Field Experience Report

General Outcome: 1. 0 The student shall spend 15 hours in observation in a school setting. Specific Measurable Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this unit, the student shall be able to: 1. 1 Review an existing lesson plan prior to the lesson. After reviewing an existing lesson plan prior to the lesson implementation by your cooperating teacher, address the following: 1) Record the subject, grade level and the goal of the lesson plan. 7th grade Civics. Goal: 1. Identify the key issues discussed at the Constitutional Convention;? . Describe the problems and solutions that were addressed by the Great Compromise of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. How did this lesson plan differ from the required lesson plan of this course? Much less detailed, in fact I would even call it vague. 2) Did the plan include an assessment? Not really, he had “Evaluation” and that was to be determined by student’s participation. Observe the implementation of the lesson and address the following: 3) Did the actual teaching/learning process take place as outlined in the plan?

Why or why not? The teaching process took place as outline, however the learning process is hard for me to gauge without a formal assesment. 4) Did the teacher feel as if the lesson was successful and the objective was met? Yes, he did, he seemed satisfied. But to be frank, I don’t believe so. 5) Would you have done anything differently from the teacher? If so, what? Yes, I would definitely be more detail oriented with my lesson plans. I find his plans to be too vague for my liking. 1. Observe a cooperating teacher in large and small group instructional setting. After observing a cooperating teacher in a large and small group instructional setting, address the following: Large group instructional setting: 1) Did you observe any of the following instructional strategies: integrated curriculum, thematic teaching, cooperative learning, critical thinking/problem solving, or differentiated instruction? He used differentiated instruction for a gifted student in one of the classes I observed.

For example, he would assign the same chapter from the Civics book for all the students, but he would assign the gifted students, additional questions to answer at the end of the chapter, and in fact, they were what I would consider “higher order” questions. 2) Describe what you observed. (If none of the instructional strategies listed above were observed, describe what strategies you did observe. ) Small group Instructional setting: 1) Did the cooperating teacher use small group instruction? If not, why do you think it was not used?

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Yes, he did use small group instruction. In one of the classes I observed, there was 5 ESOL students, he grouped them together to get the extra help needed in reading chapters and comprehension of the material, with an ESOL teacher aide. 2) How could you use small group instruction with this class of students? It could be used by divinding kids into different small groups, I would divide them not by grouping skill levels together, but by group different skill levels together. That way, they could collaborative learning could be implemented.

If so, describe the teaching strategies in the small group. I would use collaborative learning and use higher order thinking skills as my primary goal in the small group. I would act more as a facilitator, guiding them on the journey. 3) What criteria was used to form the small groups? He sepereated the ESOL group, however you could also use small group instruction for differential instruction for gifted students. How did the instruction in the small group compare to that of the large group? The small group was much more interactive.

The large group listened to a lecture, while the ESOL group participated much more among the group and interacted much more within the small group, as compared to the large, which did not interact. 1. 3 Observe and describe the classroom learning environment. A student-centered learning environment is one that is safe, organized, inclusive, equitable, flexible and collaborative. Describe what you observed by addressing the following: Did the teacher… * provide an organized classroom with well-managed space?

Yes, I believe so; the only thing I did observe was that there were not enough textbooks for all the students, so in one class about 4 students always had to share a book. This is not really something that the teacher can control, but it did surprise me. * convey high expectations to students? Somewhat. He always repeated to students that Civics is important, that in order to be good citizens, one must have an understanding of Civics. Also he discussed with them the importance to study and the need to study a lot for success. maintain a climate of openness, inquiry, and fairness? Yes, I believe so. The students were never reprimanded without reason. Also, he did encourage them to answer questions, even if they were wrong. * adapt the environment to accommodate different needs and diversity? Yes, he did try; he would often separate the ESOL students so they could sit in a group with their ESOL aide. Also the teacher had a student who was gifted and he accommodated his needs by assigning him higher-order questions from the book. * model clear oral and written communication skills?

Most times, though I do think at times he could have been even more clear, because sometimes the kids were completely lost as to what chapter they were on, and on what dates things were do. Obviously there is a miscommunication somewhere. 1. 4Observe the teacher use materials in the teaching/learning process. Observe a lesson and describe the process that was used to utilize instructional materials by addressing the following: 1) List the materials used in the lesson. He used a website called “ConnectEd” which is a website associated with the Civics book used.

They also had a workbook that was used. 2) Did the materials enhance the lesson and stimulate interest? To some extent. Some of the kids did not have computers and or Internet access, so they were not able to utilize the “ConnectEd” website. The book is a standard Civics book, so the extent that it can stimulate interest is limited in my opinion. 3) Did the teacher use the materials for demonstration only or were children able to use the materials? Yes, children could use the website at home, if they had Internet access and/or computer, which not all did. ) Would you use materials differently or would you use different material? Explain. I would use different materials as well as more materials. The lessons could be boring since they were mostly lectures and going over questions in the book. With Civics you could use creativity and hold a mock election, or maybe have the class write their own class constitution etc. I would implement those sorts of ideas to try and make the classes more interesting for students. 1. 5 Observe the teacher – learner and learner – leaner interaction.

Mutual respect and good communication between students and teacher are vital to an effective learning environment. Address the following that you observed in your cooperating teacher’s classroom: 1) How did the teacher encourage open communication? He always waited patiently for students to answer the questions and never criticized students if there answer was wrong, he would say something like “No…you are getting there though…” so even if the student was wrong, there were not made to feel bad and this I believe created a sense of comfort and confidence in the classroom for the students. ) Was learner-learner interaction a vital part of the instructional strategy? Not in the large group, however he did have ESOL students that were separated into a small group, and there was a lot of learner-learner interaction in this setting. 3) Did you observe cooperative learning? No, this is not something I observed during this field experience, perhaps I will next semester. 4) Was the teacher more of a facilitator or a lecturer? Explain. I think he was a little of both.

He did seem to lecture a lot, but by the same token, even though he did lecture, he also asked questions of the students every once in a while, which gave them opportunities to do critical thinking and thus, in that sense, he became a facilitator. 1. 6 Read to individual children or groups of children. A. Choose the book recommended by the cooperating teacher. Develop at least one question from the higher order questions (Bloom’s taxonomy) to ask the children. Describe the experience. If you are at a middle or high school setting, you may discuss a current book, article, or perhaps a poem that a student has read.

We read the Bill of Rights during my lesson on the Constitution. One of the higher order questions I asked was: What are some of the rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights and how have these rights affected your life? Explain. 1. 7 Listen to individual children read. Discuss with your cooperating teacher some instructional strategies that you can use to concentrate on vocabulary skills, fluency or comprehension. What were the suggestions? Describe the experience. During one of my visits the class read aloud a chapter in the book. Some students were better readers than others.

The teacher makes a vocabulary list every week, based on the reading. He instructs the students to make vocabulary cards from index cards, with definitions for students to study weekly. Then, on a weekly basis, they have a1 vocabulary quiz. 1. 8 Work with individual or small groups of students to provide a review on previously taught materials. Discuss with your cooperating teacher a review lesson that you could implement with an individual student or a small group of students. With approval, implement the review and reflect on your experience.

I had the opportunity to do this activity with a student that had been out a couple of days because of illness. I went over some of the lessons in the chapter with him that he missed, than the cooperating teacher wanted me to work with the student to answer the questions at the end of the lesson. This went well, since it was just one student, it was nice to have the personal interaction with him. However he was quite shy and I did have to work to get more than a 2-word response from him. 1. 8 Reflect upon the educational theory and philosophy observed in the field based school.

Your textbook describes four philosophies that influence today’s education. The subject-centered philosophies are perennialism and essentialism. The child-centered philosophies are romanticism and progressivism . Have a discussion with your teacher about his/her guiding beliefs of how teaching and learning occur in the classroom and address the following: 1) Which philosophy comes through in the discussion? During our discussion he told me that he is most influenced by the progressivism philosophy. He believes that students students learn best by doing. 2) Which best describes the reality of the classroom that you observed?

In reality, the cooperating teacher seems to lean more toward perennialism or essentialism. Certainly not progressivism because I did not once observe them doing any work on their own, other than answering questions at the end of a chapter reading. He relies most on lecture, and some discussion. 1. 9 Review curriculum guides, teacher manuals, etc. Ask your cooperating teacher for an instructional focus calendar or a teacher manual for you to review. After reviewing the selected material, address the following: 1) What guide, manual or material did you review?

He showed me an IFC (Instructional Focus Calendar) for 8th grade US History, which was not a class I observed, but that he has taught. 2) What information did your teacher give you regarding the use of the material? He explained to me that it outlines for a teacher what their focus should be on every given week. For example, for weeks 2-3 of the school year, the teacher should be focusing instruction on Early American Settlements up to 1625. 3) Did you find the material beneficial? Explain. I believe so, I liked that the IFC, outlines for teacher what benchmarks they should focus on, what topic should be covered and in what order.

I think it helps make the job of a teacher easier in the sense that you always know what you should be covering and what benchmarks you should be focusing on. 1. 10 Select for observation and interview one of the following: music, art, physical education, or exceptional education teacher; guidance counselor; speech pathologist; or other professional staff. I was not allowed by the school to observe any other teacher other than my cooperating teacher, however in order to at least be able to answer the questions, I did observe the art teacher at my daughter’s preschool, she teaches an after-school enrichment art class “Little Chagall”.

After the observation and speaking to the educator, answer the following: 1) How is his/her instructional preparation different from the regular classroom teacher? She decides week by week what they will focus on (her class is held once a week). One week they might cover Picasso and Cubism and another she may do sculptures and the renaissance. She does not have a formal plan per se and is pretty much allowed free reign on what she would like to focus on. She also does not have to focus on benchmarks, nor does she have to worry about covering material for standerdized tests. ) Do the students respond differently in these settings? Absolutely. This class is completely different than my 7th grade class for Civics. Besides the fact that the students are 3 and 4, this is indeed a class where the progessivism philosophy’s influence is seen. Children are encouraged to be creative, think for themselves and to experiment. 3) What methods are used to measure student progress? Less paint on the floor means that progress is being made (Just kidding! ) She says that she mainly focuses not only on their creativity, but also on building their fine motor skills.

Usually after the first year the students are much more adept at holding paint brushes and they even paint more neatly. The objects in the paintings become more recognizeable as the objects that they were painted to be. (I. E. faces will actually start to have more defined features, as opposed to “blobs”). 4) What resources are available to help include special needs students? Her class is quite small, only 5 students. So she is available to give a special needs student more attention if it is needed. 5) Describe the classroom management technique. If the kids are not paying attention she says “1,2,3 eyes on me! She says it works well and helps bring the kids back to focus. 1. 11 If appropriate, attend PTA, faculty, and grade level/department meetings as well as participated in field trips. If you are able to participate in any of the listed activities, address the following: 1) What was the activity or meeting? Faculty Council Meeting 2) List the date, time and duration. 11/8/12, @8:30 AM to 9:20AM 3) What topics were discussed? FCAT, Computer carts, outdated teacher laptops, mistakes when placing students (gifted student was placed in a class for the earning disabled), lack of security (2 security guards for 1200 students). No response for student referrals. 4) Who was in charge of the meeting? Mr. Morrina (cooperating teacher). 5) What did you learn from the experience? I didn’t realize that there were so many problems inside schools. The teachers feel very frustrated, especially with the lack of security, their outdated equipment, and the fact that when they refer a student for bad behavior, nothing is really done about it. 1. 12 Assist in the preparation of bulletin boards, charts, transparencies, PowerPoint presentations and other instructional aids.

Describe and discuss how you assisted the cooperating teacher in any of the above listed items. Discuss what you learned from the experience. . I assisted with making a bulletin board using some projects the kids had done. While of course I learned to be creative and such while doing the bulletin board, what I learned most was the value of doing a bulletin board with the student’s projects. They really enjoyed seeing their work displayed for the world to admire. And that is not what I was expecting to take away from it initially. 1. 13 Provide assistance to the teacher by grading papers, record keeping, taking attendance, etc.

Describe and discussed how you assisted the cooperating teacher in any of the above listed items. Discuss what you learned from the experience. 1. I assisted the teacher with taking attendance. He takes attendance by assigning each student a number, from 1 to however many kids are in the class, in this case 22. Each child calls out their number starting with 1, if there is a missing number, he looks up who the child is and marks them absent. To be frank, it seemed to me much easier just to make a seating chart or just taking roll. With this method, some times the students forgot their numbers and we had to stop and start over.

It just became too much of a time waster. I think it’s more efficient just to quietly check attendance without making a group activity out of it. 1. 15 Know the policy and procedure in an emergency situation. Each school has a list of emergency situations and emergency procedures. Obtain and read a copy of the school's emergency procedures manual. Address the following: 1) Which of the identified emergencies occur most frequently? According to the school’s emergency report, the incidents that occur the most are crime related emergencies, for example, gangs, bullying or fighting. ) Write a brief summary of the recommended procedures for a fire drill. When alarm sounds, teacher immediately direct their class to the nearest exit as indicated in the fire escape route map in the classroom. There is no running or talking while exiting the building. Teachers must take with them the attendance records and the lesson plan records as these are official legal documents indicating the number of students who are present at the time. Furthermore, teachers must be aware of students who are not in the classroom at the time of the alarm and must be able to obtain their whereabuts.

If student is missing, an administrator must be contacted immediately. Classes should remain at the designated wait spot until given the “All clear”. 3) Write a brief summary of at least one other emergency procedure. In the event of a Hurricane watch being announced and students have not been picked up, at least two staff members must remain until all students have been picked up. Students should be taken to areas with no windows, such as hallways. Once the building is empty, custodians should prepare and secure the building.

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