RUNNING HEAD: Field Observation 1

Kendra Nelson

EDU 203

Field Observation

December 1, 2018
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R.E. Tobler Elementary School was a wonderful school to attend for my observation.

When I first arrived, the entire staff was wonderful and extremely helpful. They happily directed

me to Mr. Alden and showed me to his classroom. I know Mr. Alden because he and his family

dine regularly at the restaurant that I work at. He explained to me that he is the teacher with the

inclusive classroom and has three children that have IEPs. He thought that his classroom would

be great for me to observe since I plan on teaching general education. This experience taught me

a lot about different teaching styles, how kids react in an inclusive environment, and how they

are given extra assistance in their general classroom.

The first thing that I noticed when I was in the classroom was Mr. Alden’s teaching style.

His teaching approach is very different from mine. He is quite disciplinarian toward his students

and seems to bribe them to do well by giving them rewards. He is also very sarcastic towards

them and I don’t believe many of the students appreciated it. He teaches the fifth grade so some

of them responded to the sarcasm, but overall I don’t think that it was an appropriate approach

for students of that age range. I also noticed that he had the students do a lot of independent work

and didn’t see him give very much instruction. I feel that it is important for students to have

some time to work independently, but it was for almost the entire three hours that I was there. I

didn’t feel like the students enjoyed being in class and I didn’t blame them.

The three students with IEPs were able to work alongside their peers during the

independent instruction time. They were pulled out for an hour or so one of the days that I was

there. I asked if I could observe them during the time they were pulled out, but Mr. Alden didn’t

think I would learn anything from it. I was disappointed about this and I wish I would have

pushed it more because I felt I would have gained something from observing during their pullout

instruction. I am not sure exactly what type of disabilities the students had, but it was clearly
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some type of learning disability. One of the girls struggled to count by 10s to 100 when the class

played a game, but was still able to participate.

On a more positive note, I got to observe how the children with IEPs were included in the

classroom. When I was in school, I don’t remember talking to any of the children that were in

special education classes. This, fortunately, was not the case for the children in Mr. Alden’s

classroom. I really enjoyed watching the children play with each other during “Fun Friday”. The

children with IEPs played with the children that did not have IEPs and vice versa. They did not

seem to get treated any different than their peers. I thought this was so wonderful to see because

it shows that the least restrictive environment principle is really making inclusion work. I hope

that when the children grow up, they will all be able to treat each other as equals and realize that

each person always has something unique to offer. Watching all the children interact with each

other gave me hope that the public school system is really working towards creating a much

more integrated society. To see how far it has come since I was a child in the same school system

not too long ago really gave me hope for the future.

Finally, I was able to observe how the students with IEPs were assisted in the general

classroom during group instruction. The aide came in the room to assist the students for about an

hour every day. She simply walked around and made sure that the students with IEPs were on

track with what they were learning. I felt that it would have been nice to watch her assist while

lessons were being taught, but while I was there the students were working independently rather

than being instructed. She was very kind and I could tell the students felt comfortable around her.

It made me feel better when she was there because the students were able to get the additional

assistance that they needed. I thought that when she came in and helped the student’s with IEPs

that this might be embarrassing for them, but they didn’t feel that way at all. The students that
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did not have IEPs also did not seem to mind that the aide was helping the other students. It was

helpful for me to observe this because it took away the misconception I had about making the

kids seem different if an aide helped them in class. It helped me understand that a simple

addition to a classroom for just one hour a day can help kids be in the least restrictive

environment.

During the course of my observation I had the opportunity to learn a lot of different

things about children with special needs in the least restrictive environment. Perhaps the most

important thing that I was able to take away from this observation is that kids are just kids. It was

so amazing to see how accepting children are and that they are not nearly as judgmental as

adults. The children helped the kids that had IEPs during class time if they had questions just as

they would have helped any other one of their peers. It was so amazing to see the least restrictive

environment principle in action and watch it actually work. I feel so lucky to have been given the

opportunity to observe the kids at Tobler Elementary School. This class, along with this

observation, has made me consider a career in special education rather than general education. I

am glad that these children were able to show me that they are just kids at their core. They, like

all kids, want to play and be a part of their community. It is important to remember that children

with any disabilities share more similarities with their peers than differences. What I have

learned during my observation will stay with me throughout my career in education.