Amber Arsenault

Field Observation Packet

EDU 202
Dr. Asherian
December 9, 2018
Assignment 1:

1. My first impression of the classroom is warm and inviting. There is a lot of signs and posters and
a lot of things written on the board. There is a things to remember board w/ memes that include
quotes such as “if you want a grade then you should have put your name on it” with Beyoncé.
There are also a lot of student’s projects on the walls.
2. The makeup of the class seems diverse. There are no ELL students or physically challenged
students. Seems like a pretty equal number of males and females as well as mixed grade
publications class so they ages vary between students.
3. RULES:
• There are 4 cameras and two special lenses. Pink, green, blue, and purple.
• To check of reserve mark it on the calendar
• Do not take the cameras without signing out
• Cross out your name upon return
• Charge batteries
• Label memory cards

4. The teacher does seem to enforce the rule. The students that enrolled in the publication class
had to apply to be there and they seem to take it pretty seriously so she doesn’t seem to need
to enforce the rules that much. The students seem very efficient.
Assignment 2:

1. I think that the space is being used efficiently. There are a lot of computers and desks to fit
into the classroom. The teacher told me these were added when they couldn’t find room for
them anywhere else. I like that all the computers line the walls and the desks are in the
middle.
2. Overall, I like the layout of the classroom, so I wouldn’t change anything. I would probably
like to not have the computers I the class at all, but she didn’t have an option with that.
Assignment 3:

1. The posted daily schedule changes daily or the class but the PUBS class seems to jump right into
their assignments and making their yearbook pages, but the English class starts with a daily
writing assignment and on Fridays the class starts with a binder check where she collects the
work in the binder for a week and check whether they did it or not. Fridays in the class usually
are makeup days for assignments and an opportunity to makes changes on quizzes for the week.
2. The instruction is mostly done in small groups. During my observation hours most of the
assignments were given and they were them separated into small groups to complete
assignments.
3. The teacher I observed had a progressive classroom. The students could move around the room
freely and instead of standing in front of the class lecturing you would find her walking through
the groups and stopping at them individually. She teaches to the abilities of her students and
allows them to have realistic challenges and activities instead f just reading from the book.
4. I think that she does a good job at incorporating the different learning styles. For a major
assignment they had due they were given about six options of different ways they could
complete the project so that every student could have an opportunity to do it the way they
think is best. The options included writing, drawing, and even making a video or writing a song.
During class the learning style was more universal, and it was mostly group work and individual
reading.
5. The students seem to be very engaged in the lessons and in what is going on. I really evaluated
during the group activities and it seemed as if all the students were participating and trying their
best to help each other.
6. I do not seem much isolation in the classroom. There are a few students who seem quite and
like they aren’t very social. Some students need seem to have friends in the classroom but there
are a few students that seem to not have anyone to talk to during class. I would say overall the
students are all social with each other.
7. Time is managed efficiently. During the hour all the time is being used. During the first two
periods which was PUB the students came in and went right to work but even during the English
classed the instruction started immediately and when until the bell rang.
8. I think she handles transition very well. Publication and English are completely different so the
fact she can easily transition means a lot. There is a free period in between the PUB class and
English. Her free period is third and that is between her first two period which is publications
and the last three which is English.
9. Mrs. Brannon seems to have no problem getting the students attention just by asking for it. She
might raise her hand or rise her voice a bit to get them to calm down and lower their voices.
There was one student who said a curse word a bit loudly and she did ask him to go stand in the
hallway for a minute, but he came back in a few minutes later and there were no problems the
remainder of the period.
10. The biggest behavior issue seems to be talking. Like I had said earlier, most of the work is group
work but when the groups are presenting the other students seem to have a bit of a problem
staying quiet.
11. I wouldn’t say there are and specific policies that help or hinder instruction.
Assignment 4:

1. The front of the school has a fence you must walk through to get inside. Once you enter you are
almost immediately in the quad area. The admin office is right when you. There are signs to say
where everything is at so nothing was difficult to find.
2. The school is two stories. The hallways are rather wide, and they have tile floors. The doors to
the classroom are all labeled with he teachers names and have a thin window in them. The
insides of the classroom have carpet and only some have windows to see outside. In the parking
lot there is a security guard but other than that I did not see any other ones on campus.
3. Mission statement: we, the Durango community, will challenge ourselves in every aspect of
school life through dedication and hard work to ensure future success. Moto: dedication, hard
work, success. Mascot: The trailblazers.
4. Staff are friendly and helpful. When I was signing in there were two parents bringing their kids
in due to tardiness and the staff was helpful. One of my days observing we went to the field for
the senior picture and the principal was interacting with the students and the students and
teachers were talking to each other.
5. The bell schedule is 6 class periods with hour long classes. The teacher I was observing has
mixed grades because her publications class consists of all grades.
6. There wasn’t much gathering of students in the hallways until after school. Most of the social
interaction took place in the outside area and in the cafeteria during lunch.
7. During the senior picture a lot of the students that were seniors has their senior crowns on that
they wear to assemblies. I didn’t have a chance to go to the gym where I would imagine most of
the awards are kept or at least hung.
8. It is unfortunate that due to the location of the school and the kids that are zoned to go there
the teacher I was observing told me that absences are extremely high. It is not that she doesn’t
expect anything of them but that she doesn’t want to give them more then they can handle.
She said a lot of them are working full time and helping their parents take care of younger
siblings.
9. The students had no problem participating in class. Most of the students were participating.
When I was talking to the teacher during a break, she was telling me a lot of the kids that have
to work full time come to school and they are less involved and more tired but she doesn’t go
too hard on them because she knows they have a lot on their plate.
10. It is apparent who is in charge. I didn’t observe any of the students having a tone that was
negative during the class. There were a couple students that we louder then the others, but
everyone was very respectful.
Assignment 5:

1. Did radiology for 10 years in Ohio. Volunteered at the high school once a week and realized that
is what she wanted to do. Also ended up marring a teacher.
2. The main challenges are absences, apathy, and work that does not get turned in.
3. The best part is the students.
4. The seating is behavior based and changes weekly. The groups are split up into low to high.
5. It depends on the project given for the group. If it is an advanced project she would group High
with High and a general project it would be low to high.
6. The assessments she uses mostly is writing. Essay writing is a great way to determine were a
child is at in their English. Also giving projects such as research topics and presentations.
7. She reports progress to parents mostly online. It is updated daily, and parents can log in
whenever they would like.
8. The only time she really interacts with parents is during open house which is at the beginning of
the year. If parents schedule meetings she is more then happy to make time to meet with them.
9. Gradings is done daily to keep the kids up to date with their grades.
10. Lesson planning usually takes a few hours for a weeks’ worth of lessons.
11. Ti maximize instructional time she uses planning and bell work. She has them complete a journal
entry as soon as the enter class so then the start the lesson right after that. No trade and grade
and no homework.
12. As far as consequences go RPC-no one wants that!! She uses candy a lot for positive
reinforcement and also verbally, congratulating, and stickers.
13. She wasn’t involved too much with specialist teachers because she didn’t have any ESL
students or special education. Her husband is an elementary school special education teacher so
she is aware of the hard work that goes into that and also how much they are involved which is
a lot with their students.
14. Teachers are evaluated frequently throughout the year and it is based off of student success
based on grading and performance.
15. Planning adjustments.
16. She said Durango is a great school to work for and she gets a lot of support from the school as
far as her classes go. She does put in her own money to things such as treats for the students
and supplies for the classroom because they aren’t funded enough.
17. How much she would love it. After doing radiology for 10 years it is refreshing being in a
profession you’re passionate about.
 Assignment 6:

The student I chose to observe was a young lady in sixth period English. These were junior

students. The task was for them to get back the two quizzes they took that week and to go through and

if they marked a question true and it was false, they could make the statement true and receive credit

for the missed question. The instructions were written on the board prior to the students entering the

classroom but also were given verbally to the students. They were asked to turn in their binders up front

and then start on the task once they got their quizzes back. She volunteered to hand back the quizzes to

the class. When she sat down, she was quiet and wasn’t talking to other students. After she was done

handing back the quizzes with another student, she started going over her incorrect answers. She

seemed unsure of what questions she could fix and raised her hand to ask the teacher the instructions

one more time. She then started working to find the correct answers in the book, The Crucible. She

moved to sit with two boys in the class, one of which got 100% on the quiz. She asked for his help and

he was guiding her in the direction of the correct answers but not just giving them to her. They were

quiet and diligent in their work and she ended up changing all the questions she could that she got

wrong. I found that many other students found it hard to stay on task because they were given the

freedom to do the assignment or not. If they didn’t change the answers it was only hurting them by not

getting the extra points added. A lot of them were talking about other things that did not have anything

to do with the assignment. I think I would maybe over look what the students were doing a bit more

instead of letting them to whatever they wanted. Some students that did not need to fix questions

worked on their major project that was due the next week. The student I observed took the whole class

period to fix her questions, but she completed that and turned it in. The boys around her were loud and

distracting but she stayed on task.

Assignment 7:

Doing the field observation showed me a lot. I enjoyed that Ms. Brannon was so open and

willing to talk to me about her experience of teaching and the struggles that she faces. Going into it

sometimes it seems like it is going to be all fun and that the kids all just want to come to school to learn

but during the observation I saw kids that did not want to be there and couldn’t seem to care less about

what was going on. I liked that I observed the difference between the publications class and the English

class because there is a complete difference in the way students behave in the classes that they must

apply for and the ones that are required. I am glad that I chose to do my observation hours in the high

school because now I am sure that is where I want to be as far as teaching goes. The day went by very

quickly because the classes being an hour long. It is a lot of work to transition from one class to the next

because there are different student all with their own attitudes and personalities so learning everyone

individually will prove to be a challenge. One of the other English teachers joined us for lunch one day

and she was reiterating a lot of the things that Mrs. Brannon said. It is important to teach to the

students in a way that they feel comfortable and to keep them engaged in the lesson. I feel like this is a

very rewarding profession and although it requires a lot of patience it is worth it.