CSN Education Department - Field Observation Activities Packet

Greetings Future Educator,

One of the most rewarding aspects of EDU 202 is the opportunity you’ll have to observe in a school classroom
where students are actively engaged in learning. Each of these three CSN courses require all students to
complete a 10 hour "Field Observation" in a Clark County public school.

Once your placement is processed, you will receive details regarding your assigned school from your CSN
professor. Only then, will you contact the school and meet with your CCSD “cooperating teacher”. Both you and
your cooperating teacher will design a mutually agreeable schedule to complete your required contact hours once
you meet for the first time.

Within this packet, you will find the required field experience assignments and other documents that you must
complete in order to pass this class.

Your Name: Katherine E. Kaiser

CSN Course: EDU 202 Intro. to Secondary Education

Professor: Connie Christensen

Professor’s email: connie.christensen@csn.edu

CCSD School: Cimarron-Memorial High School

Cooperating Teacher: MaryAnna Billings

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 FIELD OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENTS

ASSIGNMENT #1 (Observation)

1: My first impression of the classroom environment was that it was organized and full of life. The massive
classroom is covered with fun posters and students’ work. The back whiteboard, near the window, is decorated
with student artwork and fun doodling. The students and teacher have a system in place and know what needs to
be done as soon as they walk in. There is a balance of fun and organization which seems like a great place to
learn.

2: The makeup of the classroom differs from class to class. Ms. Billings, my cooperating teacher, teaches
geometry, honors geometry, and a new math class for those who need special assistance. The regular geometry
class is made up of 22 kids, and the ratio is equal, boys to girls; 50 percent of the class is African American, 40
percent is Latino, and 10 percent is Caucasian. When looking at the small special assistance class, the room is
made up of 18 students whom are mostly African American and Latino and an even mix of girls and boys. These
students feel like they are troubled students that don’t really want to learn. On the other end of the spectrum,
when looking at the honors class, you see all 44 desks filled, everyone participating, taking notes and paying
attention. This class is made up of mostly girls, 70 percent of the class population is Caucasian, 29 percent is
Latino, and 1 percent is African American.

3: There is only one posted rule that does not need words. It is a picture of a cell phone crossed out. It is hanging
in the front of the classroom, and is printed on bright red paper.

4: The teacher allows the students to use the cell phones to take pictures of notes on the board. If the phone was
being misused she would take the students phone away until the end of the period. Needless to say, it was
seldom a phone was out for other reasons.

ASSIGNMENT #2 (Classroom Layout):

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1: The workflow of the room was extremely efficient, and there was a sort of Feng Shui to top it off, everything
flowed smoothly and productively. This large classroom consisted of 44 student desks, a smartboard at the front,
the main computer attached to the smartboard next to it, and the teachers desk in the back. The table at the front
held the notes for the day and the assignments for the week.

2: In my opinion I don’t feel that this room could’ve been better arranged. The only thing I would change if I could
would be to have left handed desks to allow the students to get in and out of their desks easily.

ASSIGNMENT #3 (Instruction):

1: The posted weekly schedule at the front of the class held topics of conversation, and instructions. It was
marked clearly and labeled by subjects geometry and honors geometry. Surprisingly both subjects did the exact
same assignments just at different speeds.

2: Instruction was delivered to the classroom as a whole. Towards the end of the class period students would be
allowed to work individually. The teacher would allow for students to work together if translation was needed but
otherwise everything at the end of the period was done separately while she walked through the room to see if
anyone needed help.

3: The cooperating teachers style is to teach in front of the class on the smartboard and allow for participation.
There was constant repetition and towards the ending of the period she would allow for individual study time and
any needed one on one time.

4: I believe the teacher is covering most of her bases by allowing students to be a part of participation. Even
though some might not participate in the conversations they benefit from hearing the conversations that are
happening. Visually students follow along with the smartboard and kinesthetically they profit from doing hands on
work towards the end of the period.

5: Depending on the class subject is whether or not students engage well in the class. Honors classes engage a
lot more that regular classes and tend to move at a faster pace. Though the regular class does engage, they do
not take notes or follow along as quickly.

6: There are no students that are isolated from any of the cooperating teachers classes. Everyone is pushed to
the front of the class.

7: Transitions are generally small within a class period, because the teacher is always prepared. Everything
seems to flow and transitions are minimal. When switching from subject to subject the teacher correlated her
class subjects so that changes were small.

8: The common attention getting commands that the teacher uses are, “let’s go guys!”, “Focus!”, “I need you to”
or “Let’s take out our…” Ms. Billings is a very gentle and consistent teacher, who provided her class with clear
instruction and expectations.

9: Constant behaviors that the teacher must deal with are: students sleeping in first period, talking and occasional
cell phone usage. To deal with these issues Ms. Billings came by and tapped on students that were sleeping,
while she kept providing instruction. For those students that were talking she redirected by calling out the students
names and asking them to focus. For the cell phone usage, she would remind the student of the rules and asked
if they would like to forfeit the phone until the end of class.

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10: Policies and procedures that I believe hindered the instructional time was quick crisp purposeful reviews from
the previous day. Though this is helpful to remind students brains, it hindered time management of that days
lesson.

ASSIGNMENT #4 (Culture):

Physical Characteristics:

1. The school property was huge, as soon as you drove in you realized just how many students
attend. The grounds were well kept and maintained and security was present at all times. The sign, home
of the Spartans was present and bold as you walked beside the football field. Depending on what time
you arrived students were coming out of the woodworks.

2. Walking through the gates you can’t help but turn and see the spartan statue in the middle of the quad.
The school is two stories tall and has a huge gymnasium and matching cafeteria. Security coming in was
strict and directed traffic through the gates to check-in anyone who arrived tardy or in my case visitors.
Hallways were old and made of concrete.

Culture of the School:

1. The mission statement for Cimarron-Memorial High School is Commitment, Motivation, Honor,
Success. Their mascot is the Spartan and have now included the Spart-ette.

2. Everyone was friendly, and kind. They communicated well and worked quickly and efficiently. Ms.
Pam was always greeting me at the front desk and filling me on the lunch menu for the day. Even when
she was handling a bad phone call she was able to greet myself and any other visitor with a smile. On
one occasion she was on the phone with students that hadn’t been picked up because the bus never
showed. She was able to handle that situation and greet me kindly. Everyone was helpful and eager to
assist. For the most part the students were respectful of the faculty.

3. Student to student interactions were calm and appropriate. There was a lot of friendly banter and
everyone seemed to adjust well. If the teacher would pick on a student who wasn’t paying attention, the
other students would step in to help the teacher move along.

4. The organization of the school was all tied together, whereas the office and library were joined by first
and second story. The Gymnasium was in front of the office and adjacent to it was the cafeteria. There
were signs all over the school directing you to these buildings and room numbers. If all else failed there
was always a staff member around to ask.

5. I was fortunate enough to attend this school during spirit week. The atmosphere of the school was
inviting and cheerful. Posters covered the walls, the halls and the stairs. The traditional boys vs. girls pep
rally was about to begin. Everyone was really excited for the seniors to duel it out between the boys and
the girls. The seniors who participated would dress up as the opposite sex. The Spart-etts vs. the Spartan
Studs. After all was said and done the winners would take the monstrous trophy and pass it down to the
next generation of seniors. Football is huge at Cimarron High School, they are even sponsored by the
Raiders. Hanging on the outside of the school you’ll see the Raiders are sponsoring the Spartans.

Culture of the Classroom:

1. The teacher wanted to see her students gain and apply the concept and knowledge of the subject
being taught. She had learned what to expect, based on the students’ abilities in each class. You can
absolutely tell she cares about her students and takes the time to help kids individually. She expects the
class to follow her leadership.

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 2. The level of participation in each class differs. Depending on the class subject is depending on the
understanding of the subject. Unfortunately, some kids have many gaps in their educational career and
are unable to understand so they choose to let go without trying.

3. Ms. Billings is super friendly and the class interacted well with her. She chose what battles to fight and
what to let go. Kids respected her position and some were protective of her. She is very liked and
admired by her students.

ASSIGNMENT #5 (Cooperating Teacher Interview):

For my cooperating teacher interview, I was fortunate enough to sit down with Ms. Billings and ask her
some questions. Ms. Billings has been a teacher for over 20 years and the reason she started was because she
enjoyed being around and kids. Some of the main challenges she faces today as a teacher are getting some kids
to perform. She jokingly stated, “If I could figure out how to help some of these kids perform, I’d be a millionaire.”
When asked what her favorite part of being a teacher was, she beamed, that watching kids hard work pay off and
watching them succeed is what she loved most, and that a close second was the stability that this rewarding work
offered her.
When It comes to teaching, Ms. Billings is very flexible. She is accommodating i.e. students who cannot
see are able to sit at the front of the class. She also accommodates as needed for students who have IEP and
other impairments. When choosing to pair groups she selects at random or chooses specific students based on
their needs. As far as parent interaction, Ms. Billings says she is contacted weekly via emails and phone calls and
schedules as needed. The main reasons she has contact with parents is behavioral and academic.
On an average day Ms. Billings sees around 200 plus students and her grading takes over daily,
sometimes up to a couple hours each night. With so many students and over the 20 plus years of experience Ms.
Billings has learned to recycle useful material. Where at the beginning of her career she would do 3 hours a night
of lesson plans she has learned to adapt and recycle over time. Along with adaptability she has learned that
structure is the key to maximizing instructional time.
When it comes to positive reinforcement, Ms. Billings has found that giving the kids treats and verbal
praise is the best incentive. However, when consequences arise, the most effective for this particular age group is
afterschool detention. When specialist instructional assistance is needed, Ms. Billings looks to administration and
special-ed instructors to assist with these students.
At Cimarron Memorial Memoria High School, teachers are evaluated annually and the tool in place to
outline the evaluation is NEPF. It stands for Nevada Education Performance Framework, and holds a list of
expectations for your evaluation. She also stated that from time to time someone would come and sit in her
classroom to observe. If the evaluation is not favorable, the teacher will be placed on probation and then given the
chance to write a rebuttal, if the teacher is found less than satisfactory, the teacher would be deemed as an
unsatisfactory teacher and would be put on watch.
As I was wrapping things up with Ms. Billings I asked her what surprised her the most about the teaching
profession. She stated that there is very little that can be controlled, and there were many educational gaps in the
students’ education. Thought there is little to control she acknowledges that a good teacher can leave a good
imprint on any student. I found all of this information to be useful and It was a pleasure being a part of Ms. Billings
class. She is a wonderful teacher, I have learned much from her and look forward to taking this knowledge and
experience into my teaching career.

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ASSIGNMENT #6 (Observing a student):

During the time I did my field observation, I discretely started observing a student. This was a student that
was not paying attention and through embarrassment was refusing to answer the teacher in a correct manner.
When the teacher asked the student to explain the pattern that had emerged in a problem, the student stated she
didn’t know the answer. The teacher then started to explain the answer after she had explained it 3 times
previously. After the fourth explanation the teacher asked the student again, to which the student said she didn’t
know. The student was asked to ask those around her, while the teacher continued the lecture. The student
proceeded to not pay attention nor ask any of her classmates. When the time came around to see what she had
come up with, the student was unable to again answer the question. At which point the teacher asked the class
and the class gave the answer in unison.
During the lecture the student acted as if she didn’t care. After the lecture when the teacher was providing
one on one attention, the teacher stopped by her desk and allowed the questions to flow. At which point the
student had an A-ha moment. While this could’ve easily turned into a power struggle, Ms. Billings was effortlessly
able to identify and aid this student while keeping control of her classroom. I learned that it is better to pick your
battles wisely; some students need a little more attention than others.

ASSIGNMENT #7 (Summary):

Upon completion of my field observation hours I came to the realization that education is not what I
remembered. Though the hallways remain the same, times have changed, teaching styles have changed,
students’ definition of the word respect has changed. The expectations have been lowered thus allowing almost
anyone to graduate with minimal effort. I am thankful to Ms. Billings for allowing me to come and observe her
classrooms, for her conversations and her stories. After being in her classroom I feel I am more prepared for
what’s to come. One thing that did concern me a bit is that textbooks are almost non-existent now and everything
is Xeroxed. Teachers are given their own reams of paper and access to a torn down copy machine. Though I
understand why this was done, I feel as though I might buy my own tools for my own classroom to be self-
sufficient in the future.
What I realized about the students is that not much has changed. On the outside looking in, we think that
because we are not respected in the same way we respect others, that we are being disrespected. We see
change in a negative light. Most students these days only care about their lives, what teenager didn’t? Where
education isn’t the priority for some, it is for others. Ms. Billings put it this way, it’s still the same group of
teenagers just now with social media and cell phones.
What I realized about the teachers is that it’s a very small world. Most teachers still end up in their own
cliques, Math teachers and science teachers unite every day for their 30-minute lunches. They talk about life and
what the newest trend is. They talk about who is doing the next month’s copying for everyone in that department
and who broke the copier last time. They are a bunch of fun individuals, that are kind hearted who care about the
human being more than most. They look to each other for support and are a close-knit group of people working
towards the same goal.
I feel that the in-classroom observation gave me a better understanding as to how the real world works vs
reading in the textbook. Although the textbook provided me a lot of history of education, with some current
aspects, actually being in the school and in the classroom better prepared me for students not caring, lack of
parent involvement, and lack of monetary resources to teachers. Something I will remember to include in my
future classroom is putting small touches to make the classroom more inviting to my students. I’ve come to the
realization that even the small stuff counts.

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