Field Observation Project

Circle one age group/grade: 3-4       4-5       K         1st       2nd

Section 1.  Physical Environment (this section may include pictures)   
Documentation/examples (15 points)
A.  Equipment (general listing of large items) 
1. Indoors- Teachers desk and chair, board, bulletin boards, washing hands station, bathroom, and
children size (tables, chairs, shelves, cubbies, and play kitchen)
2. Outdoors- Children-sized playground, tricycles, scooter boards, hula-hoops, and a plastic bowling
set.                          
B.  Room arrangement (drawing of classroom arrangement)                                          

C. Centers (include type of each center and materials available to children within that center)
1. Art- Colored construction paper, crayons, markers, glue, scissors, alphabet letters, colorful tape,
cotton balls, books, peel and stick cubes, collage materials, craft wooden sticks, pipe stems, and
recycled art materials.
2. Science- books, microscope, microscope slides, binoculars, scale, magnifying glass, flashlights,
measuring cups, life science picture puzzles, magnetics, human brain display, plant specimen set,
insect specimen set, scorpion and spider specimen set, rocks and fossils specimen set, life cycle
specimen set, sea life specimen set, and safety goggles.
 3. Math- Math puzzles, blocks, magna titles, number match ups, stamp and see, large and colorful
dominos, shape puzzles, coloring worksheets with numbers, number cards, pattern exploration, large
dice, pattern blocks, unfix cubes, tangrams, counting bears, and attribute blocks.
4. Reading/writing – Variety of books, coloring sheets, alphabet coloring sheets, colored pencils,
crayons, markers, writing pads, alphabet stencils, number stencils, alphabet flashcards, and number
flashcards.
5. Pretend Play- Doctor uniform, chef uniform, firefighter uniform, construction worker uniform, hats,
mirror, mini kitchen, stove, fridge, sink, coffee maker, blender, mixer, food scale, cooking books,
plates, cups, spoon, forks, condiments, housekeeping tools, cash register, 911 phone, baby dolls,
cloth for baby dolls, baby accessories, crib for baby, blankets, purses, wallets, and post office
postage stamps.
*D.  EVALUATION (15 points)
As soon as you walk into Mrs. Wallace’s classroom, you go through a little hallway. On the left side of
the hallway there is a bathroom with a curtain for both boys and girls to use. Across from the bathroom
is where all the backpack cubbies are placed. In each cubby there is a picture of a student and their name
written underneath. As soon as you step foot into the actual classroom you get a feeling of warmth. Mrs.
Wallace’s room has a welcome, safe, and a caring environment. She ensures to create a caring
community of learning by including every child home culture. On one bulletin board Mrs. Wallace has a
picture of a glove/flags and, around it, there are pictures of each student with their families. “By
showing that each child’s family, culture and language are valued, teachers promote children’s positive
self-identity and help them to respect and appreciate similarities and differences among people”
(ADP152). The other classroom walls are white and she has things on the walls, like classroom rules,
problem solving rules, children’s work, children’s class photos, pictures of the alphabet letters and
numbers. Unfortunately, her classroom is not big enough and there is hardly any room to walk by in
between stations. Despite the size, the classroom is very well organized and everything is labeled.
Mrs. Wallace has five different centers, including the art, reading/writing, math, science and pretend
play centers. Each center has child sized tables and chairs. “…designed classroom environments and
materials that demonstrate respect for children. Montessori innovations included child sized tables and
other furnishings, and materials arranged on open shelves for easy access by children” (BredeKamp50).
Around each center, there are shelves with little cubbies inside. That is where all of their materials are
placed in for children to access them easily. The maximum capacity for every center is four. Every
cubby with materials in it is labeled. The biggest center and the most used is the dramatic play where
they have a children sized kitchen with a large variety of different items, as well as a dress up section.
“When preschool experiences at age 4 included lots of child initiated, free choice activities support by a
variety of equipment and materials-the kind of environment that support play-these children had better
cognitive (and language) performances…” (ADP131-132).
In Mrs. Wallace’s classroom there is a door that leads to the outside area. The preschool department has
their own separate outside area. It has a large grass area for children to run and play freely. The
playground is child sized and there is adult supervision at all times. They have a black top section right
next to the playground where students use tricycles, scooter boards, hula-hoops, and the plastic bowling
set.                         
Section 2.  Curriculum (make appointment with teacher for interview)
Documentation/Examples (15 points)
A.  Philosophy 
                   1.  Teacher's philosophy (interview of teacher)

Mrs. Wallace:

“My philosophy of education is that every child in my classroom is uniquely different and are
capable to reach their full potential with the appropriate environment where they can develop
physically, emotionally, and socially. In this transition, I will ensure that I get to know every
child individually and I will provide a safe and family-oriented atmosphere to help my students
express themselves and embrace the differences of others. I will focus on a curriculum that will
benefit every single one of my students by utilizing different learning styles and teaching
strategies.”

    2.  Center/School philosophy (copy of statement)

Early Childhood Department Philosophy:

The philosophy of the early childhood department is to use researched based practices to instill in
young children the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values necessary to achieve academically, by
creating positive and engaging environments which provide meaningful, developmentally
appropriate learning opportunities and promote independence and problem solving.

B.  Goals (What children are expected to learn)

1. Program goals (should be found in parent handbook)

All Early Childhood Program activities are aligned with the Nevada Pre-K Content Standards
and developmentally appropriate practices for young children. Experiences are designed to give
student’s ample time and opportunity to build their own knowledge through meaningful
activities. The teacher also plans activities to promote learning through typical play experiences
which are rich in language and literacy and include strategies to build social skills,
language and thinking, reading, math, science, art and social studies. Hands-on activities are
provided throughout the day. The daily schedule is planned to allow adequate time for learning
center activities, large group, small group, and individual activities to promote a high level of
engagement and learning in all academic areas. The parent and family are a very important part
of the program. Parents are required to participate in the program by volunteering
monthly and attending parent trainings and activities. When parents are actively involved with
their child’s learning experiences, the child can excel in school and a valuable relationship is
developed between the school and the family.
                     2.  Classroom goals (interview of teacher)          
           Mrs. Wallace:
“My Pre-K classroom goal is for all of my students to reach their full potential and develop
themselves physically, emotionally, and socially. I would love for them to learn how to write
their name by the end of the school year.”
C.  Lesson Plans (A copy of at least one week’s plans)
D.  Individualization (interview of teacher concerning planning for individual children's needs/learning
styles/etc.)
Mrs. Wallace:
“I teach two Pre-K classes with an approximate amount of 20 students in each class. I have an
assistant, Mrs. Ramirez, and she is extremely helpful. We both work together to get to know every
student individually. I created a log sheet and in that sheet I write down every student’s name, interest,
needs, and abilities. I create my lesson based on their interests and I build on what they already know
through supportive interactions. I give every student a goal to reach and once they master it, they move
on to the next one. I use this chart to better assist my students because I tend to seek help from their
families.”

*E.  EVALUATION (15 points)

Mrs. Wallace is an effective teacher because “she has a variety of strategies at the ready and remains
flexible and observant so that she can determine which to use” (DAP36). Some of the strategies she used
throughout the whole day were acknowledgement, encouragement, giving specific feedback, modeling,
demonstrations, creating and adding challenges, asking questions, proving information, and giving
assistance.
Day of observation:
Class started at 8:00 AM. Mrs. Wallace and Mrs. Ramirez greeted every child with a hug. She
asked students how they were feeling. Mrs. Wallace said, “I feel very happy to be here today. How are
you feeling?” Students started shouting different things. She began her class with a writing activity in
which students had to trace their name on a worksheet. She went around the room, observing each child
individually, asking them questions and encouraging them. According the Developmentally Appropriate
Practice book, children’s proper written formation of letters should not be a priority; such an emphasis
would be likely to make early writing less meaningful and more frustrating to young children (DAP148).
This likely explains why this activity only lasted about 8 minutes.
They then moved on to the next activity, which was center playtime. Every child got the
opportunity to play wherever they wanted. However, there was a rule of only 4 students per center. I
thought this activity was great because “teachers also promote positive approaches to learning when they
rely on small-group activities, which appear more likely to engage children…” (DAP126). As children
were playing, Mrs. Wallace and Mrs. Ramirez were observing each student and asking them questions,
encouraging, and demonstrating. They kept rotating every 10 minutes. If a student didn’t want to rotate,
they were allowed to stay where they were. Mrs. Wallace had a student volunteer to walk around the
room with a poster that said 5 minutes. Apparently, the students knew they were running out of time and
they were about to move on to the next activity. Mrs. Ramirez played a “clean up” song.
After students finished cleaning up, they gathered up in a circle. Mrs. Wallace told them that
today they were going to learn about friction. She asked students if they knew what friction was, and
they all replied no. She told them that friction made things rubbing against each other harder to move.
To demonstrate friction, she prepared two rectangular plastic containers: one containing dry sand and a
plastic car, and the other containing wet sand and a plastic car. The students passed the containers
around and tried moving the car in the sand. Mrs. Wallace asked them which container had more friction
and to explain why. While she was teaching, most of the students seemed very engaged. I thought this
activity was quick and well planned: “Teachers connect curriculum topics with children’s interests and
with what children already know and can do” (DAP162). She was scaffolding on student’s prior
knowledge to a container, square, water, and sand.
After finalizing the lesson, Mrs. Wallace told them it was time to have breakfast. They got into a
single file line and left to the cafeteria. As they were walking to the cafeteria, Mrs. Wallace and Mrs.
Ramirez sang the rules song. After eating, they went to recess and played for 30 minutes. During recess,
there was a big incident with a student and Mrs. Wallace did not handle it appropriately in the end. “As
conflicts occur, teachers can support children’s development of strategies to resolve conflicts- not by
taking over, but by modeling and discussing ideas about how to work things out in a positive way”
(DAP128). Mrs. Wallace did the total opposite in this situation. A child misbehaved by throwing some
plastic bowling pins all over the playground. Mrs. Wallace first told him to take a deep breath and to
cool off. After the child came back from cooling off, however, he did not want to put the bowling pins
back when she told him to do so, and so he started throwing them again. Mrs. Wallace told the child to
stop, but he wouldn’t. He ran off and Mrs. Wallace took her phone out and started recoding him. Of
course, the child’s behavior just got worse afterwards.
All of the students then went back to the classroom and got to play in the centers for about 30
minutes. Lastly, they went into their reading circle and Mrs. Wallace read a story to them. Once Mrs.
Wallace was done reading, Mrs. Ramirez played the “goodbye” song and everyone gave each other hugs
and walked out to the black top where their parents were waiting to pick them up.
Section 3.  Guidance (3 specific objective observations for each)
Documentation/Examples (15 points)
            A.  Routines (specific objective observations of routines being carried out)
                1. The “follow the rules” song at the beginning of class and while they were leaving the room.
                2. The “clean up song” every time they would leave the play centers.
B.  Classroom rules (specific objective observations of posted rules as and/or how children are
reminded of rules)
   1. Classroom Rules
1) We keep ourselves safe
2) We keep our friends safe
3) We keep our materials safe
These rules are posted behind the entrance door. The teacher reminds the students of these rules
throughout the school day. Mrs. Wallace and Mrs. Ramirez sang this song in the beginning of the
classroom and as they were leaving their classroom to go to the cafeteria.
2. Outside Rules
1) Up the climber, one at a time.
2) Ride the bike and scooters clockwise.
3) Bouncy balls on the grass.
4) Help clean up the toys during clean up time.
5) Try not to run on the black top.
6) Park the bike and scooters by the wall.
7) Down the slide on your bottom, feet first.
These rules are posted on the door that leads to the playground. The rules have a picture right next
to them, which makes it easier for students to understand them. They are typically reminded while
they are outside playing.
C.  Teacher Interactions (Specific objective observations of how teacher interacts with children
during regular activities/lessons)
     1. Misbehavior- a student grabbed a block, threw it across the room, and hit one of his
classmates on her back and she started crying. Mrs. Wallace spoke to him, sang the
follow the rules song, and she asked him, “Do you know how it feels to get hit?” He replied,
“Yes, it hurts.” Mrs. Wallace said, “Lets make sure you don’t do that again because you
can hurt yourself and others.”
      2. Co-constructing- a student was building a tower with blocks on a beanbag and it kept
falling apart. Mrs. Wallace noticed he was getting frustrated and she approached him to
ask him what was wrong. He told Mrs. Wallace he was trying to build a big tower, but that it
kept falling to the ground. Mrs. Wallace knew the reason for this was that he didn’t have a flat
surface. She kept going back and forth, asking him questions, until he finally realized he
needed a flat surface.
     3. Acknowledgement/Encouragement - when students were following directions, Mrs. Wallace and
Mrs. Ramirez would give them positive attention.
D.  Guidance Techniques   (Specific objective observations of the teacher utilizing guidance)
              1. Consequences- The boy in the playground that threw the bowling pins all over the floor had to
pick them up and put them away.
              2. Choices- Mrs. Wallace was teaching her friction lesson and a student couldn’t keep his hands to
himself. She told him to move seats or to go play in the math center. He chose the math
center and he was playing very quietly.
             3.    Positive Behavior- when students are behaving well, Mrs. Wallace and Mrs. Ramirez thank them
and let them know they are proud of them.
  *E.  EVALUATION (15 points)
As I observed Mrs. Wallace’s classroom, I was impressed by her routines. When Mrs. Ramirez
played the clean up song, the students knew exactly what to do. Once they were done cleaning they just
waited for further instructions. Her classroom rules are very simple, however using the word “safe” is a
phase not recommended to use in preschool, because it can be irrelevant to children (Westfall). I would
suggest that Mrs. Wallace change her rules to we take care of ourselves, we take care of our friends, and
we take care of our school. Her outside rules are long, but the images next to them do help students
understand them.
During center “playtime,” she went around interacting with children individually. The first
student she spoke to was the one that threw a block across the room and hit a girl in her back. I believe
she handled it appropriately because she “Help[ed] children develop empathy by reminding them of
their own similar feelings or experiences” (ECE207) by asking him, “Do you know how it feels to get
hit?” The second student she approached was having a difficult time keeping his tower from falling to
the ground. Once Mrs. Wallace saw that he was getting frustrated, she supported him appropriately by
applying the co-construction teaching technique. She kept going back and forth, asking him open-ended
questions, until he finally understood that he needed a flat surface. The third student she approached was
the one who was misbehaving by throwing the bowling pins. She noticed he was following directions
and behaving appropriately, so she gave him positive feedback.
Mrs. Wallace used an effective teaching and intervention strategy, which was “providing a space
for ‘time away’ where the child can calm down before the situation escalates”(ECE215). After the child
started throwing pins on the playground, she told him to take a deep breath and asked him if he needed
time to cool off. He agreed, and after he came back Mrs. Wallace explained how he needed to get all the
bowling pins back where they belong. The second student was being disruptive during her friction
lesson and she told him to move seats or to go play in the math center. He chose the math center, and he
was playing very quietly. I think she handled that situation very well because she can’t force him to be
interested in the lesson, yet he chose to go to the math center and he was working productively. Lastly, a
student was behaving well and Mrs. Ramirez told him, “You are making me feel very happy because
you are behaving good! Thank you.” He gave her a huge smile and a high five and then continued
working. “When teachers use positive feedback and encouragement related to children’s appropriate
behavior, children feel supported and are more likely to continue to behave acceptably”(ECE204).