Field Observation reflection paper PDF

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Taylor Oakes Field observation reflection paper Due: 12/3/21 When we were first assigned our field observations, I wanted to make sure I used this assignment as an opportunity to figure out what kind of teacher I want to be and learn some techniques straight from professionals to help me through my journey to become a teacher. I observed a 2nd and 6th grade class at my old elementary school. While in high school I observed these same two teachers. But this was before covid so now I got to observe how these same teachers have changed from their normal lessons, to adapt them to online friendly courses. These classrooms were in person, but they do assignments primarily on computers. These two teachers have made a huge impact on my choices to continue my path to be a teacher and which grades I would be interested in. During my field observations, I started my day in a second-grade classroom. I have mostly been interested in upper elementary, but I wanted to try lower elementary to see if it would suit me better. I was nervous about this class because I have caught myself getting very frustrated with younger children and I always thought that I didn’t have the patience to work with young children in the classroom. After going to Mrs. Nowinskis classroom, my perspective was completely changes. This was the best behaved second grade class I have ever seen. They were all very attentive to the teacher during instruction and asking questions to show that they were engaged. Usually when guests come into the classroom, the students become distracted because there is someone new to the class. Even I was nervous that I would be a distraction from the teacher and cause a disturbance, but the students quickly asked me a couple questions about myself and when I told them that they could ask me whatever they wanted to at recess, they switched their focus back to the lesson. One negative thing that I noticed was that when the teacher wasn’t looking at recess, the students would not follow the rules and would try to get away with things. Once the teacher noticed and said something they would stop. There was one child that had slight autism and had some difficulties understanding the lesson at times. When he was having trouble, he asked for help every time and Mrs. Nowinski was always willing to help him in any way. There were a couple other children that didn’t have an ideal family life, but if Mrs. Nowinski noticed something was off with them, she would pull them aside and see what they needed to help them through the day. In the past I have observed this 6th grade teacher and his class before so I kind of knew what the students were going to be like. They were at an age where the girls are more mature than the boys and this was very noticeable right when I walked into the classroom. The boys had a harder time paying attention when the teacher was going through an assignment while the girls were very attentive. I was very surprised that most of the students were quiet while the teacher was talking but there were some that were just fidgeting with their hands and feet. Most of the girls were taller than the boys. Since the children are the oldest in the school, Mr. Weir has higher expectations for his students since they are the example for the school. As of right now I am looking at teaching 6th grade, so I made sure to pay very close attention to how Mr. Weir teaches his class and how he gains respect from his students. I do get nervous that my first year in the classroom will be extra difficult since I will still be young, and my students may not respect me unless I learn how to manage them properly. Mr. Weir gave me lots of good tips for this including to make relationships with the students, so they know when to have fun and when to be serious.

Taylor Oakes Field observation reflection paper Due: 12/3/21 When it came to instruction, these two teachers have different styles of teaching their students. There is also a huge difference since they are different age groups. In Mrs. Nowinksis class, she would start the lesson by showing the assignment on the projector and going through s couple questions with them, so they can see exactly how its done. Then she gives them a couple of minutes to let them do the problems on their own. After that short time, she brings their attention back to her and goes through the problems with them and asks if they are confused or need help with something. She also makes it clear that if they need help, they can ask her or they can look at old assignments or their books for help. When I was their age, I never wanted to ask for help so it was great to see that the younger generation is not afraid to ask the teacher for help. In Mr. Weirs class, the students are older and are also being taught how to do more independent work. Mr. Weir starts the class with a quick lecture and moves into independent work time for the students. He would tell his students to ask a friend for help and if they are still confused, to come to his desk and ask him for help. I think this teaches the students to attempt to take responsibility for their own learning by finding the answer for themselves and if they cannot, then ask for help. Another thing I noticed that Mr. Weir does in his classroom while lecturing is he tries to connect what they are learning to something in the real world that they would understand. I have personally found this to be very helpful for myself when it comes to learning so I can imagine this helps the students to find real life connections on their own. One thing that both teachers do during instruction that I would like to take with me to my future is making sure my students understand that they can always ask me for help, and I will help them to the best of my ability. They make sure they have an open line of communication with their students, and I think that is a very admirable quality for a teacher to have. I noticed a big difference between the two classrooms and their flow. In Mrs. Nowinskis class, she had the walls covered with different posters and shelves covered with books. It seemed to be very kid friendly and felt very welcoming to everyone who entered. While teaching a lesson it seemed that she had a poster on the wall for every lesson. Whether it was math, science, or English, she had poster on the wall for the students to reference if they were stuck on something or needed help. The students’ desks were set up in groupings of about 4-5 children per table. The teachers’ desk was at the front of the classroom with a crescent shaped table next to it for the students to come to and sit at if they need help with an assignment. This is another thing that the children learned at day one that will help throughout the year. The teacher gave them a reference to this table so that if they ever needed help, they knew to come to that table. In Mr. Weirs class, he had lots of posters with inspirational quotes on them and posters that the class collaborated on in the beginning of the year of what their expectations were for everyone for the year. This room may have had less posters and it was a little less busy, but it was still very inviting for everyone who entered. The students’ desks were set up in rows. I asked Mr. Weir why he chose to set up his class this way and he said it was partly because of covid rules and this class had a harder time focusing when they were sat in group tables. The students always seemed very excited to come into the class and Mr. Weir made sure to make the environment a very fun a loving one while still being able to have those tougher conversations if need be.

Taylor Oakes Field observation reflection paper Due: 12/3/21 I got to shadow two of my old teachers in my old elementary school and after observing them, I noticed how different classrooms are now from what they used to be. When I was going to school, we only had computers in the media center that we got to use once a week. All the classrooms now have a full set of laptops or iPad for all the students. This is one of the first connections I made to the textbook. Schools nowadays are incorporating all sorts of technology to their daily lives to help them with their learning. Another connection I made to the book was the different teaching styles between the two teachers. Mrs. Nowinki was very patient and caring with her students. She could even tell when they were having a bad day because she made sure to build those connections in the beginning of the year. In Mr. Weirs class, he does things a little bit differently. Since he has older children to teach, he is bit tougher on them since they are growing up and must learn responsibility of their work and their actions. He has lots of inside jokes with his students and makes them feel comfortable that they can be themselves. With this can sometimes come a lack of discipline since the students may not be able to focus back on their work. Mr. Weir makes sure that this isn’t a problem. Even though they have their fun, he makes sure to tell the students that there is a time for fun and a time for work in the classroom. The students respect that and can easily switch their focus back to schoolwork. The last connection I made to the textbook was the diversity in the classroom. I went to this elementary school and graduated out of the district and all the schools I went to have a lack of diversity. In both classrooms I noticed that majority of the children were white. There was maybe one person per classroom who was of a different color. Mr. Weir had a conversation with me about the lack of diversity in the school and he said that it was something he wish he could have experienced and potentially helped with those students. After hearing these connections from the book to an actual classroom, has made me very excited to start teaching my own classroom and have these types of connections with my students and being the teachers of tomorrow. Overall, these field observations have solidified that I want to continue my path to become a teacher. One thing that I thought was extremely critical in being a teacher is to have references. To either have physical things to reference or use the students prior knowledge to help them with assignments and to learn better. I believe this would be a great tool for students to start using at a young age and they can continue to use this technique throughout their lives. One thing that I have started to reconsider is what grade I want to teach. I have only ever observed an elementary class and I love the 6th grade age group, but I would like to keep my options open and investigate other grades to be certain. I have learned a lot in just these 5 hours observed, but I am looking forward to continuing learning and progressing toward becoming a teacher....