FIELD OBSERVATION AND

REFLECTION
Alexandra Hernandez Olmedo
EDU 203: Intro to Special Education
Professor Constantina Pappas M.Ed., BCBA
 Part 1 (Instruction)
Video Selected: SPE 551 Observation 2
1) Is instruction delivered in small groups, centers, whole groups, individually?
The instructions delivered came in a variety of ways. At the beginning of the instruction being
delivered, the students were gathered as a whole class at the front of the classroom. Here, the
educator went over the lesson and completed a practice exercise with all the students.
Afterwards, the students were directed to return to their tables in order to work in small groups to
complete the rest of the task. Once the students completed their tasks in small group (four to five
students), they returned to the carpet in the front of the class to review and discuss the results of
their completed assignment.
2) Describe the teacher’s teaching style.
The teacher’s teaching style is mainly based on the demonstrative style. The educator retained
her authority in a classroom by maintaining the rules, expectations, and the attention of the
children. She also does not solely rely on verbal lectures. The instructor combines engaging
demonstrative styles by interacting with the students, as well teaching a lesson and delivering in
different styles. In this video, she is teaching her students about sentence structure. The teacher
begins by explaining the assignment and going over an example, while asking students to
participate in answering. For example, in the beginning of the video she asks the students, “What
is that little thing that we look for that tells us when our sentence is over and we need to stop?”
One of the students responds with “A pyramid!” She kindly corrects him, states the right answer,
and why that’s not the correct answer is. Once she finished her example and explanation of the
procedures, she keeps the children’s attention by allowing them to work in group in order to
reconstruct their own sentences to the correct format. The teacher walks around, assisting the
students and asking them questions that further makes them think, if not answer their own
questions. Once all the groups have completed their sentence structure, she allows them present
their achieved outcome in front of the class. These types of interactions and activities is why she
would be described as having a demonstrative teaching style.
3) How does the teacher incorporate the sensory modalities (learning styles)? Give
examples.
Hearing – Students are required to listen to the beginning lecture on sentence structure in order to
actively and effectively participate. The teacher also requires them to listen in order to repeat the
words and sentences being corrected. For example, she would read over a word or the sentence
and ask the children if that sounds correct. The students then responded with a no and chose the
correct answer. At one point, the pupils were asked to raise their hands and give a “thumbs up” if
the sentence sounded correct and “thumbs down” if it didn’t.
Kinetic/Tactile – The tactile aspect of this assignment came in primarily when the children were
assigned into groups. The sentence structure they were given in order to correct, were given in
broken components (words). The pupils were directed to move around (touch the components) to
recreate a fluid sentence structure that made sense in their eyes. This allowed the students to not
just see, but also feel the words being moved around.
Visual – The visual learning style came from the broken components that the teacher displayed
on the board. She didn’t just read the sentence to the students, she showed them – word by word
– what the sentence was and where the errors were located. While she was lecturing, she pointed
at each word, read it out loud, and directed the classroom to repeat the words after her. The
children were able to see what she was trying to explain and demonstrate.
4) Do the students seem engaged in the lesson(s) presented? Please explain.
I do believe the students were very much engaged for a number of different reasons. First, the
students seemed to be responding to the teacher’s questions. Almost all students would reply
(whether the response was correct or incorrect) and eagerly shouted the answer. When the
teacher gave certain directions, such as giving each other high-fives or displaying a “thumbs
up/thumbs down” response to the sentence structure provided on the board, the students were
very responsive and displayed a high level of interaction. Second, the students were paying
attention and repeating after the teacher. If they had been distracted, they more than likely may
not have known what was happening during the present moment, but they all seemed to be
listening, repeating after her, and deliberately showing interest. Lastly, the students displayed a
high level of physical/emotional cues of their engagement. When correct answers were being
given, the students would showcase excitement and pride. They looked at each other with smile
and then returned their attention to the teacher. During comical moments, students laughed and
during serious moments, they discussed. Also, they faced towards the teacher and not away.
They seemed to really understand her procedure and were responsive to her directions.
5) Are there any students isolated or not present/participating in the class? Explain?
There were a very limited amount of times where the teacher needed to grab someone’s attention
by verbally addressing the situation or giving them facial cues, but there was only one student
who seemed to not necessarily participate as much as the other students. He was a student sitting
all the way on the black, wearing a gray and black long-sleeved top (Nelson). He seemed to lose
focus easily, paying attention to the camera behind him or the students in front of him, but had a
difficult time facing forward towards the teacher. There was one point where the special ed
teacher (or teacher’s assistant) needed to stand behind him to make sure he was giving his full
attention to the instructions being provided in front of him, and not the video camera behind.
Also, during the entire video, we as the most fidgety out of all students, moving around,
clapping, moving away from his seat, and facing multiple directions constantly. Lasty, if you
notice, he does not respond as much as the other students or repeat the words, unless he pays
attention to the kids and mimics their responses/actions.
6) Did you see any accommodations or modifications made to the lesson for the student? If
so what were they?
I didn’t notice to much accommodations or modifications. He seemed to work very well and
understand the lesson very well, putting his distractions aside. The only times I notice he
received any extra attention was when he was a bit too fidgety and lost in the back of the
classroom, so the secondary teacher walked over to stand by him so he could focus. There was
one point towards the end of the lesson where he was asked to sit in a different location because
he was being a distraction towards himself and others around him. Also, when the special
education teacher walked around, she assisted his group to correctly connect the words to create
a fluid sentence structure.
 7) How does the teacher handle transitions from subject to subject or activity to activity?
Are the transitions efficient?
With the first transition, the teacher directed the students group by group. She asks one group
(already prearranged based on the color table they usually sit on) to stand up and focus on her.
They repeated the sentence she has prearranged for them and has the students repeat the words
given to them. The students seem to be paying attention, and I believe her voice and authoritative
volume is part of the reason that the students have a well-behaved manner. During the second
transition she asked for their attention by giving directions for the next steps. Again, I believe the
volume of her voice contributed to grabbing the children’s attention. She asked the students to
stand up (group by group) and she had them read their sentence and display it for the whole
class. I do believe the transitions were very effective. The students seemed to respond very well
and were attentive during the presentations (for the most part).
8) List ways the teacher uses “attention getting” commands, word phrases, signals, etc. Are
they effective?
One of the ways that the teacher grabbed the students’ attention was by calling out, “Listening
Ears”. They all turned to her and put their hands behind their ears. This told them it’s time to
listen, not converse. The second way the teacher grabbed their attention, was by calling out
specific names. During the third part of the lesson plan (where the groups were required to
present their outcomes), there were some students who were a bit more disruptive by talking. She
simply called out their names and they seemed to stop speaking to their neighbors and pay
attention. Most of the attention grabbing was heavily placed on small directives such “raising
their thumbs”, “doing the Twisty Turkey”, or following certain instructions.
9) What specific behavior issues does the teacher have to deal with? How does the teacher
handle the behavior issues? Be specific.
The only issues the teacher seemed to need to handle was when the students were being
disruptive by speaking to one another, over one another, and over the teacher. The teacher
handled those behavior issues by grabbing their attention through phrases or name call outs. For
example, during the children’s group presentations, there were two students who were eagerly
speaking to each other. The teacher called out their names and provided a thought-provoking
empathetic point of view by stating, “I bet ya’ll want people to listen to yours, so I want you to
listen to them. Okay?”
10) What positive reinforcements were used if any?
The positive reinforcement portrayed in this class, were mainly based off verbal and physical
feedback. When students answered correctly, behaved in a positive manner, and gave their full
attention to the lesson, she would state praises such as “I am proud of ya’ll”, “Good job!”, or
“Good work!.” For example, when the students presented their reassembled sentence structure,
the teacher provided positive praise for the students, expressing how proud she was of her
classroom. The physical feedback came from the moments where she gave a rounf of applause or
all-around high fives. It seems the students really enjoyed the connection with physical feedback
They seemed to have more energy and feel more self-pride with the classroom high fives.
 11) Are there any policies or procedures that help or hinder instructional time? Please
explaint them and how they help or hinder instructional time.
Her most helpful policy was the listening policy. A handful of times throughout the observation,
the teacher asked for her student’s attention to listen to her instructions, others’ presentations,
and to their peers. It was most definitely a help to instructional time. First, if students pay
attention, it decreases the amount of times the teacher needs to cover the instructions and/or
material, giving more time for the assignment or project being appointed. Teaching students to
listen to each other, helps build a relationship of understanding, support, and respect for each
other. When the students have a level of respect amongst each other, the educator can spend
more time on the task or lesson plan at hand, as oppose to sorting out fights/complications and
straightening out behavioral concerns.
12) What could the teacher have done better to assist the student(s) with learning the
material?
I do not believe there was much for the teacher to do “better”. She utilized so many styles of
learning and tools. She provided positive and critical feedback as reinforcement. The educator
was very engaging and interactive with her students, consistently holding her classroom’s
attention. The students responded very well with the lesson and achieved great results because of
it.
Part 2 (Observing a student)
Video Selected: Small Wonders, Big Gains: The Preschool Autism Classroom
1) What drove you to choose this student?
The student I chose was the young preschooler named Jaime. I chose him because he seemed to
be the youngest student there. Per my understanding, all students with autism are different, but I
wanted to see how he compared in behavior with those student who have been there a bit longer
and/or who were older. He responded well to the instructions of the teacher and was very
progressive throughout the observational video.
2) Explain what the student did during the observation.
During the observation, the student completed several activities and tasks. There were times
where Jaime was expected to participate in whole classroom activities where he would go to the
front of the Smart Board and choose a song from the list of selections. The student did very well
in participating and responded proudly to the praise of the educator. This task was directed to
helping students to communicate, express their wants and needs, and follow directions. At one
point, Jaime was directed to undergo a “trial”, which is a tested format to see if the child can for
instructions. In this assignment, the teacher inputted a peg into a foam board ad touched her
head. She then waited patiently to see his response and whether he would mimic her actions just
as she had asked before. He proudly accomplished the trial and smiled widely as his own
achievement. The trial consists of her instruction, their behavior, and the applied reinforcement. I
noticed that throughout the observational video, Jaime presented so many levels of curiosity and
awareness of his surroundings. He was attracted to the actions of his classmates, and was always
wandering around, trying to understand the what and whys. Jaime was also part of “center time”.
I noticed he did very well in the different areas. When he responded positively correctly, he was
given positive reinforcement through praise and affectionate feedback such as being tickles or
playfully shaken. Because of his age and level of education, he was given very small one step
instructions, such as, “Roll the train.” His responses were being gathered and inputted into his
data notebook. The information gathered in his data notebook, specifies their IEP goals and
objectives, as well as his accomplishments and strides made towards each specified goal. At the
end of the observational video, Jaime was taken to a music class for the first time. He seemed to
really enjoy playing with the practice instruments. He responded well to the music teacher’s
instructions and enjoyed his time.
3) Summarize the lesson given and the student’s responses to the lesson.
The video included many activities in which Jaime took part of, but there were no overall lesson
specified. The activities/lessons that Jaime participated in include word spelling (with a set of
stamps, more than likely for the kinesthetic touch towards learning styles), whole classroom
interaction (as he chose the song for particular activity), arts and craft, tasks based off discrete
trial teaching (where the student was given a task, asked to complete a behavior basked on the
task, and provided reinforcement based on the completion and response to the behavior), and
centers (which consisted of a play area, expressive language area, receptive language area, and a
nonverbal imitation language).
4) Make sure to document ALL behavior in relationship to what was being presented by the
classroom teacher.
The student’s behavior was documented not only through his specified IEP, but also in his own
data notebook, in which the teacher and instructional aids update as he progresses through
different goals and tasks, while acquiring new skills. The progression is shared with parents and
administrator, preparing the teacher for the next IEP meeting and to create the next sensible goals
for the student.
5) Please describe what you discovered about the student’s learning styles, involvement in
class, and his/her educational needs.
This observational video did not go in depth towards the students’ specific educational need, but
based off the observations, it seemed the student learned much easier through kinesthetic/tactile
activities. Jaime really enjoyed to be hands on, whether it was through the centers, arts and
crafts, or discrete trials. With every task given in this video, he accomplished it with ease and
responded positively to the reinforcement provided (which was mainly verbal feedback). There
were certain time where the student did need assistance completing tasks and it came in the form
of physical assistance with the instructional aids. For example, when the student was sitting at
the arts and craft table, he did need assistance applying glue and putting together the various
pieces.
6) What positive reinforcements were used successfully? What behavioral consequences were
used?
It seems most of the positive reinforcements were given through praise. If the student had
accomplished the task perfectly, she would come in with their favorite reinforcer (such as a
favorite toy, praise, or playful behavior). The behavioral consequences came in the form of
feedback from the instructor. It could be a simple shake of her head, signaling “no”, or “hm, hm,
you are not paying attention, try again.” The reinforcements would mirror their behaviors,
individualizing the feedback. The teacher would pair her reinforcement with her words and
language, so they could pair her with the reinforcer. The success of the reinforcements was
widely based on the students, although, the students responded well to the reinforcements. It was
mentioned that all the students were in different schedules of reinforcements and the instructor
needed to maintain a state of flexibility/fluidity.
Part 3 (Summary)
I really enjoyed the observational videos that I have watched this week. Being able to
process different videos allowed me to get a sense of the different strategies of different teachers
(under various circumstances) in which could be utilized both a general and special education
classroomThere is no exact right or wrong answer. All the students, teachers, school, and
instructions may work, but it's all about trial and error because every single student is so
individually different, and that's not including their disability. No two students were the same in
any of the videos. Taking a look at the bigger picture, it really does function on a system.
Whether we’re speaking of the group it requires in order to assist a child (teachers, instructional
assistants, parents, and specialists) or the strategies themselves. I would say that all strategies I
learned within these videos were of recreating a certain systems used and then constantly
repeating it. I also learned the importance of parent involvement. They play a major component
in it all by contributing to their children's everyday tasks, assignments given at home, and their
incorporation to the individualization of the child's indicated program. Who better to provide
information of a child, than their own parent? It was a bit disheartening to hear that they get told,
"Your student can't do this" or "...won't be able to accomplish this." So it is nice to see certain
schools take that extra step to allow and incorporate them through the progressive topics.
Watching the event hosted by the Fruitville Elementary School called Light It Up Blue, I teared
up seeing all the parents together, supporting their children and understanding each other.
Although they all come from different situations and backgrounds, they comprehended the love
and importance they put into their child.
There were so many ideas that could be utilized in a classroom, that I don't even know
where to begin. For example, under the video Small Wonders, Big Gains: The Preschool Autism
Classroom, one of the main strategies used by the teacher was discrete trial teaching. This
strategy was made up of three different components: the teacher's instruction (antecedent), the
student's behavior, and the delivery of the reinforcement (consequence). Through the video
Autism Program @ Fruitville Elementary School, I learned the importance of child
communication and a strategy that could potentially soften the barrier between those not being to
express themselves and those who can clearly communicate their needs and wants. Some schools
use pec boards. Which are boards made out of velcro rows, where students can create sentence
structures to communicate by using picture cutouts that can stick together. It is reusable,
effective/efficient for visual learners, and easy to use for students. Also, this particular school
prioritized the sensory needs of students, so they created so many ways in which students can
release all the energy build-up, such as creating a motor room for students. I believe many
schools could benefit from this particular room. I believe that as the students got a older, in one
of the video displaying secondary education, the students were given a “life skills” room. Here
the students learned basic tasks that they may be able to utilize when they get older in order to
obtain jobs and have certain responsibilities. I believe almost all students could benefit from such
classes. There was so much to learn! I hope to one day be able to incorporate these ideas in a
classroom.