ALVERNO COLLEGE

SUPERVISORS OBSERVATION
OF ED 215-R Field Student
Candidate: Sara Bucholtz

Check One:
1stObservation __X

Assessor: Robin Gleason

2nd Observation __

Date: April 30, 2014

Cooperating Teacher: Ryan Hoffe

Number of Students: 23

School: Brookfield Elementary Elmbrook Schools

Planning and Preparation (AEA: Conceptualization, Diagnosis

Grade: 2

WTS: 1,2,3,4,5,7 DISP: Respect)

Plans instruction that addresses the range of the students stages of literacy
development.
Plans instruction that is coordinated with the prior and future learning
experiences of the students.
Plan includes an introduction that clearly connects the lesson objective with
prior learning experiences.
Materials are well chosen for meeting the lesson objective and the
developmental needs of the students.
Plan reflects use of an effective theoretical model, such as Holdaway,
Cambourne, Vygotsky, etc.
Plan includes the teacher think aloud and questions/prompts to engage the
children in the thinking.
Plan reflects the gradual release of responsibility of the learning to the
students.
Plan includes adaptations for students with specific needs and learning
styles.
A meaningful closure that restates the lesson objective and sets
expectations for the learning concludes planning process.

____Inadequate

____Emerging

__X__Proficient

Subject(s): Writers Workshop

Evidence (Candidate)

You planned the entire writers workshop to focus on your learning objective.
In your Rationale and Strategies for Students of Varying Levels of
Development sections of your plan, you clearly explained the ways this lesson
addressed the range of writers in this classroom. Your plan also showed that
you thought about how this lesson fit in with the prior learning experiences of
the children, to teach the children about word choice through creating a bio
poem. Your plan showed the purposeful use of the theory to plan your
instruction because you incorporated think alouds, turn and talks, and the
gradual release of responsibility in your procedures. Your well detailed think
aloud provided you with a rehearsal for what you would actually say to the
children to teach to your lesson objective. You delineated how you planned to
have the children participate in the thinking before you set them off to do their
own independent writing. Your closure of your mini-lesson in your plan
restated the lesson objective and tied the whole lesson together. Your plan
also articulated how you would transition the children first into the practice part
of the lesson, where they would be doing their independent writing and then
back to the whole group sharing at the end. You clearly planned how many
students would share during the performance part of the lesson and the final
closure, where you restate the lesson objective.
Besides your lesson plan, you also prepared and/or gathered additional
materials to support the learning. You had a copy of your own bio poem on the
SMARTboard to use as your model, and chart paper and marker ready to
write down their thinking. You also had ample copies of the thinking sheet
ready to distribute to the children as they settled in to do their independent
writing. You even had an additional model/bio poem ready if you needed to
provide additional support. It was great that you already had your bio poem
created, Sara. This kept your mini-lesson short, allowing the children the time
they needed for their independent writing.
This was a well-planned lesson, Sara. You worked hard at using feedback to
strengthen this lesson, particularly in helping you to understand your lesson
objective and the thinking required to teach children to choose words to
convey the message of their poems.

____Distinctive

Copyright 2010. Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All rights reserved under U.S., International
and Universal Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in part or whole by any method is prohibited by law.

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School: Brookfield Elementary Elmbrook Schools

Grade: 2

Subject(s): Writers Workshop

Classroom Environment

(AEA: Coordination, Integrative Interaction WTS: 1,2,3,4,5,6

DISP: Respect, Responsibility, Collaboration, Communication)

Clearly communicates expectations and procedures for behavior and

learning experiences.
Focuses student attention by engaging them productively in learning
experiences.
Offers explicit praise to students.
Teachers and students connect to one another by smiling, sharing and
helping.
Respects each child as an individual, addressing the children by name.
Supports students as they work independently and collaboratively.
Manages transitions efficiently.
Effectively uses resources and curriculum materials to develop the ideas
being taught.

____Inadequate

____Emerging

__X__Proficient

Evidence (Candidate and Student)

After your CT started getting the children gathered on the rug for you as they
were entering the room, you took over with a I-2 eyes on me prompt to call the
children together for the mini-lesson. You then clearly set the lesson objective
and kept the focus on the learning throughout. You engaged the children in the
learning using several effective techniques. For example, you called on them by
name and engaged them in turn and talks throughout your mini-lesson. You also
kept the mini-lesson short and focused. You explained and modeled your thinking
to set the learning expectation before you dismissed the children to do their own
writing. You kept your model on the SMARTboard and also passed out the bio
poem templates to the children. The children were given choice in what they
would write about themselves on their bio poems and on the type of paper they
wanted to use on which to write their poem.
When conferring, you bent down to maintain strong eye contact with the children
and provided additional support as needed. You seemed comfortable in this
role. Just make sure to keep an eye on the entire group as you confer by
positioning your body so that you can scan the room frequently to make sure all
are engaged in the learning so that you can refocus as necessary. When you
noticed that some children were using an IPad, you did go over and asked what
they were doing. The children were comfortable in this setting. They chatted
with each other about their writing their choice of words not only with the
children at their tables by also with children sitting at other tables as well. The
children approached you if they had questions and you responded appropriately.
You gave the writers a 5 minute warning for completing their writing and told
them to be ready to share on the carpet. (This was done in sort of a quiet
voiceI wonder if they heard you the first time.) This was again apparent when
you called the children back together for the final share and closure. As the
children gathered back on the rug, you asked the children for their attention. You
limited the sharing to two children and, after restating the lesson objective,
dismissed them to place their writing in their folders and then to go to art. You
created a positive and productive learning environment, Sara. You took full
advantage of incorporating the routines and structures set out by your
cooperating teacher to set this positive learning environment. Think about the
steps you will need to take to establish this type of environment in your own
future classroom. Part of this, as we discussed during our debriefing, is the need
to develop a strong teaching voice. At this point, you seem more comfortable
interacting with the children 1-1 and in small groups than you do when
interacting with the whole group. This will develop as you gain more confidence
in front of the whole group.

____Distinctive

Copyright 2010. Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All rights reserved under U.S., International
and Universal Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in part or whole by any method is prohibited by law.

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Instruction (AEA: Communication, Coordination, Diagnosis,

Integrative Interaction WTS: 1,2,4,5,6,7,10
DISP: Respect, Communication)
Relates learning to students previous learning and/or to students
personal experiences.
Focuses student attention on lesson objectives throughout the lesson.
Demonstrates knowledge of content throughout delivery.
Presents content in developmentally appropriate ways.
Explicitly teaches the lesson objective through modeling the thinking of
the lesson objective using the think aloud approach.
Actively engages students in the thinking and keeps them on task.
Consistently demonstrates enthusiasm.
Models and supports active listening, discussion and thoughtful
responses.
Challenges and supports student thinking by using:
o different types of explanations
o various levels of questioning and/or prompts
o techniques that repeat and/or extend student responses
o a variety of modalities (visual, auditory, kinesthetic)
Adapts plans as needed.
Varies role in instructional process (instructor, facilitator, coach,
audience) in relation to content, purposes of instruction and needs of
learners to gradually release the responsibility of the learning to the
students.
Respects cultural and gender differences.

Evidence (Candidate and Student)

After you took your place on the chair for the mini-lesson part of the workshop,
you greeted the children and clearly stated the lesson objective, making a
connection to prior learning. You explained why the children would be using
descriptive words. (It may have helped to briefly explain what Bio meant at this
point.) You introduced the bio poem structure using the model you projected on
the SMARTboard. You used this model of your own bio poem to set the
expectation for what their bio poems would look like. You read the entire poem
and then talked about your word choice. You did a think aloud about the first four
words and explained aloud why you chose those specific words to describe you.
At one point, you thought aloud about how you also considered other words you
might have used. This was the most powerful part of your lesson as you were
really showing the thinking the children need to do in order to choose just the
right (and deeper) words to describe themselves. The children started to
respond to what you did spontaneously and you quickly called them back
together.
You then engaged the children in the thinking about word choice for a familiar
book character, Tacky. You asked the children to talk with their partners about
words they would use to describe Tacky. When you realized that you left out a
direction, you called the children back together again briefly and asked them to
be able to explain why they chose those words. This was great spontaneous
teaching! You listened into the turn and talks and then called the children back
together again to share their thinking. You did ask the first boy to share his
thinking about why just make sure that all of the children share their thinking.
You recapped your objective after the sharing and gave the children directions
for writing their own bio poems, stating that they could choose from among
several different types of paper. You did a great job of responding and altering
your plan a bit when a child shared his thinking about another descriptive word
for Tacky. You dismissed the children to do their own writing. You then began to
pass out the bio poem template to which the children could refer when writing.
Then, you and your CT settled down to confer with the children. (Your CT
coached children to use deeper, better words than nice, for example. I also
heard him clarifying some of the terminology on the bio poem like relatives.
How could you have incorporated that thinking into your mini-lesson?) I heard
you asking the children to share why they chose specific words. Nice job. The
children were sharing their thinking with each other during this time as well. I
heard them really considering different words to use to describe themselves. (It
was interesting to see how different children chose to write their poems. Some
used a book format, others wrote in their notebooks, while one boy cut out the
template, pasted on another sheet of paper and then wrote.)
You called the children back together and stated that a few children would share
their four words and why they chose them. This was nice. To focus the sharing
time even more, it may have helped for you to restate the lesson objective first.
You did a great job of restating the lesson objective to conclude the lesson. As a
follow-up lesson, the teaching point might focus even more on selecting just the
right word for word choice were these deep, thoughtful words. What other
words to use besides nice or helpful? This would build off of the think aloud
you did in the mini-lesson where you thought about alternative words to express
just the right message for your bio poem.

Copyright 2010. Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All rights reserved under U.S., International
and Universal Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in part or whole by any method is prohibited by law.

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As we discussed in the debriefing, you have all of the components of the

workshop in place, Sara. Developing confidence in your interactions with the
children throughout will strengthen your teaching even more. This will come with
more experience. Working with colleagues to truly understand what you are
teaching will help as well.

____Inadequate

____Emerging

__X__Proficient

____Distinctive

Assessment (AEA: Diagnosis, Integrative Interaction WTS: 1,2,3,7,8,9

DISP: Reflection)
Focuses the students attention on the process of learning rather than
just getting the correct answer or finishing an activity.
Provides specific feedback to learners (oral and/or written).
Assessment relates directly and is appropriate to the lesson objective
and the levels of development of the students.
Students self assess (oral and/or written).
Evidence of student learning is gathered and used along with
additional information/ feedback from lesson to plan future lessons.
Reflects on own performance in relation to student learning and WI
teacher standards and the Alverno Education Abilities.

____Inadequate

____Emerging

__X__Proficient

Evidence (Candidate and Student)

In the Assessment and Practice part of the Procedures part of your plan,
you delineated how you would assess the learning for this lesson through
the use of a checklist. You also attached a copy of this checklist you
planned you use to record your observations. Your checklist indicated that
you were going to record the word choices and the Reasons for word
choices for individual children. (This reasons part is great because it
shows that you were really focused in on the process of the learning rather
than just the product.) You had planned to assess a few students as you
conferred with them during their independent writing time. You followed up
on this plan as you conferred with individual children as they wrote
independently. How did this method of assessment work for you? What
did you find out about student learning? Were there other times during the
entire workshop that provided you with opportunities to assess the
childrens thinking? Do you plan to also use the childrens writing samples
as another form of assessment?
You are still in the process of learning how to reflect on your own
performance/practice in relation to student learning and the WTS and AEA.

____Distinctive

Copyright 2010. Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All rights reserved under U.S., International
and Universal Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in part or whole by any method is prohibited by law.

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Professional Responsibilities (AEA: Communication, Integrative Interaction WTS:

1,2,6,7,9,10 DISP: Respect, Responsibility, Reflection, Collaboration, Communication)
Demonstrates professionalism through timely completion of quality work for field
classroom and seminar.
Demonstrates professionalism through appropriate dress and regular attendance,
arriving on time to the field classroom and seminar.
Relates professionally and effectively with students, cooperating teacher, staff, and
supervisor (including initiating conversation, and problem solving). (Social Interaction at
Level 4)
Completes self -assessments, reflecting on planning and implementing of lessons in
relation to student learning and the theory.
Is willing to give and receive help.
Demonstrates Effective Citizenship by attending a school/parent event and thoughtfully
completing an accompanying log.
Actively participates in seminar by coming prepared and offering ideas, sharing
materials and supporting peers. (Social Interaction at Level 4)

____Inadequate

____Emerging

__X__ Proficient

Evidence (Candidate)
For the most part, Sara, you plan ahead and respect deadlines.
You are growing in your application of your learning in ED 325 and
ED215R to your practice in this field in relation to your log
responses, your lesson plans and your self-assessments. All of
this contributes to your success as a student and to your growth as
a teacher.
In addition, you conduct yourself professionally with your
cooperating teacher and the children in your field classroom. You
take responsibility for communicating your field requirements and
following up with your cooperating teacher.
You relate professionally with your field supervisor, asking for
clarification when needed. Particular strengths are communicating
with your supervisor(s) and seeking out and use of feedback to
strengthen your practice. You participate in seminar discussions,
more easily when prompted or in turn and talks. I really
encourage you to take more initiative in spontaneously sharing
your thinking in the whole group. You have much to offer and
others would benefit from hearing your thinking and learning from
you.

____Distinctive

Additional Comments: This was a fine literacy lesson, Sara. You clearly demonstrated your learning in ED215R and ED 325 as you
implemented the entire writers workshop to teach to your lesson objective. You easily incorporated important aspects of the workshop,
such as the think aloud and turn and talks during the mini-lesson, conferring with individuals during independent writing, and the whole
group share/recap at the end. All the while, you kept the children focused and engaged in the learning by following the procedures and
routines set out by your cooperating teacher. Developing a strong teaching voice is essential in keeping the children focused and
engaged as well.
Teaching second graders how to make appropriate word choices to convey a particular message can be challenging. You got a great
start at this in this lesson as you focused on selecting words to describe themselves. The next step might be to consider alternatives
(synonyms) before settling on just the right word. This is complex thinking. Truly understanding what you are teaching is really
important. Then, figuring out how to teach that thinking using kid language, is the next step. Becoming aware of ourselves as writers
is an important step in this process, and builds our confidence as teachers. Having children share their thinking is critical as well, so
that they, in turn, become aware of and confident in themselves as writers.
I encourage you to continue to strive to analyze your practice in relation to student performance and the theory when completing your
self-assessments, in particular. It has been a pleasure working with you this semester, Sara.
Robin

Overall Performance: ____Inadequate ____Emerging _X__ Proficient ____Distinctive

Copyright 2010. Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All rights reserved under U.S., International
and Universal Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in part or whole by any method is prohibited by law.

ED FORM 708
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