The hallway walls consist of school mascots and the school’s houses. The hallways and most
 of the classrooms have carpet, while the science classrooms have tile flooring. All rooms and

hallways are well lit. The hallways are divided by the students’ grade level, 6th, 7th, and 8th

grade. Decorations the school uses are signs that the students put up promoting after school

clubs, like sports, math, and chess. There are minimal windows in classrooms. The front gates

of the school are locked, the only way to enter through the school is through the main office.

Culture of the School: Read, listen and observe to determine the climate, values, and atmosphere
within the school.

1. Identify the school’s mission statement, motto, and mascot. >>>

The school’s mascot is a New England patriot. The school’s motto is “The Higher You Soar,

The More Beautiful the View ''. The school’s mission statement is to develop high-quality

education to prepare students for a complex world. Maintaining high student expectations for

students preparing for high school and life. Making students responsible and respectful

through growing mentally, emotionally, socially, and physically.

2. Analyze staff and visitor interactions in the main office. Note student and faculty interactions in other
areas of the school. >>>

The main office is amazing. They are very helpful, both to students, administration, teachers,

and parents. Anyone who walks into the office feels welcome. The staff are super nice, they

make sure that you are helped as soon as you walk in. If someone else is being helped, other

staff in the office make sure you are helped even at the same time. There would be no fear in

asking for help from anyone in the office.

3. Look at the formal practices: School bell schedule, and the grouping of students. (ie. grades, block
scheduling, periods) Does the school use inclusion, or a pull-out program for special education students?
>>>

The school bell schedule is made of blocks and periods. The school has an A and B schedule,
 one day will be A Day and the next day will be B Day and so on. When it is an A Day,

students attend all odd periods, 1, 3, 5, and 7. When it is B Day, students attend all even

periods, 2, 4, 6, and 8. The bell schedule includes the first, second, lunch, third, and fourth

periods of the day. The school does both an inclusion and pull-out program for special

education students. Typically, special education students have classes apart from other

students, but they are incorporated into classes slowly. Depending on their comprehension,

they begin to take part in regular classes, slowly.

4. Observe student-to-student interactions, inside and outside of the building. Observe where students
gather to socialize – lunchroom, halls, playground, etc. >>>

Students gather around the quad to socialize in the morning as they wait for the bell to go to

class. Typically surrounding their grade-level hallway. In the morning before the gates unlock

to enter the school, students gather around the front of the school by planter boxes. During

lunch, students can eat in the quad in front of the lunchroom or in the lunchroom. Not only do

they get the option to eat in these places, but if they have free time, they can go to the field to

spend time as they wait for class. Students are not allowed to socialize in the hallways as it

makes traffic for other students to get to class, making them late.

5. Examine school traditions, achievements and awards; community recognition or community partners;
extracurricular activities/clubs and athletics. Look for and document sources of community pride and
sense of identity through ceremonies, assemblies, trophies, and artifacts. >>>

A school tradition that this school has would be the involvement of houses. The school divides

students into four houses that best describe their personalities. They are called Kalique,

Liderazgo, Muteki, and Debrota. Students can earn points for the house they are placed in, by

participating in school events, rewarded for good behavior, or simply wearing school gear on

Fridays. The house that earns the highest number of points wins a party at the end of each
 quarter. Assemblies at the school take place during sports events. The trophies that the school

teams earn are displayed in the front office, so that when visitors walk in, they can see them.

6. Compare and contrast the current school environment and culture with schools in the historical
past. >>>

Schools in the past were not as revolved around technology as current school environments are

today. However, school’s curriculums are still revolving around the same basic subjects such

as science, math, English, and arts. Making them mandatory for students to learn, and all

subjects correspond together. The only true difference is modernization where their subjects

involve the use of technology to teach.

Culture of the Classroom: Each classroom has its own culture and way of life.

1. Look for teacher(s) expectations for learning and success, interactions with students, and his/her
personality. >>>

The teacher's personality is amazing. You can tell that the students love and respect her, they

truly enjoy her class. The teacher has a bubbly personality. The teacher expects students to

thrive in her classroom and perform well. Some expectations she has are that students come in

ready to learn. They should prepare the materials they need for the day, for example, pencils,

vocabulary sheets, and the Investigation Notebook. She expects all students to participate in

the activities she performs.

2. Evaluate the level of student participation in the class. Who participates? Who does not? What
modifications, accommodations, and/or inclusion techniques were observed? >>>

During the morning, the first period does not participate as much as they have just arrived at

school and are still tired. Towards the end of the period students have become more awake and

tend to participate more than earlier. Many different profiles of students participate. However,

typically the students that sit in the front participate more. Many students that are talkative also
 participate. The teacher uses Jolly Ranchers and tickets to get students to participate more.

3. Evaluate the interactions between teachers and students, rapport, cohesiveness, distribution of power,
tone, frequency and reinforcements. >>>

The interaction between teachers and students is very positive. Students want to talk to their

teachers even about stuff that is not related to their class work. You can tell that these teachers

really love and respect their students, and vice versa. However, the students do know that the

teachers have authority over them. So, they obviously will not get away with misbehaving.

Students at this school feel cared for.

ASSIGNMENT 5 (Cooperating Teacher Interview): Complete the questions below by interviewing your
cooperating teacher during a convenient time. Include any school documents that your cooperating
teacher will allow you to photocopy for your packet.

Interview Question 1: What was the primary reason you became a teacher? >>>

The primary reason Mrs. Halligan became a teacher was simply because she loved working

with children. Not only did she enjoy working with kids, but becoming a teacher was a fit and

good schedule that worked around her family.

Interview Question 2: What are the main challenges you face as a teacher? >>>

The main challenges Mrs. Halligan faces as a teacher is trying to make all the content from the

curriculum fit within the short amount of time students are in class. Fitting the curriculum in

the 180 days students are present in school was stressful, she claimed. Especially when it

comes to the time of day that students have in her class.

Interview Question 3: What is the best part of being a teacher? >>>

Mrs. Halligan says that the best part of being a teacher would be seeing the little “lightbulb”

moments that the students have. She feels it is very rewarding when she sees that students
 understand the material she is teaching. She loves seeing that students are learning.

Interview Question 4: How do you determine where students sit in class? >>>

Mrs. Halligan says that she does not determine where students sit in class, but the students

decide where they want to sit. She has always done this as it gives the students a little more

freedom, but if she sees that students’ behavior is an issue, they will be moved. She also

mentioned that when she would teach elementary, she would mix together high, medium, and

low performing kids so that they have the potential to grow.

Interview Question 5: How do you determine the members of any flexible groups? >>>

Mrs. Halligan says she creates group meetings by mixing up the groups surrounding their

cognitive abilities. Students that struggle will be paired with high achieving students for them

to get ideas. They are sorted based on MAP testing scores.

Interview Question 6: Beyond standardized testing, what assessments do you use regularly? >>>

Mrs. Halligan uses Amplify Science, which embeds pre-assessments, mid-term assessments,

and final assessments for each science unit. She also does vocabulary checks and vocabulary

assessments. She also does teacher observations on her students as formative and summative

assessments.

Interview Question 7: What requirements are placed on you for reporting progress to parents? >>>

Mrs. Halligan sends parents emails regarding their child’s missing assignment. Mrs. Halligan

posts grades every 4 weeks so parents and students can see progress before the final quarter

grade comes. She is required to be on top of the gradebook, so parents and students have the

chance to look at and re-do assignments.

Interview Question 8: How often do you interact with a student’s parents in person, and what type of
discussions do you typically have? >>>

Mrs. Halligan has very little interaction with parents, unless a parent-teacher conference is

requested. A parent teacher conference would require all the student’s teachers to attend the

meeting. Typically, parents are only angry about the grades of their child, which makes them

want a conference.

Interview Question 9: How much grading do you complete on a daily/weekly basis? >>>

Mrs. Halligan typically grades an assignment every day. She does this to ensure she is on top

of her grades. She feels there is a lot more grading in middle school than it was for elementary

school, since she does have to teach a higher number of students every day.

Interview Question 10: How long does it take to prepare lessons for the day/week? >>>

Mrs. Halligan says it takes about an hour every day for her to plan the lesson for the next day.

Interview Question 11: What procedures or strategies do you use to maximize instructional time? >>>

Mrs. Halligan strategy is to start off with strong classroom management. This is important as it

keeps her students under control, or else she will waste a lot of instructional time trying to get

them under control. She claims that organization is also key, keeping an organized structure of

each day-to-day lesson.

Interview Question 12: What positive reinforcement programs have you had success with, and what
behavioral consequences seem most effective with this age group? >>>

Mrs. Halligan does positive reinforcement with her students; she sends positive emails or

positive notes home to the parents about their student. She also does what she calls a “blue

ticket system”, where students can earn tickets throughout the week, for rewards at the end of

the week. Behavioral consequences she has in place, is sending emails home to parents about
 students not completing work or being a distraction.

Interview Question 13: How are specialist teachers involved in the instructional planning process? >>>

Mrs. Halligan says that the specialist teachers are not involved with the instruction planning

process of the core subjects. This is since the classes are separated by electives. Specialist

teachers do not meet with the other teachers.

Interview Question 14: How often are you evaluated, and what measurement tool is used by the
administration for determining your teaching performance? >>>

Mrs. Halligan is evaluated once every cycle. She has a pre-conference before her observation,

her observation of 45 minutes, and a post conference to discuss the observation. After the main

observation, she is observed frequently but quickly in walk-throughs of 5 minutes. She is

evaluated through Evaluwise, which is used by administration. She is graded on the Nevada

educator performance framework, ensuring she is meeting the standards.

Interview Question 15: What consequences are there if your evaluation is not favorable? >>>

They could re-observe you for 45 minutes after being provided with mentor advice. Or you

would be put on a probationary list, where they would require more observations throughout

the year.

Interview Question 16: What types of support do you receive instructionally, financially, or professionally
from the school, parent organization or school district to enhance instruction? >>>

Instructionally, Mrs. Halligan has teaching mentors, teachers with more experience, that she

can go to for advice or tips. Financially, she is reimbursed for purchases of her own money for

the class, from the school banker. Professionally, from the school she is offered a lot of

training opportunities and gets paid to attend them, which are outside of school hours.
Interview Question 17: What surprised you most about teaching as a profession? >>

Something that surprised Mrs. Halligan the most was the amount of time and energy required

to be a teacher. Many people think it is a lot of free time since teachers get summers off.

However, during the summer she spends time training. She says that spending a lot of time

outside of contract time training ensures becoming a good teacher.

Interview Question 18: What collaboration and planning do you do with your grade-level team or
subject-department? >>>

Mrs. Halligan meets with her grade-level team twice a week, to create or discuss project-based

learning projects and cross-curricular projects. She meets with the science department every

Wednesday during plc time, professional learning committee, before school.

ASSIGNMENT 6 (Observing a student): Discretely observe one student in your assigned classroom
during an extended period of direct instruction.

Detail what was going on in the environment, and what you observed the student doing while the lesson
was being given. Make sure to document ALL behavior in relationship to what was being presented by the
classroom teacher. Please describe the setting, the lesson that was given, if the student was on task and
engaged in the lesson, and what you uncovered about putting yourself in a lesson from the student’s point
of view. >>>

The classroom is lit up, cleaned, and organized. The student walks in through the door, grabs a

chair from a stack of chairs and sits down at the table. The student sets her stuff down, her

backpack on the chair, her water bottle on the table, and her pencil in hand. As her classmates

walk into the classroom, she begins to communicate with them. However, she did not get her

Investigation Notebook, which she was supposed to get before class. Mrs. Halligan had to tell

students to go get their notebooks, so the student got up and got hers. While listening to the

school announcements, the student appears to be moving around in her chair. While the

teacher calls attendance, the student waits for her name to be called, watching the teacher call

names, the answers once her name is called. Then, the teacher talks about what the class will
be doing today, the student appears to be distracted, looking around the class. The teacher

begins the lesson with a warm-up and tells the class to start by reading an article by

themselves. The student proceeds to read the article to herself, annotating the article, and even

answers the warmup question. Another student did not have a pencil today, so she gave up her

own pencil, and went to her backpack to get another one. The student raises her hand, as the

teacher asks students whether they agree with a statement from the lesson. The teacher asks the

student a question, as a reminder if the class has gotten to this part of the vocabulary. The

student then works on her vocabulary, writing down definitions from the article on a separate

piece of paper. The student did not participate when the teacher asked a question on

vocabulary but mumbled a few of the answers to herself. When the teacher tells the students

what to do, the student is very reactive, doing as told. The teacher explains an activity to the

students that they will do together as a group, the student appears to be commanding the group,

and begins the activity. However, the student is having side conversations not about the lesson,

but then recollects to the lesson when the teacher walks by. After this activity, they read an

article together as a class, and answer questions about what they read. The student has a

question, raising her hand, and asks the teacher. The student participates in this activity by

reading and answering questions asked in the Investigation Notebook. The students are

instructed to make a flip book by themselves, the student begins making her flip book, writing

down information, and completes the book. The student is done for the day, returns everything

back to its place, and awaits the bell for the next class. Upon putting myself in the position of

this student from when I was in middle school, I can see myself relating to her. Whether it be

from not raising my hand when knowing the answers, to fully participating. I believe that the

student could potentially have been nervous about being wrong even though she was right all
 along. I see myself also having side conversations in class with my friends. Everything that

this student has done is like what a lot of students do in class.

ASSIGNMENT 7 (Summary): Thoroughly summarize and reflect upon your entire 10 hour Field
Observation Placement.

>>>

After completing my 10-hour Field Observation Placement, I am left content and excited. I

learned so much from my cooperating teacher. From observing how she first greets her class

and starts the class. I would feel welcome if my teacher were to greet me standing at the door

rather than waiting at her desk. Observing her teach the lesson and interact with each kid on the

daily day is truly inspiring. Not only as an observer, but as a student I would feel motivated to

go to her class. She makes learning science fun for every student. There was not a single

student that I saw that appeared to not want to be in her classroom. She demonstrates her

lessons to her students with many ways of learning. Not only does she accommodate different

modes of learning, but she makes sure her students are engaged. If I were a student in her

classroom, I would truly enjoy attending her class. Getting to observe a classroom is so much

more different than being a student in the classroom and looking at your peers. It made me

realize how much preparation teachers do for their students. After seeing what teachers do, it

makes me appreciate my teachers much more than I already did. Seeing other teachers also

helped my cooperating teacher made me content. I can tell that these teachers do not feel alone

throughout all of this, they have an amazing support group. This only makes me excited to

become a teacher.