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Field Report # 1

Ezra Pleimann

Tarrant County College

EDUC-1301

Professor Sikes

16 September, 2023
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Field Report # 1

I have decided to perform my student observation hours at the “Birdville Independent

School District.” My first four observation hours were spent at Birdville High School. I worked

with Mrs. Alica Kauffman. Mrs. Kauffman was one of Birdville High School’s precalculus

teachers. The classes I observed were in the 11th grade.

In Mrs. Kauffman’s classroom, the students were arranged in a generic grid. The desks

are set up in groups of two following the grid so that every student has a partner at any given

time. Mrs. Kauffman’s classroom is decorated with a sports theme, including many team flags

and posters on the wall. There were no computers in the classroom, but Birdville High School

does issue Chromebooks to students who need them. A big bulletin board was hanging on the

left wall, and Mrs. Kauffman would hang keywords and concepts from the class on it. Multiple

anchor charts hung on the walls of the classroom that depicted student behavior expectations,

class rules, and school work requirements. Mrs. Kauffman had two big front desks in the top

right corner of her class. Despite the large desk space, Mrs. Kauffman spent the vast majority of

class time up and about while teaching. There was very little multimedia aside from the

traditional projector displaying her PowerPoint presentation. The lighting in the class was fairly

soft and easy on the eyes.

Mrs. Kauffman had many student expectations posted around the room. The student

expectations included respectful listening during lectures, no phones, good treatment of fellow

students, no phones out during lectures and school work, and always try your best. The rules

seem to be solely made by Mrs. Kauffman, but she was very willing to work around said rules if

required. There were multiple times throughout her classes in which Mrs. Kauffman would

confiscate a student's phone if they had it out at an inappropriate time. Mrs. Kauffman would
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often call out good work or helpful behavior during class as a form of reward for the student's

hard work.

Mrs. Kauffman was very good at monitoring student behavior. Mrs. Kauffman would

routinely walk around the room to catch phones out at the wrong time, students who needed help

with their assignments, students who were too busy talking to focus on their school work, and

any other behavioral issues that would arrive in class. As a form of reward for the kids who paid

attention during the lecture and worked hard to complete their work, Mrs. Kauffman would let

students play on their phones in class once their in-class assignments were complete. Multiple

times during her classes, Mrs. Kauffman would remove phones from disruptive students,

separate students who were talking or making a disruption, and openly call out students who

were not paying attention. Mrs. Kauffman very much used verbal strategies of reinforcement,

such as calling out students during class and correcting others for all the students to see.

Mrs. Kauffman’s class was definitely one of routine. Each of Mrs. Kauffman’s classes

began with her asking her students something they were happy about or something they were

looking forward to. Mrs. Kauffman would also partake in this ritual, talking about her weekend

plans or previous school games. At the end of each class, Mrs. Kauffman has a period of time set

aside for the students to relax, play on their phones, work on extra school work, or spend it

however they please. While some assignments are turned in digitally, Mrs. Kauffman’s written

assignments are turned in via a small black paper tray on the left side of the room. Mrs.

Kauffman has a small kart at the front of the class which contains a manilla folder for each

student and these folders are where students turn in and store their tests. A small table is kept by

the classroom door where Mrs. Kauffman displays the paperwork packets and calculators for the

students to use during class. Instructions for what each student needs for the class are displayed
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by the projector before the start of the class. Once the students started their class work, Mrs.

Kauffman would walk around the class and help any student who she could see needed it or any

student who asked. The only procedure for exiting the class was that the students needed to stay

in their sets up until two minutes before the bell rang.

My overall impression of the class was one of genuine care and community. Each student

seemed to have their own personal relationship with Mrs. Kauffman. The students were very

respectful of Mrs. Kauffman as was she to the students. My main thought as I left the class was

that I wanted to make a class environment as friendly and inviting as Mrs. Kauffman's. I

definitely learned the most about how to interact with students in a friendly way and make the

subjects seem inviting. I very much plan to do some variation of Mrs. Kauffman’s

beginning-of-class routine.