Assignment 3A – Field Experience

Stephanie Saylors

National University

ITL 530 – Dr. England

December 7, 2019
Part I: Observation Guidelines
Observation of General Educator (Heather Cox)

Specifics on Observations
Follow the observation checklist below:
1. CLASSROOM ORGANIZATION
__X___Efficient classroom routines

__X___Handles routine tasks

_NA___Handles paperwork and checking assignments

__X___Handles attendance

__X___Materials organized and prepared in advance

__X__Space organized efficiently

_____Others /

2. CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

_____ Established and posted routines

_____ Established and posted rules

__X__ Orchestrates transitions and movement from class to class or activity to activity

__X___ Balances variety and challenge in student activities

__X___ Uses student assessment to guide appropriate instruction

__X___ Monitors and is aware of all activities in the classroom

__X___ Multitasks

__X___ Moves around room to interact and encourage attention

__NA__Handles paperwork and checking assignments

 __X___ Handles attendance

__X___ Materials organized and prepared in advance

__X___ Space organized efficiently

__X___ Reinforces expectations for positive behavior

__X___ Uses language to promote and encourage participation and attention

__X___ Models

3. CLASSROOM CULTURE
1. What adjective would you use to describe the “feeling” in the classroom?
It was a positive and encouraging environment
2. What evidence did you see to indicate that students seemed to feel a sense of belonging?
She seemed to make everyone feel safe and included by how she treated and spoke to them
3. Do the students and teacher communicate a sense of mutual respect in their interactions?
Absolutely, she seemed as though she had established good relationships with her students
4. Are students “pulled-out” for special services or do special teachers” push-in” to the
classroom?
This was not something that I observed while I was there

4. DIVERSITY
1. Commonalities
How are the common needs of safety, self-esteem and belonging met? Record
What you see in the classroom that indicates these needs are being met.
Safety Self-Esteem Belonging

Before the activity, she goes She was very positive and She made sure that all
over safety and stays on top encouraging to her students students were engaged and
of her class by observing during the activity. She would treated each other with
them during the activity. walk around and praise them respect. She also made sure
for their effort. that everyone was included in
the activity and were
participating.
2. Differences
2a. Tally the number of students in the class: ___41_____total number of students
Boys Girls African Asian Asian Caucasian Latino Middle Special English as
American Indian Eastern Needs Second
Language
22 19 6 4 0 20 8 3 0 0

2b. Are students mixed together in the classroom seating arrangement by:
_____gender _____race _____ethnicity ___ special learning needs ___EL
learners By last name, Roll Call
2c. Record ways diversity is acknowledged in the classroom:
_____posters _____multicultural stories _____cooperative activities
_____slogans or sayings _____celebrations or holidays noted
Other Not in a classroom setting and I didn’t observe any ways. When I asked her
about it she said that this is addressed more in the dance unit.

5. TEACHER CARING, RESPECT & FAIRNESS

_X___Shows concern for students emotional and physical wellbeing

_X___Shows interest in student’s lives outside of school

_X___Creates a warm and caring environment

_X__ Exhibits active listening

_X__Treats each child as individual

_X__Models respect

_X___Treats student equitably

_X___Creates situations for all students to succeed

_X___Prevents situations where students lose respect

_X___Encourages self-regulation of behavior

6. STUDENT INTERACTIONS
_X___Maintains friendly yet professional role
 _X___Values what students say and believe

_X___Shows interest in student’s live in and outside of school

_X___Encourages student to give their personal best

_X___Interacts in fun and friendly manner

_X___Emotes appropriately with students

_X___Shows interest in student’s lives outside of school

_X___Creates a warm and caring environment

_X___Exhibits active listening

7. ENTHUSIASM AND MOTIVATION

_X___Evidence of extrinsic motivators

_X___Students are intrinsically motivated

_X___Students show enthusiasm for learning

_X___Teacher shows enthusiasm for teaching and learning

8. TEACHER AND STUDENT COMMUNICATION / CONTACT

Record the number of times an action occurred during at least 20 minutes of the
observation.
Oral VISUAL TACTILE
Action # of Action # of Action # of
times times times
Teacher explaining 2 Teacher writing on 0 Students using 20
board/whiteboard equipment
Asking questions 3 Teacher using overhead / 0 Students manipulating 0
doc cam, whiteboard and ordering materials
Students reciting 0 Students reading text – 0 Students building or 0
alone or small groups constructing
Audio / CD 0 Students writing 0 Students drawing, 0
gluing, cutting
Student discussion 0 Students watching video 0 Students using life-like 0
or scale models
Part I: Observation Guidelines
Observation of Special Educator (John Aquino)

Specifics on Observations
Follow the observation checklist below:
3. CLASSROOM ORGANIZATION
__X___Efficient classroom routines

__X___Handles routine tasks

_NA___Handles paperwork and checking assignments

__X___Handles attendance

__X___Materials organized and prepared in advance

__X___Space organized efficiently

_____Others /

4. CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

__X___ Established and posted routines

_____ Established and posted rules

__X__Orchestrates transitions and movement from class to class or activity to activity

__X___ Balances variety and challenge in student activities

__X___ Uses student assessment to guide appropriate instruction

__X___ Monitors and is aware of all activities in the classroom

__X___ Multitasks

__X___ Moves around room to interact and encourage attention

_____ Handles paperwork and checking assignments

 __X__ Handles attendance

__X___ Materials organized and prepared in advance

__X___ Space organized efficiently

__X___ Reinforces expectations for positive behavior

__X___ Uses language to promote and encourage participation and attention

__X___ Models

3. CLASSROOM CULTURE
5. What adjective would you use to describe the “feeling” in the classroom?
It was a very positive, encouraging and inclusive environment
6. What evidence did you see to indicate that students seemed to feel a sense of belonging?
He was very encouraging and seemed to make everyone feel included at all times
7. Do the students and teacher communicate a sense of mutual respect in their interactions?
There was definitely a sense of mutual respect in how they spoke to each other and how he
treated the class
8. Are students “pulled-out” for special services or do special teachers” push-in” to the
classroom?
I did not see this during my observation

4. DIVERSITY
1. Commonalities
How are the common needs of safety, self-esteem and belonging met? Record
What you see in the classroom that indicates these needs are being met.
Safety Self-Esteem Belonging

Before they began an
activity, he went over safety
procedures with the class.
He made sure to reinforce
these procedures often.
He was very positive with his
class and praised them for
their effort. He seemed to
make it a priority to build their
confidence.
He greeted each student
individually and talked to
them on a personal level
which created a very
inclusive environment.
2. Differences
2a. Tally the number of students in the class: ___21_____total number of students
Boys Girls African Asian Asian Caucasian Latino Middle Special English as
American Indian Eastern Needs Second
Language
6 15 2 1 14 2 2 14 2

2b. Are students mixed together in the classroom seating arrangement by:
_____gender _____race _____ethnicity ___ special learning needs ___EL
learners The class sat in roll call by last name
2c. Record ways diversity is acknowledged in the classroom:
_____posters _____multicultural stories _____cooperative activities
_____slogans or sayings _____celebrations or holidays noted
Other: I didn’t notice any ways diversity was acknowledged

5. TEACHER CARING, RESPECT & FAIRNESS

_X___Shows concern for students emotional and physical wellbeing

_X___Shows interest in student’s lives outside of school

_X___Creates a warm and caring environment

_X___Exhibits active listening

_X__Treats each child as individual

_X__Models respect

_X___Treats student equitably

_X___Creates situations for all students to succeed

_X___Prevents situations where students lose respect

_X___Encourages self-regulation of behavior

6. STUDENT INTERACTIONS
_X___Maintains friendly yet professional role

_X___Values what students say and believe

 _X___Shows interest in student’s live in and outside of school

_X___Encourages student to give their personal best

_X___Interacts in fun and friendly manner

_X___Emotes appropriately with students

_X___Shows interest in student’s lives outside of school

_X___Creates a warm and caring environment

_X___Exhibits active listening

7. ENTHUSIASM AND MOTIVATION

_X___Evidence of extrinsic motivators

_X___Students are intrinsically motivated

_X___Students show enthusiasm for learning

_X___Teacher shows enthusiasm for teaching and learning

8. TEACHER AND STUDENT COMMUNICATION / CONTACT

Record the number of times an action occurred during at least 20 minutes of the
observation.
Oral VISUAL TACTILE
Action # of Action # of Action # of
times times times
Teacher explaining 7 Teacher writing on 0 Students using 10
board/whiteboard equipment
Asking questions 6 Teacher using overhead / 0 Students manipulating 0
doc cam, whiteboard and ordering materials
Students reciting 0 Students reading text – 0 Students building or 0
alone or small groups constructing
Audio / CD 0 Students writing 0 Students drawing, 0
gluing, cutting
Student discussion 1 Students watching video 0 Students using life-like 0
or scale models
Part II: Interview Questions (General Ed., Heather Cox)

1. What guiding principles did you use to establish your classroom management
plan?
Mrs. Cox said that starting from day one she sets the rules, boundaries, routines

and expectations, and these must be clearly laid out and then revisited as often as

needed. Building relationships with the students is also a very important and can

make classroom management much easier. Having enough for them to do in PE

is very important, down time in middle school can cause chaos. My biggest

takeaway from the interview is that consistency is key.

2. What are the key components of your classroom management plan? (Please
focus on rules, rewards, consequences, positive reinforcement etc.)

She said that in PE there are so many rules for the students to follow, and such a

huge amount of space to do it in, that they can’t see every student 100% of the

time. There are rules for behavior in the gym, locker room, outside areas and

everywhere in between. Her basic rules revolve around

respect: “Respect yourself- Be honest, do your best, have a positive attitude,

participate, be prepared, believe in yourself. Respect others- work together, wait

your turn, watch the noise level, be kind, listen and stay on task. Respect our

school- follow directions, pick up after yourself, raise your hand and follow all

school rules.”

As far as rewards, she said students love to be rewarded for doing what they are

supposed to be doing. In PE they celebrate the small accomplishments, bettering

your time on a run, a good throw, a good catch, being a good partner, being kind,

being a good sport. Rewards can be as simple as a high five, mentioning a

 success in front of the class, a smile, or a thumbs up. At this school they have

ROAR bucks that the students can buy things with or turn in for other rewards

such as school merchandise or front of the line passes, they love to be rewarded

with these.

Some consequences are set up as a department such as their non-suit and tardy

policy which are progressive and start with a lunch detention and move to

community service. When a student is not following the rules, usually a simple

reminder will suffice. If the behavior continues she will usually pull them aside and

talk to them individually. Behavior and citizenship are also a part of their

grade. She said that parent phone calls and emails are helpful in cases of extreme

disrespect or constant misbehavior. They have a campus monitor that can come

and pull a student out for a time out and then there is of course the

administration.

She tries to make positive phone calls as positive reinforcements, this is huge for

the parents and the students because once in middle school the parents hear far

less from the teachers unless it is for a punishment or a negative consequences.

3. What are the most common behavioral issues (disruptions/non-compliant

behaviors) you encounter? How do you deal with these common issues?

The most common behavioral issues she encounters are students not being

prepared for PE with their clothes and shoes especially on Monday, disruptions

and low effort. As she mentioned before, they have a PE non-suit policy that is

progressive after the 2nd non-suit the student receives a call home and a lunch

detention. This also affects their academic grade. Disruptions are usually minor,

talking or whispering while she is talking or not paying attention, usually a quick
 reminder of the expectations are all that is needed. When a student is putting forth

limited effort, she tries to make a big deal of it and catch them when they are trying

and congratulate them and tell them how proud she is of them. She also pairs

them up with a buddy to help motivate them and even sometimes it will require a

phone call home to get parent support.

4. How do you deal with disruptive, aggressive, or inappropriate behaviors,

especially from populations that may need extra support?

When dealing with aggressive and inappropriate behaviors she said the

administration is usually involved. Most aggressive behavior revolves around

students being too competitive during games. She really works hard on creating a

friendly but competitive spirit. She told me that it is definitely okay to have a

competitive nature but in PE they have to learn to play at an appropriate level,

helping others become better is more of a focus. Many times, a conflict resolution

is held between the students involved.

5. How do you accommodate for English Learners and cultural/linguistic diversity?

Include intervention strategies appropriate for English Learners?

She believes that accommodations for ELL students is a bit easier to accomplish

in PE than in other subject areas because it is so visual. She explains the activity

then demonstrates it. During the demonstration she uses a lot of nonverbal cues,

and then the students do the activity. In her class she has the students perform

and participate in several drills, skill work activities and lead up games that enforce

the proper way to play the games including rules and strategies. Many times, there

will be other students in the same class that can help them in their own language
as well. She also encourages questions and offers extra explanations to students

including checking for understanding.

6. How do you collaborate with your (gen ed or special ed) partner?

Once a month they meet as a grade level team. The focus right now is on

students that need more support or possibly parent contact or meetings.

7. What could be done to improve collaboration?

She thought one way to maybe improve collaboration would be to allow them

some time to talk about what they are doing in their respective classes and

discuss ways they can support each other. They used to have a common list of

vocabulary terms and ideas that they would all incorporate throughout the month

so that the students were hearing it from more than just one teacher.

8. What advice on classroom and behavior management would you give to a new
teacher?

Students learn best when their environment is predictable. Establish routines that

the students can count on. Not just in the classroom but within yourself, the

students need to know that your personality is going to be consistent. If your

moods and actions are all over the place theirs will be too. Consistency is key.

She also believes that every situation is different but the more consistent you can

be with rules, routines and consequences the better. As a teacher flexibility is also

important, especially when you work in a department with five other people and

you are sharing space. Build relationships with as many students as you can, if a

problem arises that relationship will definitely help you solve it. It is also fun

getting to know the kids.

9. What advice on stress management would you give to new teachers so they can
thrive and stay in the field instead of burning out in five years?

She said that stress management is a difficult one. For her, she feels that every day

is a new day. If something is not going right with a student or something else that is

causing you stress or worry, get a new plan and try again tomorrow, never give

up. When you are outside of school take time for yourself leave as much of it as you

can behind and enjoy your time with your family in the evenings and on breaks. She

said that exercise and staying active is a great way to clear your mind and restart it.

What helped her as a new teacher was having a great group of mentor teachers that

took her under their wing and groomed her into the teacher she is today. Every day

will not go as planned and someday might just plain suck, but being able to bounce

back and learn something new every day.

10. What do you do to get to know your students?

The first week of school she sends home a letter about herself and gives them an

opportunity to write back to her telling her a little bit about themselves. Right away

she tries to build relationships from the beginning by using the time in-between

classes, after the dress down times and before roll call to talk individually with

students. As they play their cooperative games, she will either play with them or

listen in on conversations so that she can get to know them. Once a week she tries to

make positive phone calls to parents telling them how awesome it is to have their

children in her class and a little story about what she witnesses in class. This helps

her get to know the parents and also the students and she gets to have a
conversation as well. She also works lunch duty and this gives her a chance to have

casual conversations with students.

Part II: Interview Questions (Special Ed., John Aquino)

1. What guiding principles did you use to establish your classroom management
plan?
When he first began, he followed the format of the ILS teacher. Her principles

were all about holding them to expectations. Don’t baby them! He said it was

difficult at first because she was so good at it. She held them and the parents

accountable. Then you add in your kindness and compassion, the human side.

2. What are the key components of your classroom management plan? (Please
focus on rules, rewards, consequences, positive reinforcement etc.)

Demand expectations. Keep rules simple and to a minimum. Rules that are

reinforced consistently and immediately. Rewards and consequences are

consistent and immediate.

3. What are the most common behavioral issues (disruptions/non-compliant

behaviors) you encounter? How do you deal with these common issues?

Mr. Aquino said that non-participation is the most common issue in Adapted PE.

Most of the time this can be solved with re-direction and choices. It may take a

few attempts but students will generally make the decision to participate after a

while.

4. How do you deal with disruptive, aggressive, or inappropriate behaviors, especially

from populations that may need extra support?

He said the best way to deal with these types of behaviors is by showing empathy,
kindness and compassion. Show your human side.
5. How do you accommodate for English Learners and cultural/linguistic diversity?
Include intervention strategies appropriate for English Learners?

He said that play is a global language. All kids know it. Demonstration works for

everyone. Partnering with helpful students. Asking them, “How do you say…?”

and speaking their language.

6. How do you collaborate with your (gen ed or special ed) partner?

He said that fortunately, he and his partner are on the same page much of the

time. They don’t disagree on much and that collaboration has worked out well for

both populations. They’ve been working together for quite a while so their

program runs pretty smoothly. Collaboration between the two of them is ongoing.

He referred to it as a “Husband and wife thing”

7. What could be done to improve collaboration?

Their collaboration works for them because they’ve been doing it for so long. He

said, like everything else, it has to be experimented with. Therefore, he doesn’t

see a need for improvement.

8. What advice on classroom and behavior management would you give to a new
teacher?
The most important advice he said he could give was not to get discouraged. It

takes time and your plan may change many times before you get it right. Theory

and application have to be figured out.

9. What advice on stress management would you give to new teachers so they can
thrive and stay in the field instead of burning out in five years?
Be able to leave it at school. Hard to do because of the commitment you put into

your students. Have an outlet outside of class.

10. What do you do to get to know your students?

He said to show genuine concern and care for them. Whatever that may involve
 Part III: Analysis and next steps

Summary of interview/observation with Mrs. Cox:

I really enjoyed my interview with Mrs. Cox regarding her general education Physical

Education Class. She was very passionate about her job and more importantly her

student’s. She couldn’t stress enough how important it is to establish relationships

with each student and to get to know them outside of class. I could tell that she takes

a lot of pride in this and the amount of effort that goes into it. She also helped me

realize the importance of establishing rules, boundaries and routines from day one.

For her, it seems as though consistency is key. This is in regards to everything you

do in the class. The most important detail for the teacher to establish at the start of

the school is consistency (Wong, 2018). Students thrive on structure and routines.

During my observation of her sixth grade PE Class, I could see a lot of the things she

talked about being implemented. She started off each class greeting the students as

they came in to sit in roll call. She would ask some of them about their weekend and

sporting events that they may have participated in. She really showed a genuine

interest in her students and I could tell they appreciated that. Some would even ask

her questions which showed me a mutual respect they had for one another. Her

class was very structured and I could tell that a routine had already been established

since the beginning of the year. There were no surprises and the students knew

exactly what to do and what her expectations were. Mrs. Cox was very positive and
encouraging with her classes, but when rules were being broken, she would remind

them of the expectations and most of the time, that’s all it would take.

Summary of interview/observation with Mr. Aquino:

During my observation of Mr. Aquino’s adaptive PE class, I learned a lot about

patience. He is one of the most patient people I have ever met. He has a total of 21

students in his class, fourteen with special needs and seven who are TA’s and assist

him with the students during class. The TA’s are actually assigned to specific

students. Some have one on one help and others have two to one help. I see it as a

great opportunity for both the TA’s and the students with special needs. I could see

that Mr. Aquino is kind and patient but still demands certain expectations. He does

not baby his students and holds them accountable. I could see that his students

respond to him and want to please him. The rules for his class were pretty simple

and reinforced constantly either by one of the TA’s or Mr. Aquino himself. For

example, one of the special ed. students took a ball away from another student and

the TA immediately asked him if that was acceptable behavior. This student said no

and gave the ball back to the other student. It seemed to me as though that child did

not want to disappoint his TA or his teacher. While a well-managed classroom will

minimize your discipline problems, effective teachers are proactive and plan to

prevent behavioral problems from occurring in the classroom (Wong, 2018). I could

tell that Mr. Aquino had established a good set of rules and expectations for his class

from the beginning.

I enjoyed my interview with Mr. Aquino as well. He said that he held them to the

same expectations as their ILS teacher did. He holds both his students and parents
accountable. He feels that it is important for rewards and consequences to be

consistent and handled immediately. He uses a lot if re-direction with his students,

especially when it comes to non-participation, which is very common in adaptive PE.

The biggest take-away for me was how much he talked about how important it was to

show kindness and empathy towards the students. I could see that he definitely

practiced that as well and his students respected him for that.

Similarities and Differences between the two classes:

The biggest similarity that I observed in the two classes was how each teacher had a

genuine relationship with their students. They were both kind and took time to check

in with their students individually about their day and how their weekend was. There

seemed to be a mutual respect for both the teachers and students in each class.

They were also very positive teachers and made a point of acknowledging good

behavior and effort. Their classes really responded to this and wanted to please their

teachers. Both Mrs. Cox and Mr. Aquino were very aware of what was happening in

their class at all times. Although the classes were spread out in a large gym, they

would walk around during the activity to make sure that everyone was on task and

participating. They would also use this time to check in with the students and assess

their progress. Both teachers had established great routines with their classes as I

could tell the students knew exactly what to do and what was expected of them.

There was lots of structure for a Physical Education class and it as very predictable.

The students seemed to thrive in this environment.

I really thought I would see more differences in the two classes, being that one was

an adaptive PE class. I think that because Mr. Aquino treated his kids about the same
as he would a general education class, there weren’t very many differences. The one

thing I did notice was that Mr. Aquino had more opportunities to have one on one

conversations with his students since there were only 14 students in his class.

Because of this, I feel as though he may have a closer bond with some of his

students than Mrs. Cox. The main differences I noticed were during the interview.

Not in what they said or in their philosophies, but rather in how comfortable they were

in speaking with me. Mrs. Cox seemed very comfortable and was very detailed in her

responses, whereas Mr. Aquino was direct and to the point. He kept it short and

sweet. They were both very nice and I appreciated them taking time to sit down with

me, but I could tell Mr. Aquino was much more comfortable in front of his students. He

was a natural in front of his class and really enjoyed being around his students.

The advice the teachers gave me was very similar. They both told me to take time to

get to know my students and establish a good relationship with them. This is very

important and will help with classroom management. Being kind and showing

empathy and compassion is also very important. They also both agreed that

establishing routines and setting expectations with each class was essential in the

success of each student. Research shows that teachers who establish positive

expectations for all students and provide the necessary support to achieve these

expectations have high rates of academic success in the classroom (Wong, 2018).

Their classroom management plans really aligned with most of what I have read in

my course readings. Effective teachers produce results from a classroom that is

predictable, reliable and consistent (Wong, 2018). Both of the teachers that I

observed, told me just how important consistency is in a classroom. They told me

that the key to success is consistency. This point was reiterated in our course

readings. Another point that aligned with my course readings was how important it

was to establish relationships with your students. Both Mr. Aquino and Mrs. Cox

demonstrated that this was important to them and they worked hard at these

relationships every day.

During my observation, I didn’t encounter any major behavioral issues. In Mrs. Cox’s

class, there were just a couple of times where students needed to be reminded to

stay on task and stop talking. She did a great job in redirecting their behavior and

reminding them to focus on the activity. As I indicated before, the only issue in Mr.

Aquino’s class was with one student taking the ball away from another student. It

was handled by the TA with the teacher’s approval. Basically, both teachers handle

behavioral issues very similarly. They use positive reinforcement and redirection with

the students. Both seemed to work very well. Both of these classes understand what

the expectations are and the consequences of their actions/behavior. Because I have

seen this work first hand, I believe that I will establish a very similar classroom

management plan.
 Resources

Wong, Harry and Wong, Rosemary. (2018). The Classroom Management Book.

Mountain View: Harry K. Wong Publications, Inc.