LSU PK-3 Observation Form

Based on the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)

Student: Mary Jane Walker

Observer: Kara Hill, PhD

Teacher: Mrs. Hodges Date: 11-19-19

Grade Level: 2nd Number of Students: 20

Grouping: Whole/Small Time Begins/Ends: 11:16-12:17

Positive Climate
 Relationships (physical proximity; shared activities; peer assistance; matched affect; social conversation)
 Positive affect (smiling; laughter; enthusiasm)
 Positive communication (verbal affection; physical affection; positive expectations)
 Respect (eye contact; warm/calm voice; respectful language; cooperation and/or sharing)

Good rapport with students is noted. I saw more confidence in your teaching in this lesson. Be
confident, trust your gut, have fun, and smile when you teach.
Negative Climate
 Negative affect (irritability; anger; harsh voice; peer aggression; disconnected or escalating negativity)
 Punitive control (yelling; threats; physical control; harsh punishment)
 Sarcasm/disrespect (sarcastic voice/statement; teasing; humiliation)
 Severe negativity (victimization; bullying; physical punishment)

At times during the lesson to get students to comply you were sarcastic. Be cautious of this -
remember you are the professional and you are modeling what you expect from them.
Children model what adults model.
Teacher Sensitivity
 Awareness (anticipates problems and plans appropriately; notices lack of understanding and/or difficulties)
 Responsiveness (acknowledges emotions; provides comfort or assistance; provides individualized support)
 Addresses problems (helps in an effective and timely manner; helps resolve problems)
 Student comfort (seeks support and guidance; freely participates; takes risks)

Assistance was provided because you continued to circulate. Could you have help mini
individual conferences to check on progress? Just a thought-more meaningful and responsive.
Regard for Student Perspectives
 Flexibility and student focus (shows flexibility; incorporates student’s ideas; follows lead)
 Support for autonomy and leadership (allows choice; students lead lessons; gives students responsibilities)
 Student expression (encourages student talk; elicits ideas and/or perspectives)
 Restriction of movement (allows movement; is not rigid)
Students could move into groups. No movement was restricted within groups. You allowed
student choice in picking their Famous American. You encouraged student talk and allowed for
sharing of their ideas.
Behavior Management
 Clear behavior expectations (clear expectations; consistency; clarity of rules
 Proactive (anticipates problem behavior or escalation; low reactivity; monitors)
 Redirection of misbehavior (effective redirection of misbehavior; attention to positive; uses subtle cues to redirect)
 Student behavior (frequent compliance; little aggression and defiance)
Better student and classroom management was observed. Make certain you use the school-
wide and/or classroom reinforcement system. Make certain you are consistent giving out
 consequences. You did redirect and you did warn. Make certain you aren’t just warning
students repeatedly.
Productivity
 Maximizing learning time (provision of activities; choice when finished; few disruptions; pacing)
 Routines (students know what to do; clear instructions; little wandering)
 Transitions (brief; explicit follow-through; learning opportunities within)
 Preparation (materials ready and accessible; knows lessons)

Learning time was maximized-you had time to wrap up small groups and read a book to close
the lesson. Clear instructions given, repeated to instructions, didn’t repeat to one student since
he was talking when you were talking. Command your audience before speaking or giving
directions. Stand in one spoke when giving important directions or announcements.
Instructional Learning Formats
 Effective facilitation (teacher involvement; effective questioning; expanding children’s involvement)
 Variety of modalities and materials (auditory, visual, and movement; interesting/creative materials; hands-on)
 Student interest (active participation; listening; focused attention)
 Clarity of learning objectives (advanced organizers; summaries; reorientation statements)

Effective facilitation was noted in this lesson- teacher involved in preparing differentiated
groups, selecting books for each differentiated small group, effective questioning when
appropriate, and children’s involvement within their groups. More peer to peer facilitation
could have occurred in each group. Tell your group about your fun fact, look out what I found
out about…
Concept Development
 Analysis and reasoning (why and/or how questions; problem solving; prediction; classification; evaluation)
 Creating (brainstorming; planning; producing)
 Integration (connect concepts; integrates with previous knowledge)
 Connections to the real world (real-world applications; related to students’ lives)
Lesson was integrated with ELA/SS. Real world connections were made-do more of this
throughout all lessons. Tell them and teach them why Americans are important and how they
fit into our culture and society. History in the making. It appeared that you put some time and
effort in planning and preparing this lesson. Well done! 😊 This will benefit you greatly in the
future.
Quality of Feedback
 Scaffolding (hints; assistance)
 Feedback loops (back-and-forth exchanges; persistence by teacher; follow-up questions)
 Prompting thought processes (asks students to explain thinking; queries responses and actions)
 Providing information (expansion; clarification; specific feedback)
 Encouragement and affirmation (recognition; reinforcement; student persistence)

More encouragement was noted in this lesson as compared to others. Use the reinforcement
system of the classroom and/or school to assist you in getting students to comply or
demonstrate desired behaviors more often.
Language Modeling
 Frequent conversation (back-and-forth exchanges; contingent responding; peer conversations)
 Open-ended questions (requires more than a one-word response; students respond)
 Repetition and extension (repeats; extends/elaborates)
 Self- and parallel talk (maps own actions with language; maps student action with language)
 Advanced language (variety of words; connected to familiar words and/or ideas)

Questioning was related to their Famous Americans outline-Ms. Walker had many exchanges
back and forth with all students as she circulated to each group to have them dig deeper for
their answers on their outlines. It was mainly on the fun fact. Try saying things in a new way to
assist all learners. Be certain to use appropriate Language Arts terminology and nomenclature.
You asked them to write full sentences instead of complete sentences. You did self-correct
further into the lesson. 😊