EDUC 450 SCHOOL OF EDUCATION CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY

OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES FORM – DAY ONE

Candidate: __Haley Craven____ Mentor Teacher:_Mrs. Reed__________________

Date: __1-23-18____ Content Area: __ELA_____ Lesson Topic: __Then and Now_________

DOMAIN 2: INSTRUCTION
APS 4: ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING HIGH EXPECTATION FOR LEARNERS
An effective teacher establishes, clearly communicates and maintains appropriate expectations for student learning, participation
and responsibility.
A. What did the teacher expect the students to learn from the lesson? How did the teacher convey the purpose and
relevance of the lesson to the students? In what ways did the students demonstrate that they understood what the
teacher expected for them to learn?
Mrs. Reed expected her students to learn the concept of then and now. She showed her students the
purpose and relevance of then and now by reading her students a “big” book about then and now.
This book showed great pictures on each of the pages. The pages were set up to where they showed
2 similar scenes. The back “then” on the 1st page with an explanation on that bottom of that page.
The following page would show the similar scene to the first but instead it would be how that activity
is done “now”. While reading the book, Mrs. Reed would stop and talk about each set of pictures and
they would compare them and point out how things changed. Her students demonstrated what they
understood by taking part in the discussions after each set of pictures. When doing this, the students
were listing the changes that they saw between the two pictures, creating an understanding of how
times were different from back then to now.

B. What did the teacher expect the students to do during and after the lesson? How did the teacher convey expectations
for student participation and for accomplishing related assignments and tasks? In what ways did the students
demonstrate that they understood what the teacher expected them to do?
During the lesson, she expected them to listen closely and pay attention to the story as well as
participate in the discussions after each set of pictures. After the book, Mrs. Reed completed a then
and now story on the board with the class’ help. The first sentence explains the When, Who, Where.
The second is What two things happen. And third is How did it make you feel. The students are used
to the format for their story and pictures and know what they need to cover in the story because
they have been doing it a few weeks. After they create a story on the board together about then and
now, Students were asked to complete a then and now story for homework. On this, students will have three
sentences with a pictures for each sentence that tells their own then and now story.
C. How did the teacher help the students take ownership of the learning (e.g., by making the learning relevant to the
students, using scaffolding, providing opportunities for students to engage in self-assessment and reflection, teaching
compensatory strategies when necessary)?
She helped them take ownership of their learning by having them create their very own then and
now stories for homework.
 EDUC 450 SCHOOL OF EDUCATION CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY

OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES FORM – DAY TWO

Candidate: __Haley Craven_________ Mentor Teacher:__Mrs. Reed______________

Date: _1-24-18__ Content Area: _ELA____ Lesson Topic: __Writing a Story______________

APS 5: USING INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES TO FACILITATE LEARNING

An effective teacher promotes student learning through the effective use of appropriate instructional strategies.

A. What instructional strategies did the teacher use during the lesson?
During the beginning of the lesson, Mrs. Reed used Think-Pair-Share. All the students were sitting on
the carpet and she asked them to turn to their elbow neighbor to discuss the types of punctuation
that can be used for sentences.
Later in the lesson, she broke the students up into their table groups (frogs, squirrels, turtles, owls)
so they could work in cooperative learning groups to write their own stories.

B. In what ways did the teacher vary the instructional strategies during the lesson, and why?
She varied her instructional strategies she used by using think-pair-share and cooperative learning
groups. She used T-P-S 1st which was two students thinking about her questions and then she called
on different groups to share what they discussed. Next, she used cooperative learning so students
could work in larger groups with their classmates. Both of her instructional strategies revolved
around student interaction and her students did great, they work well with each other.

C. What evidence suggests that the instructional strategies were –or were not- effective in terms of promoting student
learning and success?
The students stories completed successfully were evidence that the instructional strategies were
successful.
 EDUC 450 SCHOOL OF EDUCATION CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY

OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES FORM – DAY THREE

Candidate: __Haley Craven_______ Mentor Teacher:__Mrs. Reed_______________

Date: __1-25-18__ Content Area: __ELA___ Lesson Topic: ____Drawing Conclusions__________

APS 6: PROVIDING CONTENT FOR LEARNERS

An effective teacher possesses a thorough knowledge and understanding of the discipline so that he or she is able to provide the
appropriate content for the learner.

A. What evidence suggests that the teacher did-or did not- have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content?
If content errors were made, did the teacher recognize and correct them?
Mrs. Reed did have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content. This could be seen
because her students were successfully able to learn/understand what “drawing conclusions”
meant. Even more evidence is shown when students are successful when asked to “draw
conclusions” about what will happen in a book based on its cover.

B. What was the content of the lesson, and how did the content relate to the learners and their learning?
The content of the lesson was about drawing conclusions in general. It was taught by Mrs. Reed
introducing a big book to the class. She only told them the title and showed them the cover picture.
Next, the students were asked to draw conclusions about what they thought the book was going to
be about based on the cover and title. Mrs. Reed did a great job relating the idea of what drawing
conclusions means to her students. She gave numerous different examples to help them see how to
draw conclusions. Some of her examples went like this, “If I see the floor is wet… I can draw a
conclusion that someone spilled their drink.” Doing examples like that and having students see
different real life experiences that she drew conclusions about will help students to better
understand how to draw their own conclusions.

C. How did the teacher organize and present the content in order to make it clear and meaningful to the students and to
promote higher levels of knowledge, skills and/or cognitive processing?
She organized and presented the content about drawing conclusions in a very clear and organized
way making sure not to give her students too much info to fast or before they were ready. She
started with an easy example of how to draw a conclusion about something. After a few examples of
drawing conclusions, she showed her students a new big book they were going to read, told them
the title, and had students draw their own conclusions about what was going to happen in the story
based on the cover and title.
 EDUC 450 SCHOOL OF EDUCATION CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY

OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES FORM – DAY FOUR

Candidate: __Haley Craven__________ Mentor Teacher:____Mrs. Reed______________

Date: _1-26-18___ Content Area: _Math___ Lesson Topic: ____2 Fewer___________

APS 7: MONITORING, ASSESSING AND ENHANCING LEARNING

An effective teacher maintains a constant awareness of student performance throughout the lesson in order to guide instruction
and provide appropriate feedback.

A. How did the teacher monitor student engagement, understanding and performance during the lesson?
To monitor student engagement, understanding, and performance during the lesson on “2 fewer”
Mrs. Reed asks her students questions as she goes through her introduction of the lesson on
envision math. She paused after each segment to ask questions and check for understanding. After
the video ended she reviewed it and asked questions to again reassure understanding before she
passed out the worksheets. Another way she monitored as well as increased student engagement,
understanding, and performance during this lesson was by using the math cubes as a manipulative
for them. The students were not only getting a hands on experience, but they were also more
interested in the lesson because of the manipulatives.

B. What adjustments, if any, did the teacher make during the lesson, and why?
Once she introduced the counting cubes she made an adjustment because of students playing,
dropping, and doing unnecessary things with them with they weren’t supposed to. So, she adjusted
and told her students that they were to keep those cubes in a line of 10, flat on their table in front of
their nametags. They had specific instructions to not stack them, nor mess with them when there
wasn’t a problem to solve with them.

C. What types of instructional feedback did the teacher provide to the students, and how effective was the feedback in
terms of enhancing student learning?
Mrs. Reed provided her students with feedback after each problem. Her feedback was verbal. She
would read each problem for the students along with the answers, work through it with them
scaffolding them towards the answer and how to solve it. She walked around and monitored how
her students were working out the problems using their cubes. So, she gave effective feedback to
students when she saw needed so her students could always be pointed in the right direction.
 EDUC 450 SCHOOL OF EDUCATION CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY

OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES FORM – DAY FIVE

Candidate: ____Haley Craven________ Mentor Teacher:_____Mrs. Reed______________

Date: ___1-29-18___ Content Area: ______________ Lesson Topic: _________________________________

DOMAIN 3: ENVIRONMENT
APS 8: MAINTAINING AN ENVIRONMENT THAT PROMOTES LEARNING
An effective teacher creates and maintains a classroom environment that encourages and supports student learning.

A. Describe the physical environment of the classroom.

The classroom is organized with lots of different sized cubbies and cubes. The students seating is 4
different round tables- 2 on left side of room, 2 on right. There is a large area rug in between the 2
sides of tables. The rug is centered in front of the smartboard which is at the front of the room. In
the right front corner of the room is Mrs. Reed’s desk. Down the rest of that wall is student’s cubbies
and book bag spot. At the end of that is Mrs. Gadsen’s desk. Across the room from her desk is 3
yellow tables put together, one round and the other two rectangle. These tables are used for
breakfast and snack time as well as working with small groups. Along this wall is a sink and counter
top with some shelving. The back of the classroom is a large cube system with many different things
stored. There is also tall locking cabinets and the class library. The walls and bulletin board are
covered with student work and posters.

B. What type of affective climate did the teacher create for the students?
Mrs. Reed created an affective climate for her students by making her room feel safe, welcoming
and comfortable to students. She makes sure her room isn’t too cold on those chilly days so students
can be warm enough to take their heavy coats off for easier moving around. On the other hand, she
makes sure it doesn’t get too hot also. Her main concern is having students feel comfortable. She
also has welcoming areas for student to sit and read away from their desk. This makes students feel
like they have their own little space in the class besides their seat and book bag cube area.

C. In what ways did the teacher establish a culture of learning in the classroom (e.g., by facilitating inquisitiveness,
motivating to learn, cooperation, teamwork)?
Mrs. Reed established a culture of learning in the classroom that motivated students to learn more
and pay attention by having a positive reward system for students when they answered certain
questions right or did anything else good during the day. For a brief explanation of her system; every
student has their name displayed on the back wall with a small cup above it. On Mrs. Gadsen’s desk
she has a cup taped to the edge with little cut pieces of plastic straws labeled “logs”. So, when
students do something good or get a question right Mrs. Reed tells them to “go put a log on their
fire”. The students love to get to put logs on their fires so they are all paying attention and trying
their hardest all the time.
 APS 9: MANAGING THE CLASSROOM
An effective teacher maximizes instructional time by efficiently managing student behavior, instructional routines and materials
and essential non-instructional tasks.

A. What were the teacher’s expectations for student behavior? In what ways did the students demonstrate that they
understood the ways in which they were expected to behave? How did the teacher address inappropriate student
behaviors, if any, during the lesson?
Mrs. Reed set her expectations for student behavior and made sure her students were very clear of
them during the first few weeks of school. Since she placed such emphasis on her expectations then
and even still goes over them today her students are very clear of them and usually follow them. Her
students demonstrate the ways in which she expects them to behave daily. From right when they
enter the room in the mornings, they know what is to be done; come in happy and greet everyone
with good morning, put your folder away in the basket before anything else, then book bags and
heavy coats go up and students come to the breakfast area and pick what they want. From there on
out, they know what is to be done. If a student’s goes to do the wrong thing, Mrs. Reed will stop
them and ask questions about what they should be doing to guide them in the right direction of
what it is they should be doing. Usually their classmates will also try to help them to do the right
thing also.

B. In what ways did the teacher maximize-or fail to maximize- instructional time?
She maximizes instructional time by always having any materials that will be used during the lesson
ready for her students. Time is also maximized because she always over plans and has work for those
students who finish early.

C. How did the teacher manage non-instructional routines and transitions between activities and/or classes?
She easily manages routines and transitions by keeping her students grouped by their tables. There
are the frogs, squirrels, turtles, an owls. When they are going to bathroom, coming to the rug, lining
up, ect all is done by calling on one group at a time.