Running head: FIELD OBSERVATION 1

Field Observation: Spring 2017

Yesenia Lara
FIELD OBSERVATION 2

Abstract

I have had the privilege to do my field observation with a first grade class at Cunningham

Elementary school here in Las Vegas, Nevada. The participating teacher has been teaching for 9

years, and this is her fourth year teaching the first grade. The experience with her classroom has

continued to inspire me to keep on pursuing a teaching career. This course has allowed me to

view kids with special needs in a much broader light. The classroom I was able to observe had an

awesome group of kids who are all on different levels of physical, emotional, philosophical,

social and intellectual needs. Being able to observe individual kids and also as a group has been

unforgettable. I hope to continue to help my participating teacher and take in all of the one on

one experience as possible.

FIELD OBSERVATION 3

Field Observation: Spring 2017

The classroom I assisted can be best described as a “least restrictive environment,” as

Gargiulo states that it is, “not a place, but a concept where kids with disabilities are taught just as

kids without a disability” (71). The environment that was within those four walls was

exceptional and very welcoming. There was no exclusion of anyone at any time during the day,

and the teacher shows no bias nor favoritism. The way she seats her students are in complete

random by the drawing of “number sticks” and will sporadically reassign them during the school

year. This gives all the students a fair chance to interact with different classmates and keep that

balance of equality. She recreates the concept of a least restrictive environment into an actual

place, a classroom. The teacher works independently. She does not have an assistant, and I am

not sure if she has specialist come in and help. As the book addresses that sometimes a full-time

inclusion for some children does not work. There are some children who require one-on-one

assistance during the day. I could see one of her new students begin to get extremely frustrated

and would become very angry. In this case the teacher needed to call on the vice principal, and

he takes the student to his office where there he uses a different method to address the student’s

behavior. This is where the child as an individual’s needs are not being met, when he needs to be

taken out of the classroom for misbehavior, he misses out on valuable lesson time. There is

difficulty and the teacher is left with two ultimatums, one: use everyone’s valuable lesson time to

address one child’s behavior? Or, two: call the office and have someone else come in to assist

you? I have found that it is nearly impossible to have a properly functioning classroom which

identifies as “least restrictive” when there is only one teacher with a class of twenty or more

students. My cooperating teacher taught special education for about five years, prior to teaching
FIELD OBSERVATION 4

in a “regular” classroom. Her experience makes her more than an ideal candidate, but to acquire

super powers and be able to serve over twenty kids at individual levels is impossible. Overall, on

a good day the classroom functions exceptionally and the flow during the day is great!

Assistive technology devices according to Gargioulo are, “any piece of equipment, or

product system that increases, maintains or improves functional capabilities” (132). During my

short time assisting her class, the kids used technology approximately 65% of the day. This

includes the smart board (both in class and during their specials), they used iPads for their

Reading Ranger tests, and the desktops for both Reading Rangers and imagine learning. There

were three desktops, one iPad, and one smart board. She also would use a microphone to amplify

her voice (not scream) when the kids got a little loud, which I found to be very useful. When

going over a lesson, she would use the smart board and projector to show exactly how to do an

assignment. In doing this simple but very useful technique she could reach out to the entire

classroom and assisted only the students who needed additional assistance. During Reading

Ranger’s time the kids would have “conference” with either a “grandma,” the teacher, or myself,

and when all “word attacks” were addressed the kids would hop on to the iPad, or one of the

desktops to do their comprehension tests. Without the iPad and desktops, the teacher would have

to do these tests individually and verbally/manually, which would take up over the entire day to

do twenty or more kids. Our book notes the issues with assistive technology, one of them being,

“cost” (Gargiulo 146) and for the particular school where I did my observation, it is. There are

twenty or more kids present each day inside her classroom, there are three desktops, and the kids

sometimes have to wait until the following day to complete their tests, which slows down their

lesson and pauses their graduation eta’s. Luckily, my cooperating teacher has created a “flow”

where the student’s take turns and do not “hog” the computers. They take the test and move on to
FIELD OBSERVATION 5

coloring in their stars and then moving their avatars on the smart board to their grade and pick up

their next book. I am very glad to have been able to observe her class. I was truly moved by the

way her class is so focused and motivated during every lesson.

Overall, my experience with a first-grade classroom was awesome! I could observe a

kindergarten classroom for a previous course I took and the difference was immense. The way

you are able to organize your day and create your own “classroom” environment was something

that I am truly looking forward to.

FIELD OBSERVATION 6

Reference

Gargiulo, R. M. (2015). Special education in contemporary society: An introduction to

exceptionality. Los Angeles [etc.: Sage.