EDUC 5312/3315-Curriculum and Instructional Design

Classroom Observation Assignment

Observation Form 1
Observation Date: March 1, 2016

Observation Time: One Class Period (45 min.)

Teacher Observed: Ms. Hooper

Subject/Grade Level: Science / 8th Grade

School Observed: HSA Laredo

Observer: Murat Konac

1-What was/were the learning objectives/outcomes of the lesson? (Add state objectives if
known, for example, TEKS 111.4. Grade 2.b.)
TEKS 8.8C Electromagnetic Spectrum: Explore how different wavelengths of the
electromagnetic spectrum such as light and radio waves are used to gain information about
distances and properties of components in the universe.
Objective: The student will be introduced to the key terms: Universe, Wavelength,
Electromagnetic Radiation, Electromagnetic Spectrum, Light Waves, Radio Waves, Micro
Waves, Ultraviolet Waves, and X-rays
2-How did the teacher begin and end the lesson?
As a warm up, the teacher wrote this sentence on the board The Light can be disfracted by
_______________________ within the Electromagnetic Spectrum. Students wrote the sentence
on their journal and filled in the blank. After everyone done, teacher ask students to share their
answer.
As a closure, the teacher wrote this sentence on the board I would classify Electromagnetic
Radiation important to understand because ________. Students wrote the sentence on their
journal and filled in the blank. After everyone done, teacher ask students to share their answer.
3-What did the teacher use for teaching materials or instructional aids/equipment?
The teacher used following items during instruction:

Projector
Video
Notebook
Picture Vocabulary Cards

4-Which instructional methods and strategies did the teacher use? (Lecture, inquiry,
discovery learning, discussions, games or simulations, demonstrations, cooperative learning,
integration of technology, socrative questioning, etc)
Mostly, Ms. Hooper used lecture method to teach vocabularies. She also used discussion
technique. She used video which is integration technology in classroom.
5-How did the teacher assess learning? (informal, formal, formative, summative, oral, openended, quiz, feedback etc) See Chapter 8 for more information on assessment methods
The teacher used formative assessment. First, students took pre-assessment. After, she explained,
students take progress monitoring assessment. She performed oral assessment and also gave
some feedbacks to students answers.
6- What can you say about the teachers philosophy/beliefs and style?
(Traditional/progressive, behaviorist, student-centered vs. teacher centered, authoritative etc)
Based on my observation, Ms. Hoopers teaching style was progressive. She integrated
technology in classroom. She was using peer editing and involving students in evaluation.
7-How does the teacher manage classroom? Can you identify classroom management
techniques used?
The teacher followed a consistent set of rules and procedures. When students were out of line
with these, she gently let them know. She was patient, fun, and ready to engage students from
wherever they were. She was an effective manager and students seemed to respect her.
8-Observe in the classroom setting and determine types of behavior students play when offtask. What do they do when they are not paying attention? How does the teacher re-direct
them or get them back on task?
The room was setup into pairs facing forward. This showed students that they needed to pay
attention up front, but had a buddy to help them. Procedures made class start and end efficiently,
without any wasted time. The teacher was warning students nonverbal and verbal when they are
off task. She was always walking around to make sure everyone on task.
9-How does the teacher communicate with students (verbal, vocal, meta-verbal or non-verbal
communication such as facial, body language, use of space, motion and time?)
Most of the teacher communication was verbal. Sometimes she was using facial and body
language.

10-Who were the students in the class? What did you notice about them? (Background,
diversity, attitude, motivation, interaction, participation, etc)
Most of the students was Hispanic. It was not diverse because of border town. Students
motivation was ok. , most of them were willing to do work. Couple students wanted to sleep
instead of do work. Interaction between teacher and students was mediocre. 50 % of students
was participating the class discussion.

11-What did you see that is effective in engaging students? What do you see that is
ineffective in keeping students engaged?
The teacher was supportive and persistent in keeping students on task and encouraging them to
actively integrate new information with prior learning. She used video that engaged student but
some students got lost. Those students were ESL. There was no subtitle and the person in the
video was talking so fast.
12-What are the two instructional strategies you observed and would like to apply in your
classroom?
I like her warm up and closure strategies. She was giving students a sentences and asking them to
complete. Another one was formative assessment. It is important to provide students with effective
and accurate feedback.

13-What are two important classroom management strategies that you observed and would
like to apply in your classroom?
The teacher spoke quietly in class, loud enough to be heard, but never over the top of people.
When others were talking, he looked at them and waited for 100% compliance. Also, she was
using proximity effectively. Proximity is indeed an essential behavior management practice that
preserves students' dignity, minimizes the risk of reinforcing attention-seeking behavior, prevents
misbehavior from escalating, and enables teachers to redirect students using non-verbal
communication (e.g., pointing to the page for a daydreaming student or tapping the shoulder of a
sleeping student).