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Samira Abdallah

March 26, 2020

Prof. Sullivan

Behavior Observation

Observing a Real Elementary Level Classroom

From March 3rd to the 13th, I spent around four hours a day with third and fourth graders

at Mount Arlington Public School. My observation was held in Miss Hahn’s fourth grade class

and Miss Brinkofski’s third grade class in that order. I spent my hours watching closely at how

the teachers get information to students (verbally, visually, etc), seeing how they manage a

classroom, how classroom behavior is taught, and how to deal with unexpected situations that

affect everyone in the building. My 18 hours at Mount Arlington were surreal since I went to this

school and I was seeing how the classrooms I once sat in were like from a teacher’s perspective.

There were moments from my 18 hours that stuck out the most to me that I will keep note on as I

grow to be a teacher myself.

For both the 3rd and 4th grade classrooms, the rooms were decorated to the brim with

colorful, bright, educational posters that appealed to the proper age group. In Miss Hahn’s 4th

grade classroom, there were posters that were mainly geared towards math and ELA, but mainly

math. Each poster had descriptions of different topics -- how to use multiplication signs, an

alphabet of math terms, the important elements of story writing, the Word of the Day, etc. Oddly

enough, there were no science or social studies posters. The students did learn these subjects

while I was there, but I wonder why there were no posters about either subject. Other than that,

the room was covered in under the sea themes; for example, the students had a job board which
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was a giant octopus holding eight different fish with students' names on them. At the front of the

room were two lights that you push to turn on and off. One light had a ‘B’ on it, the other had a

‘G’ on it. The students would press the light to indicate to the teacher that a student was out of

the room. I found this incredibly inventive and smart, and a great way to keep track of missing

students, too! In Miss Brinkofski’s 3rd grade classroom, it was just as vibrant and colorful. The

3rd grade room was covered in Disney posters and motivational quotes. The students had a pin

board where they placed their pin on the behavior they are performing that was covered in

Disney, the birthday list was Disney themed, Mickey Mouse was everywhere in the room,

Disney movies were referenced left and right, etc. I had never seen a classroom that was Disney

themed but it was an amazing change from the usual classroom posters I see all the time. Disney

is a huge part of every child’s life and having Disney in a place of learning is a good comfort for

kids and a way to get them excited. I fell in love with how bright, friendly, and comfortable her

classroom is and am a little envious I did not get to experience a classroom like that when I was

in 3rd grade. Those students are pretty lucky!

My first few days were spent with Miss Hahn’s 4th grade class. Throughout my time, I

noticed Miss Hahn doing all she can to get students involved in their learning and being active in

the classroom. She did the usual things of picking on different students when asking questions

and having many of the questions she asked be open ended to get students to answer to test their

knowledge. Even with little things, Miss Hahn involved students in practically every made

decision and discussion of theirs. For example, students were playing a classroom, kid friendly

version of Kahoot named Nearpod. The game asked students what theme they wanted the game

to be (himalayas or space themed) and Miss Hahn let students choose what they wanted more.
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There was also a moment where Miss Hahn was changing job roles assigned to each student.

Students were allowed to choose which jobs they would do to help Miss Hahn around the

classroom during the year. Dire choice or not, I still appreciated how she involved her students in

choice making. For big or little things, it matters to students when they get a say in the flow of a

lesson and get to choose the direction the class goes in or what students can do on a daily basis to

help their teacher. A student wants to feel in control as much as the teacher does and with the

years of experience Miss Hahn has, she has that idea down pat.

During a math lesson, Miss Hahn has to run out of the classroom to take care of

something that cannot be done in the room. While she is gone, she assigned math problems to

students to keep them busy and on task. Miss Hahn asked another teacher to watch the students

while they worked, but the teacher had not come in directly after Miss Hahn left (more like a

minute or so after), so all the students turned to me. As a joke, the students all said, “It looks like

you’re our new substitute!” and began to get out of their seats and talk to me. I had to be a bit

authoritative and remind the students that they have math work to take care of while Miss Hahn

is out. I told students if they do not get their work done, Miss Hahn will be upset with them and

possibly take recess away. With that, students all raced back to their seats and began working.

Just when students sat down, the teacher Miss Hahn asked to watch her class had entered the

room. Even though it was a small taste of managing students in a live classroom, it was

intimidating telling students to get back to work. I did what was right and helped the students get

back on track when they fell off said track which did make me feel good. And to my surprise, the

students listened to me despite not even being a real teacher yet. I felt respected and as if I was
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doing the right thing in helping them and Miss Hahn. Again, it was a sliver of what I will have to

do in the future, but nonetheless it was a good experience for me.

Throughout the entire time I was with Miss Hahn’s class, I noticed she had a token

system for her class when they behaved. Everytime students are following directions and

working quietly and productively in the classroom, Miss Hahn drops a handful of marbles into a

glass jar and compliments the class on their great work. Students always react positively when

marbles are added to the jar. I had connected the dots and realized this is Miss Hahn rewarding

students to reinforce the idea that when they focus and work cooperatively, it can earn them

desired things. I assumed when the jar is full of marbles, students earn an extra hour of recess

when the time is right. Teaching this lesson to students who are in 4th grade and younger helps

students realize how working hard, nine times out of ten, will get them rewards and motivate

students to continue to work hard to continue to receive rewards.

When students are sent to work by themselves or in groups, Miss Hahn always had a

form of checking student’s learning and checking how students are on task. Earlier, I mentioned

how she would let students answer questions very often during lessons. Well, Miss Hahn had

other ways she would check how much a student is paying attention. During Social Studies,

students would always watch CNN 10 -- 10 minute news reports that would break down

worldwide news down to a comprehension level of a child. Every news report, students were

asked to write down three to four facts to make sure they are paying attention and understanding

what they are watching/learning about. Also, whenever students are sent to work by themselves,

Miss Hahn would walk around the room and look over the work of each student to make sure

they are doing the work correctly. If they are off task or do not get the work, Miss Hahn would
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always stop, help them, and help them get on the right track. As an educator, it is important to

always make sure a student is actually learning and taking in the information being taught to

them. There are always the select students who think they can get away with not paying attention

and not being called on by the teacher to check their learning. If a teacher is always doing

something to check the learning progress of their students whether it be worksheets, walking

around to check their progress, calling on them in class, or other means of checking progress, it

will make a student realize there will always be a way to see if they are working as assigned. I

remember always being nervous when teachers would watch me work over my shoulder, but I

now realize this is exactly what they were doing: checking on my progress to make sure I am

okay. Some teachers fail to check on a student’s learning which can lead said student to feeling

lost, confused, and as if the teacher is not caring for their education. It is vital for a teacher to be

on task as much as their students or else they will both be led to failure in the end.

One afternoon during math class, there was an issue revolving around two students that

was not being properly resolved. At first, the situation was subtle and the two students dropped it

as soon as the math class began. But once Miss Hahn sent the students to work on their own, the

issue became more apparent and halted the two students from working properly -- they were both

ignoring each other as well as the directions given. Seeing the issue, Miss Hahn talked to each

student individually to get both of their sides of the story. Once hearing them both out, Miss

Hahn figured out a solution to the situation where she had the two students talk it out with her

present. After a few moments, the students apologized to each other and Miss Hahn reminded the

students that if they ever have an issue like this, they should talk it out with each other or get a

teacher involved to help come to a proper conclusion. After the situation was cleaned up, the two
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students sat together and worked on the math problems they were assigned. I remember in

Behavior Observation, our class had talked about dealing with situations and problems that arise

with students, their behavior, etc. Seeing the topic we had talked about play out in front of me

was interesting because I was able to get a first hand experience at dealing with student problems

and resolving them. Like we talked about in class, Miss Hahn pulled each student aside and came

to a conclusion on what would be the best way to fix the disagreement. Even though this was a

minor argument that was resolved easily, seeing it in real-time happening in a real classroom

helped put into perspective how a teacher plays an important role within circumstances such as

this. It will be nerve wracking having to deal with something like this one day in my own

classroom, but for now I know what the proper steps are to take care of it.

March 13, 2020 was my last day of observation at Mount Arlington Public School due to

the school closing for the rest of the academic year due to COVID-19. I spent the day with Miss

Brinkofski and her third grade class. At first, I thought I was entering a normal day in a 3rd grade

classroom with typical lesson plans panning out, but I was in for a whole new, unexpected ride.

Due to COVID-19, every class in the building was in a panic due to having to teach

students what long distance learning is and how it would work, including Miss Brinkofski’s

class. Even though the first lesson of the day, math, went as normal, everything from then on out

was teaching students what school would be like online. The students were given Chromebook

laptops so they could follow along with Miss Brinkofski on the smart board to learn how to get

around Google Classroom, how to contact their teacher for help, where to find the proper

assignments, etc. Being 3rd graders, the students did goof off time and time again and did not

fully pay attention. Because of this, Miss Brinkofski would constantly call back the student’s
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attention and help zone them back into what is important to learn. Students were also told to grab

anything important they needed out of their desks because they would not be returning to the

classroom for a long period of time. Students were all grabbing worksheets, folders, writing

utensils, and so on and tossed them into their backpacks. There were also administrators walking

in and out of Miss Brinkofski’s classroom, dropping off important paperwork and folders of

worksheets for the students to take home. It was easy to tell that Miss Brinkofski and her class

were both overwhelmed with the amount of work that was to be done and the amount of

information that needed to be remembered. The class felt so fast because of how much

information was being taken in in such a little amount of time. In Behavior Observation, I

remember our class talked about having to manage and deal with situations that are unexpected.

COVID-19 is the most unexpected event that can occur during a school year and it is a lot to

handle having to translate in-person classroom activities onto an online service so students can

learn at home. At the end of my day with the 3rd graders, I could tell Miss Brinkofski was

exhausted and had a long day from trying to instruct her class. It was a nerve wracking process to

see how a teacher can hold it together when the school year is falling apart. I hope to never have

to deal with a situation like this in my years of being an educator, but of course I would have to

be ready to face the unexpected. As scary as a situation this all was, I still took in every moment

of it because I was experiencing a teacher dealing with the unexpected in real time. I took note

on how Miss Brinkofski consistently kept her class on track, kept her cool, explained things

thoroughly to students, reminded them over and over to bring home what is important, and so on.

I was fascinated to see it all unfold, to say the least.

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Seeing a school I attended from behind the teacher’s desk was an experience unlike any

other, not to mention spending 17 of those hours with the 4th grade teacher I had growing up.

Getting to witness things such as dealing with student problems, real-time classroom

management with the age group I plan to teach, experiencing how teachers and a school district

react to unexpected situations, seeing how a teacher controls a classroom and cares for their

students, and so on opened my eyes. Observing classrooms helps me realize this is a profession I

rightfully majored in and want to go into in the near future, especially for art education.

Observations also teach the lessons I learn in Behavior Observation and place them in a real-time

classroom so I can see real teachers dealing with these real problems. I enjoyed my time

observing at Mount Arlington Public School and look forward to the day I can step foot in my

own classroom and be the teachers I always watch from afar.

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Interview with Miss Hahn

What/who inspired you to be a teacher?

Hahn​ - In college I majored in Fashion Merchandising with a Minor in Public Relations, but my

best friend's mother (who was a teacher herself) always told me she thought I would be a great

teacher. After working for a fashion PR firm in the city for about a year, I realized I wasn't

fulfilled with what I was doing. It didn't seem meaningful or authentic. So after some reflection I

went back to get my teaching certification and embark on my teaching career.

Have you always taught the grade you’re currently teaching? If not, what was the first

grade you taught?

Hahn​ - I taught first grade during my student teaching experience and then third grade for one

year as a maternity leave. For the past fourteen years, I have been in fourth grade at Mount

Arlington.

What was your first year of teaching like? Was it nerve wracking?

Hahn​ - My first year of teaching was definitely a learning experience. It was stressful and I was

constantly second guessing if what I was doing was right. I spent so much time putting together

lessons and trying to make sure that everything was perfect for the students. Over time I have

realized that there is no such thing as a perfect lesson and it is the connection with the students

that is the most important.

What’s the best/most rewarding part about teaching? Hardest part?

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Hahn​ - The most rewarding part of teaching is making connections with students. Getting to

know them as individuals and seeing them light up at the "aha" moment as a new concept or skill

finally connects. During this time of virtual learning, I've realized how much I miss seeing and

interacting with the individual students on a daily basis. To be able to see them grow and succeed

is the best part. There are different aspects that are hard. When a student is struggling with issues

at home and you can't help them or fix them can be heartbreaking. Those are things that wear on

your heart and keep you up at night. Dealing with the pressures put on you by standardized

testing and constantly changing teacher evaluation programs, and state requirements that must be

met is definitely difficult, as well. I find the need to always trying to keep a balance and focus on

the actual needs of my kids, regardless of what their test score says.

How do you prepare for each day of class?

Hahn​ - At this point in my career my lesson planning is done pretty quickly on a weekly basis.

However, I do try to keep things fresh and exciting for the students, and for myself. So I spend

time each week looking at new and updated resources, and using formative assessments to guide

my daily lessons. To prepare each day I just make sure that I have previewed what I'm teaching

that day and that I have all the necessary materials, technology, and resources ready to go before

the day starts. For some teachers they do this in the morning before the day starts, but for myself

I try to leave my classroom each day with everything set and ready to go for the next day, so I

can come in each morning and hit the ground running.

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What would you say is the most important thing for me to know in order to be an effective

classroom teacher?

Hahn​ - I think you always need to remember that what you say and how you say it matters to the

kids. They notice your facial expressions, your tone of voice, and your overall attitude. They

respond to vibes that many times you don't realize you are giving off. It's important to be aware

of those things. Let your students know that you care about them and that you support them no

matter what. Set clear and fair expectations for students, and if they know you care, they will

strive to meet them.

Is there any advice you can offer me and other students entering the teaching profession?

Hahn​ - Don't give up! There are many pressures put on us on a daily basis. Do the best you can,

put your heart and effort into your work even when it gets hard. Don't get discouraged by

teacher's room gossip and the cliques that can emerge amongst teachers. Keep your focus on the

students and meeting their needs above all else.