Observe and Analyze Classroom instruction
This signature assignment is about observing and analyzing classroom instruction in at least 2 classrooms. The two classrooms that I chose to observed is special education and general education. In this assignment I will give a synopsis of my observation, how the instruction differentiated to meet the needs of identified students, identify strengths and needs based on research based practice, and I will suggest what are the next steps teachers can take to improve their lesson.
The first class that I observed was Mrs. Black's class of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in a special day class. The lesson was observed from 10:30 to 11:00. The content was English language arts on root words. The standard on the board was a fourth grade standard 1.3- use knowledge of root words to determine the meaning of unknown words within a passage. There were two groups going on simultaneously. One group with the teacher and the other group with the aide. Three students were at the listening center. The room is designed in such a way that all students are able to see the board clearly. Small group arrangements are made in the front, back, and side of the room. There is a classroom library with adequate space for multiple children to occupy. There are three computers available to be used at the same
time. Mrs. Black also has many resources and student work covering the walls for the students to utilize. The walls were covered with vocabulary words, calender, rules and consequences, rewards, the alphabets, writing process and lots of students work. The students in the room were very respectful of the rest of the class, teacher and aides in the room. The lesson was on the root words...
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...amazed by the teacher in how well behaved the students are especially having a class of twenty-six students to one teacher.
These two classroom observations gave me the experience to know what to look for in a classroom observation. It was also beneficial to have two different administrator in different occasions accompany me on the observations. I learned a lot from both administrators. They provided me with suggestions and feedbacks in what I observed in the classrooms. This was a great experience.
Works Cited
Marzano, R. J., Waters, T., Mcnulty, B. A., (2005). School Leadership That Works From Research to Results. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Marzano, R. J., (2003), What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Gorton, R. A., & Alston, J. A. (2012). School leadership & administration: Important concepts, case studies, & simulations. (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill. [Kindle Version] (pp. 1-323).
Leading organizations of school administrators offer educators various opportunities to encourage educators to become leaders. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has mandated that leaders be better prepared for the task of providing quality education to all. NCLB “… is forcing all educational stakeholders to face the weakness of contemporary school leadership and is making it impossible to ignore the need for higher quality principals” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.1). It is believed that all educators can be and are leaders in their own right. A leader is a visionary and has the ability to inspire others to aspire to greatness. Of the numerous opportunities that are offered, those that are most beneficial include but are not limited to leadership training programs, professional development, and creating shared leadership opportunities for teachers to become leaders. The systems “…that produce our nation’s principals are complex and interrelated – and governed by the states. Each state establishes licensing, certification and re-certification” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.1). States use the ISLLC standards “…as the framework for preparation programs and in service professional development of school superintendents, principals, and other leaders” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.3).
I was placed in the Title 1 Reading classroom while spending time at Maplehurst Elementary. The environment of the classroom was fun and colorful. She had a large table that would seat 8 students at a time and a large carpet behind her desk for when we did floor work. Everyday when the students arrived to class we had a routine of starting the class off with letter sounds, trick words, and digraphs. It’s good for the students struggling in these specific areas for them to keep practicing and also good reception for some students.
I visited Mrs. Cable’s kindergarten classroom at Conewago elementary school one afternoon and observed a math lesson. Mrs. Cable had an attention-grabbing lesson and did many great things in the thirty minutes I observed her. I have my own personal preferences, just like every teacher, and I do have a few things I would do differently. There are also many ways this observation can be related to the material discussed in First Year Seminar.
Marzano, R. J., Waters, T. & McNulty, B. A. (2005). School Leadership that Works: From Research to Results. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Miller, M. and Hart, C. (1998). Bridging the gap. Thrust for Educational Leadership, Vol. 28 Issue 1, p22.
I observed at St. Eve’s Learning Center location in their preschool room. The center has a naturalistic feel to the environment and all of the staff is friendly and welcoming. The classroom displayed best practices, modern theories and research, and followed expected standards set by their accreditations.
...om environment as a whole. The pupils seemed to thrive under these new techniques for teaching and their motivation for class activities continually grew with my new attitude to teaching. I also found my teaching to be a lot better as a result as I engaged much more with the pupils are our pupil-teacher relationship blossomed around this change in assumption
Marzano, R.J., Waters, T., & McNulty, B.A. (2005). School Leadership that Works: From Research to Results. Alexandria, VA. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
What does leadership mean in the context of educational leadership? Many definitions of leadership in education co-exist, attesting to the complexity and multi-faceted phenomena of the concept (Elwell & Elikofer, 2013). Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood organizational and psychological areas of study. Despite volumes of research and numerous theories, no one theory of leadership emerged as the sole predictor of the success of educational leaders. The current body of knowledge about leadership consists of narrow definitions of leader effectiveness that are disconnected from their context (Latham, 2014). Educational leadership influences and affects every dimension of the educational process from the
The class I visited is comprised of 24 five and six year old children, a lead teacher and a ‘Para-Pro” who assists the teacher and provides support and guidance for the children. Within the classroom itself, there are 6 tables organized in the center of the room in a grid formation. Children have their own workspace at a shared table. Around the perimeter of the room are ‘centers’ where each day, the children work on tasks such as listening, story development, gross and fine motor skills, math, reading and other important skills that are needed to develop socially and academically. In several places on the walls, there are displays or ‘brag boards’ where children can post their work that they feel best represents their efforts. The walls are brightly decorated and are filled with pictures, letters, numbers and other basic elementary school information. It is energizing and interesting without being chaotic or overstimulating.
Being a student for the majority of my life, I had never fully understood why anyone would desire to be a teacher. But after four semesters at College, I am slowly changing my attitude. As an education major, I now attend real classrooms and observe the wonders of how a young child’s mind works. Through my observations in actual class settings, I have also come to realize how delicate a child’s mind is and that the slightest external influence can build or destroy that child. I too want to experience the joy and wonder of seeing a young ingenuous mind finally understanding a new concept. I want to see the student blossom and grow as a result of change and experience, not only in a classroom setting, but also through social interactions with his or her peers.
The teachers were giving the students positive reinforcement throughout the day. In class we talked about how positive reinforcement helps the students to succeed in their classes. Another ah-ha moment was the environment of the classroom. The classroom had no windows at all. In class we talked about what kinds of things are distracting to students with ASD in classrooms and one of those things are the windows in classrooms. The third ah-ha moment was the parent sheets that the teacher and the school provide for the parents. In class we talked about how parent involvement is very important for the students with disabilities. The teacher fills out the parent involvement paper that lets the parents know how the child did in school this week and what their child needs to improve on. The students must give their paper to their parents to look at when they get home. The things that I had learned during my observation experience that I will use in the future for my classroom will be including student learning objectives in the classroom, using positive reinforcement, and get the parents more involved in their child’s education. I will go over with the students what the student learning objectives are in the beginning of class so the students will know what they will be doing and what they will be learning throughout the day. I also will use positive
I attended a second grade class at Smallville Elementary on February 22, 2014; the class began promptly at 0855. There are 26 children in this second grade class. There are 15 male students and 11 female students. The student diversity is 2 Hispanics, 1 African-American, 1 East Indian, and 1 New Zealander (White but with an extreme accent). Three children were left-handed.
My time observing was not only educational for me on how to become the teacher I desire to be, but as well as how to better myself as a student and improve my own learning. I observed some wonderful learning tools that I have since implemented into my own education to develop my own learning.