Field Observation

Montserrat Navarro

A) #1​. A Daily Support System for Students

B) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyPUY38blZQ&feature=youtu.be

C) At the Fall-Hamilton school, students have daily check in and check outs with an adult

other than their teachers. The school wants students to track their progress and feel like

they are being supported so they can build self-confidence and succeed. I agree with this

system because it’s not just about children going to school and leaving with an education,

it’s about them also being mentally prepared for hardships. This procedure of daily check

ins allows for students to have a better connection with adults and build trust. Each

student is required to have a two minute check in and work on three goals at a time. I

believe this system is perfect because it’s taking two minutes out of each students day to

help them track their progress and repair any mental exhaustion they’re dealing with.

Children can get easily overwhelmed and lose motivation at a young age so it’s very

important to make them feel as though they are doing great and one bad day isn’t going

to stop them. Once their goals are reached, students are rewarded with prizes or a positive

phone call. It’s a great system that is working for the students.

D) QUESTIONS

a) List three benefits of the Daily Check In/Out System.

b) Would this system work in a school with over 500 students? Explain.
 c) Compare the Daily Check In/Out System with a school that doesn’t follow this

procedure, are students more or less prone to success? Explain.

A) #2​ Creating a Dedicated Space for Reflection

B) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxBv1w4SQyw&feature=youtu.be

C) At Fall-Hamilton, every classroom is equipped with a peace corner. A peace corner is a

comfortable setting for students to relax and calm themselves down when they feel

overwhelmed or angry. The corner contains stuffed animals, comfortable pillows and

toys to help students cope with their emotions. I believe this is a wonderful system

because as the principal, Matthew Portell, said students come to school and don’t leave

everything at the door, they bring it with them. When situations like those occur, it’s a

rewarding feeling to have teachers guide you on how to manage your emotions rather

than ignoring them. The school allows for children to set five minutes aside, or more if

needed, to sit in the corner and relax their feelings. There is also a questionnaire for

students to help understand how they feel and how they can fix it for next time, which I

think is an amazing idea to track progress.

D) QUESTIONS:

a) List three reasons students go to the Peace Corner.

b) Compare the Peace Corner to a time out corner.

c) Identify the three questions on the Peace Corner reflection sheet?

A) #3​ 60-Second Strategy: Participation Cards

B) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L7o-By9rYo&feature=youtu.be

C) Participation cards are a way to have all students’ opinions be displayed during a

discussion. This allows for students to feel as though their opinions matter even if they

don’t raise their hand to participate. By picking a card, you either agree, disagree, or are

unsure of the question. This helps students speak up, even if they’re shy. It also helps

teachers because since a teacher can’t read minds during discussion, she can track the

childrens’ understanding and help them out if they are unsure. I was one of the shy

students in class who knew all the answers to every question, but I was too shy to raise

my hand and speak up. This system would have definitely helped me build confidence

and have made me realize how my opinions matter.

D) QUESTIONS

a) List the three types of Participation cards.

b) Formulate your own type of participation cards, what would they say?

c) Explain how this system benefits students.

A) #4 ​Prioritizing Teacher Self-Care

B) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPtsP7pBobI#action=share

C) At Fall-Hamilton elementary school, not only are children a priority but so are teachers.

The teachers and staff have a self-care strategy called “Tap-in, Tap-out”. This strategy

allows teachers to text a colleague to cover their class to have a quick break. I think that

this technique is so thoughtful because one thing you learn as a teacher that you really

don’t learn in college is how emotionally draining it can be to teach children. A teacher’s

priority is the children and those kids rely on the teacher so it’s important that the teacher

takes care of themself. This method helps reduce stress, teacher burnout and helps build a

support network between the staff. I think it's a wonderful concept that the teachers work

as a team to help one another in order to give students the best service.

D) QUESTIONS

a) List three benefits of the Tap-In/Tap-Out Method.

b) Explain a situation in which a teacher might need a quick break.

c) Discuss why prioritizing a teacher is important at Fall-Hamilton elementary

school.
A) #5.​ How to Keep Your Elementary Students Focused.

B) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3LgOo3r-9Y&feature=youtu.be

C) About 26% of the time elementary students are in class, they are distracted due to other

students, posters, and even from daydreaming. To keep students alert and focused, it’s

important to keep lessons shorter than 15 minutes and to give breaks for students to move

around so they can rest their mind for a little bit. Looking back to when I was in my

elementary classrooms, my eyes would wander at all the colorful posters and all the

decorations on the walls when my teachers would speak because it was more interesting

to lurk at. It’s important as a teacher to minimize visual distractions and to prioritize

leaving students work, instructional support and role models on the walls. Another tip I

learned is to switch up the style of instruction from small-group discussions to self-direct

work. The last tip I learned is to adjust seating arrangements by spreading out talkative

students. Doing this decreases interruption by 66%! It’s amazing how these tips are easy

to do in order to keep students more focused.

D) QUESTIONS

a) Rate the 5 tips given in the video from what you believe is most important to

least. 1 being most important and 5 being least.

b) Explain why the video says to minimize visual distractions.

c) Recall the main reason elementary students get distracted.

A) #6​ Morning Meetings: Building Community in the Classroom

B) https://youtu.be/U6_pLkwaCeY

C) At Highlander Charter School, they make it a mission to have morning meetings with

students. Morning meetings consist of greeting one another in different ways in order to

build a community in the classroom. Doing so makes students feel safe, seen and cared

about. The meeting consists of 15 minutes at the beginning of class. The first thing

students do is greet each other and then they share stories about what they did over the

weekend or any topic that is picked out. After, in order to get a burst of energy for all

students, they play an activity like four-corners or heads up. The last thing they do during

their morning meeting is a schedule review in which the teacher lets students know what

will be happening that day including when their lunch is and what they are learning.

Personally, this is a beautiful tactic for students to get to know each other better, build a

community and help elementary students engage and get better at communication skills.

D) QUESTIONS

a) Compose a short 15-minute schedule of how your morning meeting will happen

in a classroom.

b) Explain why morning meetings are important for students.

c) Recall what students' feedback was for their morning meetings.

A) #7​ 60-Second Strategy: Tag Feedback

B) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM5dp50HWXQ#action=share

C) TAG is a schoolwide critique process which helps students give and receive feedback.

Students begin by selecting a work to critique or swap with a classmate. The teacher then

hands out a TAG worksheet in which they fill out something they liked about the

person’s work, asking a question and giving a positive suggestion. Lastly, students share

their feedback to the front of the class. When I was in elementary school, we worked on

feedback in a similar way when it came to peer review. We would grade each other's

work but I never had to ask questions or personally give another student feedback or

share in class. To me, this is so important because feedback is everywhere, even in

college and in the workforce. It’s important to encourage feedback and not give or take it

so negatively. By sharing in the classroom, it helps students embrace and be confident in

giving and receiving it.

D) QUESTIONS

a) Explain why feedback is important.

b) Identify what ‘TAG’ stands for.

c) Apply the TAG feedback method to this video.

A) #8​ 5 Tips for Decorating Your Classroom

B) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AivIGX6snfU&feature=youtu.be

C) Watching this video goes into detail as the other video I watched in ​How to Keep Your

Elementary Students Focused.​ I learned that cluttered walls can distract students by

impairing their short-term memory and attention. Therefore it’s important to follow 5

tips. The first being to showcase students' work because they will feel more responsible

for their learning. Second, to keep 20-50% of wall space clear and use visual aids on

walls that reinforce lessons. It’s also important to avoid displaying student scores because

it demoralizes for struggling students. Lastly, share role models and questions to inspire

students. It’s important to not over do it, overcrowd and to NOT leave the walls bare.

Having lively and warm walls will help students focus better and focusing allows for

better scores and education in children.

D) QUESTIONS

a) Explain why cluttered walls can distract students.

b) From the tips given, measure what you believe is most important on a wall to

least.

c) Say you have four walls, design a sketch of what your walls would look like for a

third grade classroom.

A) #9 ​60-Second Strategy: Talk Detectives

B) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juR87aAg4vM&feature=youtu.be

C) In Stratford, London, Amy Gaunt, a third grade teacher came up with a strategy to

encourage good discussion. She begins by picking out “detectives” and handing them

discussion guidelines. The talk detectives walk around and listen into pupils' discussions

while filling out their guideline worksheet. The guideline worksheet includes topics that

make a good discussion such as writing down someone who challenged a group member,

or invited someone else to contribute. Lastly, the talk detectives report and reflect on the

findings. The benefits to the Talk Detectives strategy is that it boosts effective speaking

and listening skills in a playful way and children think about their conversations

metacognitively. Discussion is very important in classrooms, especially once students go

to college it’s when it is most critical. Participation grades are always considered in

classrooms, I believe there could be a better way to engage students in discussion but this

is a great technique to have students listen and speak.

D) QUESTIONS

a) On a scale of 1-5, score the Talk Detectives method and explain your score.

b) Examine the benefits of the Talk Detectives method.

c) List some topics in the discussion guidelines worksheet.

#10.​ COOPERATING TEACHER INTERVIEW

by Mrs. Courtney Bushart, 4th grade teacher at Patricia Bendorf E.S.

Interview Question 1:​ What was the primary reason you became a teacher?

The primary reason I became a teacher was to be “in the know” with my own children. I have 2
kids who were, at the time 6 and 1. I wanted to be very involved in their schooling and I thought,
“What better way, than to become a teacher?” Honestly, I was always torn between being a
doctor and being a teacher...I think I’ve always wanted to help people, but blood is not really my
thing.
Interview Question 2:​ What are the main challenges you face as a teacher?

The main challenges I face as a teacher are the major discrepancies in individual knowledge.
Especially this year, I have high and low kids, very few in the middle. Having high class sizes
(30 students), makes it difficult to teach the whole group and the gaps that I’ve seen this year are
very specific to the student. Generally speaking, my low kids lack parental involvement at home
and are only supported at school. Differentiation is key...but it’s tricky to master and do
effectively.

Interview Question 3:​ What is the best part of being a teacher?

The best part about being a teacher is easily the kids! More specifically, seeing the “light bulb”
go off when they finally “get it” is priceless. I live for those moments! Seeing a student gain
confidence and genuinely want to learn is the best feeling!

Interview Question 4:​ How do you determine where students sit in class?

At the beginning of the year we always start off by sitting in alphabetical order by last name.
This is how they learn their # in class and I learn their names. As the year progresses, I move
kids according to their behavior and academic ability. I make sure that my chatty ones are near
my shy ones and my low ones are mixed in with my middles and highs. This way, students are
constantly learning from each other. My seating chart is never permanent. I also let the students
move around to sit on the floor or in other available places when working independently. My
saying is, “You are not glued to your seats.”
Interview Question 5:​ How do you determine the members of any flexible groups?

Determining the members of flexible groups is tricky. First you have to know the students’
strengths and weaknesses. I use formatives and observations to do this. Sometimes if you put all
the lower kids together, they become off-task and little gets accomplished. I have found that if
the whole group is low, there is no challenge or bar to rise to. I have also found that they struggle
when there is no leader and everyone is struggling. I like to mix my flexible groups slightly.
Usually, it looks like low with medium low, medium low with medium, medium with medium
high and medium high with high.

Interview Question 6: ​Beyond standardized testing, what assessments do you use regularly?

The assessments that I use regularly are observational formatives, question and answers in class,
class participation, exit tickets, student self-reflection, quizzes and summative assessments.
Recently we’ve been incorporating more technology, so I monitor their progress and adjust my
instruction as necessary.

Interview Question 7:​ What requirements are placed on you for reporting progress to parents?

The only requirements placed on me for reporting progress to parents regarding student progress
would be progress reports every 3 weeks, sending unsats once a semester and holding
parent/teacher conferences once a year. However, I think most teachers go way beyond the
required. If a student is uncharacteristically struggling, not completing and turning in homework,
or is showing some other concerning academic behavior, we reach out to parents right away. It is
basically entrusted in us, as teachers, that we will do what’s best for students and parents at all
times.

Interview Question 8:​ How often do you interact with a student’s parents in person, and what

type of discussions do you typically have?

How often I interact with parents is mostly based on the students’ struggles or the family needs.
Typically, I interact with parents daily if it is required for a student that needs constant follow up
and observation. Some parents request daily communication regardless of their child’s academic
success. Typically, at the 4th grade level, I like to hold the 4th grader responsible for their
actions, and routinely check in with parents each week, not on a daily basis. Typical discussions
may include, a student is not turning in homework, a student is not doing well in a class or a
student has been chronically absent. I always ask what they need from me to improve the
situation.
Interview Question 9:​ How much grading do you complete on a daily/weekly basis?

Grading is tricky. In the beginning, I took grading everywhere...until I realized that was frowned
upon. No one wants to be holding a meeting and look out to see teachers grading...it shows that
you are unengaged. I learned that other teachers will judge you for this too. Don’t take papers to
meetings and don’t take them to assemblies. I used to have kids “trade and grade” and I do NOT
recommend that either. It took me a while, but best practices is to grade right away, so that you
can give accurate feedback and adjust your instruction for those that are struggling.

Interview Question 10:​ How long does it take to prepare lessons for the day/week?

Lesson Plans are also tricky! I have a love/hate relationship with lesson plans. I understand their
purpose, but I hardly ever follow them and they are hardly ever accurate. I truly feel that your
personality is a strong indicator for the importance of lesson plans. I am an improviser, so I need
lesson plans as a suggestion and a reminder, but I can’t follow them word for word and I’m
hardly where I projected to be at the end of the week. I like them as a guide and a map, but I
detour often because my kiddos aren't robots. They are great blueprints.

Interview Question 11:​ What procedures or strategies do you use to maximize instructional

time?

The procedures and strategies I use to maximize instructional time is basically routine and
procedures. I begin very early, from day one, with procedures and expectations. My
expectations are clear and I tolerate very little wiggle room. I love to do math “stations” or
“rotations” as I call them and I teach them early my expectations. I include fun activities, so they
know if they aren’t following directions, they’ll lose the privilege of Rotations. I’ve heard that
you shouldn’t smile and open up with students until December. I don’t agree, but I do think they
need to respect you. Student’s have mistaken me for a friend and I am quick to change that
vocabulary.

Interview Question 12: ​What positive reinforcement programs have you had success with, and

what behavioral consequences seem most effective with this age group?

This is a loaded question, because depending on the school you are at, you have barriers and
rules. In my old school,it was perfectly fine to reward them with candy or a “Treasure box”...but
at my current school we are not allowed to reward kids extrinsically. We also can not punish for
not completing work or homework, so we, as teachers, are quite stuck. Giving kids a leadership
role does seem to help most kids and positive reinforcements work, but we are at a loss with
those kiddos that aren’t doing the bare minimum…

Interview Question 13:​ How are specialist teachers involved in the instructional planning

process?

I think there is a huge disconnect between the specialist and the gen ed teachers….There are so
many ways that we could help each other out...but we just aren't there yet.

Interview Question 14:​ How often are you evaluated, and what measurement tool is used by the

administration for determining your teaching performance?

I am now observed/evaluated once a year. When I first began my teaching career, I was observed
9 times a year! 9 times. Now, new teachers get 3...I think. Thing is, my room is an open door and
I welcome any and every one who wants to stop by. I make sure that I can justify everything I do
with my kiddos...always.

Interview Question 15:​ What consequences are there if your evaluation is not favorable?

Honestly, I don’t know the consequences if my evaluation is not favorable...I’ve never had that
happen to me. My administrators have always been fair!