Kendal Kerbrat

March 8, 2018

EDU 203

Dr. Dale Warby

Field Observation

When finding out we would be completing a field observation for this class, I was very excited. I
knew instantly that I wanted to complete my ten hours of observation in an elementary school. I have
experience working with both middle school and high school but have never observed an elementary
school special education class. When I tell people that I am majoring in special education and that I am
interested in elementary school they either say “why?”, or “you must have a lot of patients, bless your
heart!”. I have been told and warned by many teachers that I know that special education is a hard job
and that elementary school is the worst. With that, I wanted to find out for myself. I knew that
observing an elementary school would either make or break my decision.

On the initial day of dropping off the paperwork I spoke with the office manager Melissa
Galbraith, the principle Michelle Adams, and my assigned teacher Cathy Sterbentz. The office manager
had me sit in the lobby while I waited for the principle to take me back. Once ready, the principle took
me back and took the paper work from me. She was unaware of me being assigned to the school but
trusted that I was supposed to be there. Ms. Sterbentz came up to the office and introduced herself. All
together we decided on the two days that I would complete my required ten hours. They were all very
nice and I looked forward to seeing them again.

I completed six hours on my first day in the class observing the students. I went on February 26,
2018 from 9:00 AM- 3:00 PM. When arriving to the school Ms. Sterbentz met me at the front of the
school and I then went with her to get the students off the buses. At the buses I met her aid Ms. Belkyss,
they have worked together for a very long time. In her class there are seven students, and a mix of
disabilities. We all went right to the cafeteria so that the students could have their breakfast. In the
lunch room Ms. Sterbentz introduced me to the students and told them that I would be watching their
class. All the kids were happy to see me and a few even tried to hold my hand. After the students
finished eating we went back to the classroom. In the classroom Ms. Belkyss took 2 students at a time to
the restroom, while Ms. Sterbentz got the students settled into their chairs. At one table Ms. Sterbentz
worked with Cooper and Olivia on writing their names and counting. At the second table Ms. Belkyss
worked with students on putting puzzle pieces together and reading books. The students stayed working
in these groups for about 30 minutes. For the last 5 minutes Ms. Sterbentz allowed Olivia and Copper
both free time for doing so good on their work. Copper decided to play with the cars on the rug and
Olivia wanted to read a book. The students then all got together and worked on zipping, buttons, and
snaps, they did this until it was time for lunch. Students then left for lunch, they all sat at a table
together and Ms. Sterbentz went back to the classroom to have her lunch. After lunch the students
come back and have circle time. Ms. Sterbentz uses a few different software databases to complete the
calendar, story time with questions, and dance to work on coordination. All the students absolutely
loved this and enjoyed taking turns. Soon after it was time for specials, today the kids had music, so I
went with Ms. Belkyss while Ms. Sterbentz took her prep. In music that students sat at the back of the
classroom and completed the assignment that the music teacher assigned to the entire class. They had
to color instruments while the teacher played videos of them being played. After music we went back to
the classroom, the students had their snack while Ms. Belkyss took two at a time to the bathroom. For
the remainder of the day students worked on their counting and ended the day with more of the
interactive dancing.

On March 6, 2018 from 11:00 AM-3:00 PM I completed the remaining four hours of my
observation. When I got to the classroom students were working on songs with Ms. Belkyss, and Ms.
Sterbentz was taking Rayland to the kindergarten musical practice because he will be participating in the
play. I went with Ms. Sterbentz and observed how Rayland did working with the other kindergarten
students. Rayland did a great job and followed along amazingly with the other students. After the
practice was over we went back to the classroom and got ready for lunch. Same as the first day, Ms.
Sterbentz helped set the kids up and then went back to her classroom for her lunch. After lunch was
over Rayland and Cooper left to go have their one on one time with the speech pathologist. While they
were gone Ms. Sterbentz worked with the other students on the calendar, dance time, reading with
questions, and more. It was then time for specials and it happened to be a music day again because they
are on a six-day rotation. In music the students sat at the back of the room and learned a lesson on
woodwind instruments and watched Peter and the Wolf. The kids got a little restless and bored during
the movie and Ms. Belkyss kept having to remind them to sit nicely and to stop kicking each other. After
music was over the students went back to their classroom and the speech pathologist came in to do a
group lesson with the kids. All of them sat at the table except for Addyson because she stays back with
Ms. Sterbentz so that she does not touch the other kids. After speech was over, Ms. Sterbentz ended the
day with a dance along to a counting song.

My overall observations of the class were slightly different from the first day to the second. My
impression of the classroom was very playful, welcoming, and friendly. There are a lot of bright colored
decorations, signs, and all the tools/equipment are very organized and labeled. The student makeup of
the class consisted of three boys and four girls. There are four Caucasian, two Hispanic, and one African
American. None of the students have physical challenges but one student does have cerebral palsy
causing some coordination problems. Four of the students are still in diapers. Two of the students are in
second grade, three of the students are in first, and two of the students are in kindergarten. In the
classroom the posted rules include following school rules, keeping hands and feet to self, walking nicely
in hall, using manners, and raising hand to ask question or answer one. Ms. Sterbentz would remind
students of a rule if they were being broken. A few of the students in the class had behavior problems
and had to reminded and sat out of fun assignments when they broke a rule multiple times. Rewards
such as free time was used when students followed rules and listened to directions.

The classroom was set up in a very user-friendly way. At the door was where students put their
bags. Next was a shelf that held activity table supplies, the activity wall, and the activity table. In the
corner there were drawers labeled and organized that held supplies for each student, art supplies,
activities, and more. At the front of the room was the white board that had the daily schedule, another
drawer with larger supplies, the projector board, and Ms. Sterbentz desk. In the other front corner Ms.
Sterbentz had her desk cornered in by three shelves that held games and learning activities or puzzles.
Against the wall there was a book shelf and pillows to read on. In the back corner there was a computer
and a few larger cabinets that held teacher supplies. On the wall at the back of the room there was a
little activity table, water fountain (covered so students don’t play with it), a sink, and then the door that
you come in at. In the center of the room there is a second table that is slightly bigger that sits on top of
a large alphabet carpet. I believe the room set up is great, I would not change a thing about it. The
students know where to find everything and seem to be very comfortable. The work flow of the room is
organized and easy to follow. If a substitute teacher were to come in they would have no issue finding
supplies and were things are placed.

During the instructional time of the class Ms. Sterbentz followed the posted daily schedule to
the best of her ability. In a classroom with such variety of personalities, behavior problems, and levels of
education you need to just roll with the punches. Ms. Sterbentz would start on a task and must pause to
discipline a student or change what she is doing because the kids are not staying focused on task.
Instruction was taught in both small groups and whole groups depending on what was being taught. Ms.
Sterbentz would break students into groups to work on different levels of instruction based on their
IEP’s. I would describe my cooperating teacher’s teaching style as very direct and kind. With the
students that she has, she needs to be very direct with them so that they stay focused on their task and
do not act out. For the most part students stayed engaged in what was being taught, at times they
would get bored and act out. On the first day I was there Addyson had to be isolated because she kept
toughing other students, and Angel was isolated for taking his shoes off and not putting them back on.
Angel was kept apart until he decided to follow directions and put his shoes back on. On the second day
Addyson was isolated again for touching other students, and Aleah was isolated for not following
directions at all and talking back. To get the students attentions when they became distracted or were
not listening Ms. Sterbentz would tell students “Eyes on me” or “Sit in your seat”. The specific behavior
issues that Ms. Belkyss and Ms. Sterbentz deal with daily include grabbing, not listening, speaking out,
and hitting.

I interviewed Ms. Sterbentz on the second day of my observation while the speech pathologist
was working with the students at the activity table. Her primary reasons for becoming a teacher were
because her daughter is special needs and visually impaired and she wanted to teacher other students
like her. The main challenges that she faces as a teacher include student poor behavior, time
management of work and life, and all the paperwork. The best part about her job is seeing the students
improve and grow. She determines where students sit in class a month or so into the year after she has
observed them. Based off their ability, behavior, and personalities will determine where the students sit.
Beyond standardized testing, Ms. Sterbentz uses teacher created testing and unique learning for
assessment of students. The required reporting to parents consist of sending home quarterly IEP
progress reports, but she interacts with parents at least weekly. She will speak with parents about good
behavior, bad behavior, new habits, changes in class, and as much more as she can just to keep that
constant communication. As far as grading Ms. Sterbentz said that she does not grade the students, she
observes them always and constantly works on the IEP. To prepare for lessons Ms. Sterbentz does it day
by day because she must decide lessons based off how the kids are acting. To maximize instructional
time, she reminds students that they can have free time for good behavior and following directions. Her
positive reinforcement includes praise, free time, and it is all give and take. If the students are good they
get to dance to another song, if they talk out they will not be allowed to participate in story time and
will work on their counting. At Sue Morrow the specialist teachers are not very involved and do not pay
much attention to the special education students. The PE teacher will try to adapt to the students, but
the other teachers just assign what they assign to all the other students. Ms. Sterbentz is only evaluated
once a year and has not had a not favorable report, so she is not sure of consequences. Lastly, she
receives financial support from PTA fundraises and the special education department gets money from
the district every year to spend on supplies. She also receives professional or instructional help handling
parent problems or filling out student IEP’s from her facilitator. Ms. Sterbentz loves her job and the
students, even when they are little trouble makers.

I decided to observe Aleah on the second day that was in the classroom. Ms. Sterbentz was
doing the daily calendar with the students on the projector. She had all students pull their chair up by
board so that they could take turns filling out the day’s calendar. All of the students sat nicely waiting to
be called up to select the day of the week, date, and an opportunity to decorate the calendar. While the
first child was standing at the board was when Aleah started to act up. She was talking over the teacher
and other students and standing up. Ms. Sterbentz told her nicely to wait her turn to talk and to sit
down. A few minutes later, she was standing again and touching things on a shelf. At this point Ms.
Sterbentz moved her back from the class to the middle of the room because she was distracting all of
the students. She placed a dot on the floor, put her chair over it, and told her she needed to sit nicely.
Ms. Sterbentz continued the lesson and having students come to the board to fill out the calendar. I
watched Aleah and just a few seconds after Ms. Sterbentz started to teach she was picking up her dot on
the floor and picking the tape off it and eating it. Ms. Sterbentz went back to her again and told her she
needed to sit nicely and took the dot from her. Aleah yelled and the teacher and sat down. Ms.
Sterbentz sat down to teach again and called another student up to take their turn. Aleah then started
to whisper to another student Olivia. Oliva turned around and told her to, “Leave me alone!” and that
made Aleah mad. Ms. Sterbentz stood up yet again and told her to leave the other students alone and to
stop trying to get others in trouble. By the time Ms. Sterbentz finished all the students with the constant
distractions it was time to go to music. Besides Oliva telling her to not talk to her, all of the students did
not even notice Aleah acting up or become distracted by her. Ms. Sterbentz kept herself very calm and
collected during the entire lesson. I could tell she was becoming slightly annoyed as Aleah continued to
act up and speak out, but she still acted respectful and professional with the entire situation.

Overall, I had a great time and experience at Sue Morrow in Ms. Sterbentz class. The kids were
very cute and gave me a great insight of what the daily special education class is like. As for the teachers
Ms. Sterbentz and Ms. Belkyss were both very helpful, kind, and great teachers. I knew that spending
the ten hours in the class would either make me want to change my career path or become more eager
to finish it. After completing all ten hours and thinking about it, I am very excited about my decision to
major in special education. Although the kids were a lot of work, and the job seems stressful I think the
outcomes are by far more rewarding. The first day that I was there Ms. Sterbentz said that they are
usually really behaved when they are being observed or they are bad. The students happened to be very
well behaved on my first day there. On the second day the students had seen me before and decided
that they would be very badly behaved. They all received multiple warnings throughout the day and a
few had to be sat out of an activity. The teachers were very patient and friendly to the children. The
music teacher was not very involved either day that we went to her room. All the general education
students talked a lot and acted all crazy. The teacher just had them color one day and watch a movie the
second so not very much music was taught. Sue Morrow seems to be a great school and I would not
mind working there someday. All the staff and Principle were welcoming and excited for me to learn. I
really appreciated and learned a lot from this experience.