Michael Robles

19 April 2023

Jagerson

EDUG-588

Alternate Classroom Observation

For this assignment, I had the pleasure of observing Mindi Cottriel, an AP Literature

teacher at Costa Mesa High School. I observed two periods of her AP Literature class, which

consisted of direct instruction, collaboration, and independent work. Miss Cottriel applies a

major focus of relationships with students into her daily and long-term outlook as a teacher,

incorporating relatability and positive reinforcement of the material with her students.

In our interview, Miss Cottriel emphasized a strong advocation for student relationships,

especially early on in class. She also emphasized how she focuses on establishing a lot of her

routines, relationships, connections, and priorities with students in the beginning of the year and

being consistent throughout the year. When asked what strategies she relies on to carry her class,

she answered that she focuses heavily on being there for her students. For example, Cottriel said,

“If I can make some bridge between what they like and will experience in life with the

curriculum, that will do much more for them than curriculum.” As an AP Literature teacher, she

is required to align her teaching heavily with what the AP exam will cover, but she prioritizes

students’ responses and lives as students with her routine. For example, in the beginning of every

class, students read a book of their choice for 20 minutes, then answer a question about a poem

or text in their writer’s notebook. Miss Cottriel does the same thing with them: she reads a book

of her choice for 20 minutes, then answers the question herself before asking others to share out
their answers. This strengthens the bond she has with them, and emphasizes the importance of

what she is teaching her students to do. When I asked her about this, she said, “If I don’t sit there

with them and read or write, I’m basically showing them that it is important for them, but not

important enough for me.” I completely agree with what she means, as by reading with them and

not working on anything in the meantime, she is getting them on board with how important what

they are learning is to them.

I found strong differences between my classroom and Miss Cottriel’s, as she teaches late

high school and I teach middle school Reading Intervention. For example, Mindi applies a lot of

student autonomy to her class activities and does not require as much classroom management

strategies because of the consistency and expectations she established early on. In my classroom,

I do not employ as much independent work because my students are in middle school and require

more direction and collaboration in order to succeed. However, seeing how Miss Cottriel

approaches independent work and collaborative instruction, I can see how effective her teaching

is. Students are engaged and she provides students with many opportunities to connect with her

and the material. I have to employ classroom management heavily in my classes, as my students

require more direction and hands-on instruction in order to succeed (based on what I have

assessed throughout the year). Her methods involve being very approachable and connection-

based, which prove to be effective.

Miss Cottriel’s classroom management is also very relationship-based. The students’

desks are in rows, but face the center of the class to appeal to both discussions and lectures. Miss

Cottriel also reminds students to put their phones away (either in their pockets or backpacks).

She only reminds them once because since they are seniors, she wants them to hold

accountability while still taking part in class. When conducting independent work, she allows
students to work outside (there are elevated planters by her classroom) to help reinforce

autonomy. She also employs independent, silent reading at the beginning of class. Since her class

is immediately after lunch, she believes students must get their energy down and having silent

reading where they get to unwind and breathe for a moment helps that. In order to keep students

on track with assignments, she has a whiteboard in the back of the class that has 3 faces: a smiley

face, a monotone face and a sad face. Below them are names of assignments that are either

missing a lot (sad face), missing somewhat (monotone), or completed and turned in (happy face).

These strategies prove to be effective from what I observed because Miss Cottriel’s dynamic

with her students and overall routine employs success in her students. She holds her students

accountable for their own success, and gives them enough preparation, time, and autonomy to

succeed in her class. Since this is an AP Literature class, students’ success is based on their own

learning and decisions to learn.

In one of the class periods I observed, the students started off with reading independently,

with Miss Cottriel doing the same. This provides a sense of community in her classroom,

especially from an observational standpoint. After independent reading, Miss Cottriel displayed a

poem and gave students several prompts to answer. Students then pulled out “Writer’s

Notebooks” and answered one of the questions. The prompts were very generalized, and open

enough for students to reflect on, while having enough direction for them to apply literary

analysis to the poem. Cottriel then guided them into the actual lesson: the differences between

modernism and postmodernism. She gave PowerPoint slides for each (students did not have to

take notes), played videos explaining the differences between the two, and then had students read

two pieces of literature (1 modernist, another postmodernist) and answer questions about them.

Instead of having students take notes on the PowerPoint, she has them listen to her explain the
points, watch videos to further emphasize the information, and apply that information to actual

literature. This helps students to interact with the content more effectively, as they are applying

what they are currently learning to actual literature. I found this agenda to be very engaging

because she applies enough variety to her classes to assure that students are learning at a steady

pace while preparing for the AP exam. Every other day or so students practice something directly

from the exam (an essay question, multiple choice, etc.) and then learn about literature. This adds

enough variety for those who are taking the exam (about 40% of her students) and those who are

not.

This observation has deepened my resolve for wanting to teach high school. Seeing how

Cottriel operates with her students and focuses on success and student autonomy, as well as

giving her students opportunities to succeed in her class inspires me to strive in those grade

levels. Having taught middle school for my student teaching placement, I see many differences

and similarities in Cottriel’s classroom and mine. When I asked Miss Cottriel what beliefs she

held about teaching seniors compared to other grades, she said, “When I approach seniors, they

have to do very adults things, but they’re still kids. Some have jobs, a lot of them are applying to

colleges, but they’re still kids.” She emphasized that she, as a senior teacher, is the last catch and

moment of someone who is truly caring for them. Because of this, she reminds her students that

they are still cared for and are still young, and should not have to overwork themselves. She

makes it a priority to remember where their headspace is compared to other grades, and think

about what is going on in their lives as seniors. I think this is very important because this can be

said for and applied to every grade level. My students all have their own lives. Some come from

divorced parents, were in the foster system, and more. Each has their own story, so it is important
to build a relationship with them and approach them with a positive and open mind, while still

incorporating them into the dynamic of your classroom.

Overall, I had a very enriching experience observing Mindi’s classroom. She has a very

effective approach to connecting with students, and applies the content of her class in a very

natural way. She knows that many students do not care to read, so by taking part in the class

activities with them, she is showing how important the content of the class is to them. One piece

of advice Mindi gave me is to apply as much of a safe environment as possible to the class. She

advocates for not introducing the class syllabus until at least 2 weeks into the school year,

especially for seniors and always approaching it positively. By doing so, she sets her students up

for success and creates opportunities to connect with her more beforehand. She also advised me

to be consistent and have a routine for classes. While it is okay to break routine when needed

naturally, having consistency in the classroom helps students feel safe and know what to expect.

As a future high school teacher, I completely agree. My main drive for teaching is to connect

with my students and build relationships with them. Mindi gave me important and treasurable

advice for doing so, which I will be more than happy to employ into my classroom.