Instruction and learning: I was fortunate enough to be able to observe four full school

days in the same week. With this experience I could observe how the teacher goes

about her lesson and how she develops it over the course of the week while keeping up

with three total rational classes. Mrs. Reagan's home room was an excellent group of

kids and this period of time is different from the other two blocks because these kids use

her classroom as their base where they have their cubbies and return to gather their

things for dismissal. They also begin their day in the classroom eating breakfast and

attending to the morning announcements. Mrs. Regan typically took this time to engage

in conversation and keep things very laxed before jumping into the lesson plan.

However she did follow a lesson plan and an intended order with her teaching. Having

all three groups of kids watch the same video or listen to the same lesson on nouns.

The class responded very well to Mrs. Regan, she made everyone feel welcomed

including myself. Her classroom was very comfortable and the environment was just

friendly. If anyone needed to fill up their water bottles, use the restroom, sharpen their

pencil, or even bounce over to the other classroom to pick up a forgotten item, they

could. This friendly environment and small class size made for an amazing experience

to observe. There was also a group of kids with IEPs who received special intervention

with another instructor who would step into the room for a period of time. Another

professional would periodically take kids out of the class to come with her for speech

and reading instruction. Mrs. Regan would ask me to sit with a group of kids and be

present for any questions or to explain any assignments they might need help on.

Everything she did was with purpose and I admire how she interacted with everyone

including her co workers. There was never a moment where I felt like she didn't want to
be there and this speaks to the quality of her work. Anytime there was a video that was

played in class she gives the kids time to process it and ask their questions freely. I also

noticed how she would ask additional questions to try to get the students to converse

amongst themselves and share their ideas. During my time in the math classroom there

was a little bit of a more outlined approach and direct. Instruction and examples were

given on the board and followed a specific direction. Students were asked to try practice

problems and math seemed to be measured more based on how many questions they

could get done. Once the lesson was taught they were broken out into groups with

some going to the back table with an assistant and some came with myself on the

carpet. Students responded best when given clear instruction and when they were

provided with examples. Mrs Regan would also allow students to come up to the board

to write down some of their answers and give everyone a chance to share which they

liked. Most of her English lessons were very inquisitive and interactive. With the

exception of reading time which is more individualized having kids reading at different

levels.

Diversity: Culturally the demographic of the students in the classroom were mainly white

dominant. There were a few hispanic students who were learning english as their

second language and they received individualized instruction. There were also a few

stduents with disabilities that were in the general education classroom and the one child

that comes to mind was such a joy. He was the most eager and outgoing student out of

the bunch and it was fun to watch him interact and see the excitement he had. He

always tried everything and nobody thought any different of it. Mrs. Regan made it a

point that the kids are used to having him in the classroom and find him to be brilliant
and even hilarious with his humor. When outside at recess or in the lunch room hes

always included and even competitive with the other boys. Aside from the children, the

content also had diversity. The apps used on the iPads, the lessons tought, the stories,

the book covers, the posters. These elements in the classroom were very friendly and

welcoming to all diversities and people of different capabilities.

Role of Parents: I was lucky enough to sit in on a meeting involving a parent of one of

the children in Mrs. Regans class. This experience highlighted the role of the parent and

the teamwork between the student, teacher, parent, and admin really works and how it

can be a beneficial thing. It took all of those moving parts but the goal of the meeting

was to settle wether the child needed to receive special education services and

ultimately make sure she was getting the proper education she needs. The obvious role

of parents being to drop off the kids and to pick them up from school. There was also a

couple of parents who came into the classroom and shared their careers with the class

for career week. These parents went above and beyond and one of the kids dads is a

doctor and he performed an ultrasound on my body in front of the class. Parents were

also responsible for sorting through their take home folders and signing any forms

necessary. Also making sure their kids are attending the after school activities they are

signed up for and to pick them up and the right times.

Current Climate: Right off the bat the classroom had such a comfortable and friendly

feeling to it. The group of kids were beyond welcoming to myself and they all got along

so well, it felt like one big family. I noticed this throughout the entire third grade,

everyone had their own personality and it felt like a big family that supports each other.

The classroom itself was cozy, there were bean bags in the back for reading time and
three groups of desks that each had a big chair for a big person… teacher. Opposed to

a high school classroom where the desks are in rows for standardized testing and all

the materials on the walls are blocked to prevent cheating, this classroom was the

opposite. I made an additional visit to get my fieldwork papers signed and they even

had a christmas tree put out. The kids had their career day worksheet completed and

colored and hung up outside in the hallway. Everything about the classroom, from the

layout to the materials, to the dynamics of the children themselves, felt like a family. This

had such a big impact on the learning environment and the quality of life in the room. It

seemed like each group of kids loved when it was time for Mrs. Regans class, they

knew they were going have fun and get to work.

Theory/Practice: Behaviorism was used throughout the positive reinforcement given

from the teacher. In this case whenever the students or student did well and completed

all their work, then they were praised and given free time to read a book of their choice.

Behaviorism is also focused around memorization and drill techniques that are

supposed to be repetitive and take time and practice but will condition the learner.

Cognitism has more emphasize on the internal learning processes and how the student

has acquisition of the knowledge. Or in what ways does the student learn and process

the information internally. Knowing this the teacher and adjust their lessons depending

on the learner or even group kids based on their cognitive processes that they tend the

show. Constructivism was heavily used with the lesson planning and building upon the

prior or base knowledge. Using vocabulary as an example, the words are demonstrated

and talked about, then a story is read with the vocab words in them, then by the end of

the lesson the student is going to write their own stories using the newly acquired
vocab. Connectivism is prevalent in the classroom with the presence of technology and

how easily accessible information is becoming using the internet and digital resources.

The kids can use their iPads to complete assigned tasks or to play educational games

that encourage learning and competitive nature.

Psychological aspects: Starting with the morning announcements the principal does a

guided breathing practive over zoom that is broadcasted to the classrooms where

students are following along. To start the day with this attention to health and this

routine of practicing helthy mental strategies, kids are learning to become aware of their

internal behaviors. Since the classroom environment is very friendly I noticed the kids

like to overshare and to tattle tail, with that being said if thre are any issues things get

discussed right there on the spot if it is of importance. Everyones thoughts and opinions

are validated and encouraged. Mrs. Regans management style had pace and she kept

everyone on the same page moving forward. She stopped to let the kids share their

questions but every class was help to the same standard and was given the same

tasks. Each class had the same ru