RUNNING HEAD: CLASSROOM OBSERVATION

Classroom Observation Report Berino Elementary Deanna Lucero New Mexico State University

RUNNING HEAD: CLASSROOM OBSERVATION

Abstract This paper explores what I learned during my observation at Berino Elementary. I had the honor of observing Mrs. Rios, a second grade teacher of ten years. This paper explores topics and objectives of lessons that were learned during the day of my observation. I will share the lessons that were taught and the technology used for each lesson. In this paper, I will share what I learned, what I expected to see, what I saw, and what I would have liked to see. Finally I will share how I plan to use what I learned during my observation, to integrate technology into my lesson plan.

RUNNING HEAD: CLASSROOM OBSERVATION Classroom Observation Berino Elementary For this project, my group and I were assigned to Berino Elementary. On September 18, 2013 we meet with Mr. Gardea the assistant principal. During our meeting, we were asked about our schedules and each of us were placed with different teachers. I was placed with Mrs. Rios a second grade teacher of ten years. I observed her class September 23, 2013 from 7:45 am to 2:19 pm. During my observation, I learned a lot about her, her students, and her instructional methods. I had the pleasure of observing Mrs. Rioss second grade class at Berino Elementary. Mrs. Rios has been an educator for ten years. She previously taught third grade and this year she is teaching second grade. Mrs. Rioss students are in the Dual Language Program. Mrs. Rios teaches the English portion while Mrs. Gonzalez teaches the Spanish portion. Mrs. Rios was very nice and answered all my questions. She is a very motivated educator and is really dedicated to her students success. For each topic, Mrs. Rios had the objectives in front of the class labeled Objective Wall. Before instruction began, she told me that she places the objectives in front of the class because it is easier for students to refer to. For each topic, Mrs. Rios turns the objective into a question. The first topic of the day was mathematics. The objective was How can we use addition to subtract? Mrs. Rios used the ELMO for this topic. A handful of students raised their hands and provided a few strategies. Some of their responses included using doubles (8+8, 9+9, 2+2, etc.) to add quickly or simply adding groups of ten (4+6=10). Once they add then they can use the inverse relationship to subtract. Mrs. Rios wrote all their responses via the ELMO for the whole class to see. The second topic was science. The topics objective was What are nutrients? What do nutrients do to our bodies? What nutrients do our bodies need? This objectives were also placed in front of the classroom. The ELMO was also used during this lesson. Mrs. Rios showed an article that answered the questions above. With a pointer, the whole class 3

RUNNING HEAD: CLASSROOM OBSERVATION participated reading it out loud. After analyzing what they read, they were asked to write down three facts they learned about nutrients. The third topic of the day was Word Study. Word study is a form of intervention for students that are having trouble pronouncing and spelling words. The student is given a handout with twenty words. They are to cut out the words and paste them in a composition notebook labeled My Sight Words. This notebook is taken home and they are to search the words in magazines or newspapers and paste them in the notebook. These notebooks are checked every other day and they students are quizzed at the end of the week. Technology was not used to teach this lesson. I noticed Mrs. Rios had a Smart Board in her classroom but did not incorporate it into her lessons. At the end of the day, I asked her about the Smart Board and how often she used it. She told me that it was broken and was not reliable. I asked her if she had reported the broken equipment to the administration and she told me that she had however there was not enough money to place it. I have seen the potential this machine has and it is a shame that the students are limited to this technology. Mrs. Rios tries her best to integrate technology into her lessons and that is why she religiously, uses ELMO. Mrs. Rios commented, Our school is poor but I do my best to make sure that my students are exposed to technology. I would love for them to have laptops or tablets but we do our best with the equipment we have. Before meeting Mr. Gardea, I had not heard of Berino Elementary. The hype of integrating technology into our lesson plans got me really excited to complete my observations. I was unaware Berino Elementary was a Tier-1 school. I expected my classroom to have the latest technology available however that was not the case. Technology tools were not consistent at the school. I noticed Mrs. Gonzalez had a smart board and that she used it regularly. I was disappointed to discover upon my first day of observation that my teacher heavily relies on ELMO as a teaching aid to project lessons on the board. She utilizes other tools to their fullest extent to make sure her students succeed.

RUNNING HEAD: CLASSROOM OBSERVATION I will use the same technology but apply different techniques to maximize the learning opportunity for these students. I will use ELMO to model the activities I will have planned for the students. After they complete their activities I will call out students to come to the front of the class and share their completed activity via ELMO. I plan on asking Mrs. Gonzales if I can use her Smart Board for my lesson. Via the Smart Board, I plan to project a PowerPoint, and use YouTube for further explanations of the topic.