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Running Head: FIELD OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENTS

Field Observation Assignments

Jason Atilano-Lopez

College of Southern Nevada

December 7, 2017
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Running Head: FIELD OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENTS

Assignment #1 (Observation)

1. The classroom environment is very friendly and quiet. The students and the teacher get along,

but it is evident that the teacher controls the class. The classroom is decorated in a superhero

theme as well as the students’ desks. There are eight rows of desks with four students in each

row, each representing a different superhero.

2. The student make-up of the class is different for all categories. There seems to be no kids with

any sort of special needs or physical challenges. There is only one African-American boy and the

rest of the boys and girls seem of Hispanic descent.

3. The teacher does not have any of the rules posted in the classroom, but he gave the students a

packet in the beginning of the year to take home and go over it with their parents. The packet

consists of the following rules.

- When entering the classroom: sit in your desks quietly until further instruction.

- Keep the area around you clean at all times.

- When exiting the class: walk in a straight line.

- Do not talk when an adult or a selected student is speaking.

- Raise your hand when you need something.

- Students must turn in completed homework when assigned.

4. The teacher does enforce the rules and the students seem to follow all the teacher’s rules on a

daily basis. The teacher rewards the students with homework passes when they follow rules

constantly. As a consequence, the teacher takes away the students recess and makes them sit

down and read a book.

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Running Head: FIELD OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENTS

Assignment #2 (Classroom Layout)

1. The space in the room is used efficiently, there is only free space in the back of the teacher’s

desk. All of the students are in front of the teacher. There is also room for a library and space for

the teacher to walk to the board from his desk. The back has too much free space that can be

utilized to create more room for the students.

2. I think that the maybe by moving the desks back a little there might be for free room for

students as well, while also making more room in the classroom library. This will make the

classroom a little more comforting.

Assignment #3 (Instruction)

1. There is no posted schedule, the teacher uses a timer to time manage the different subjects or

periods.

2. Instruction time is delivered in centers and also as a whole class. This depends on the subject

that is being taught. For example, in math the direct instruction is given to students as a whole

class, but in reading the instruction is given in small groups in centers.

3. The teacher does a lot of centers and group work. He has a personal station where he reads

individually with each group. He likes to work with each student in small groups.

4. The teacher mixes technology a lot to the learning styles. (laptops, smartboard, desktops)

Students work in laptops for at least an hour and the teacher uses the smartboard for the majority

of the instructional time.

5. Students are engaged in the lessons because they gain points for participation and those points

can reward the students with homework passes or small prizes like erasers and pencils. This

makes the students want to be more engaged in lessons.

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Running Head: FIELD OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENTS

6. There does not seem to be a single student that is isolated from the rest. All of the students are

in groups for the most part. Even when they head out to recess or lunch they are together with

other classmates.

7. The teacher handles transitions with a timer, when the timer goes off the students know that

they need to go to their next station. The transitions are efficient.

8. In order to get the students’ attention, the teacher says, “Give me five.” Every student must all

raise their hands and give all their attention to the teacher. The teacher also raises his voice to

make sure he has the students’ attention. These methods are effective.

9. The teacher mainly deals with students who attempt to talk back as a behavior issue. The

teacher gives them warning at first. Second, he pulls them outside and talks to them on a one on

one. If the bad behavior continues, he takes away their recess, and finally he calls their parents

and writes them up.

10. The amount of time given to the teachers to teach the subject hinders instructional time.

Teachers can only teach so much in a given time, but time goes by extremely fast that teachers

must rush through their lesson. So, time is really an obstacle that gets in the teachers way of

giving direct instruction.

Assignment #4 (Culture)

Physical Characteristics:

1. The buildings are all the same color and are very small. The school is outside from the inside.

There is fencing all around the entire school. There are extremely old trees in the school, at least

a few decades old. There are lines in the ground to guide the students on how to walk in straight

lines. There are paws painted in different parts of the school to symbolize the school mascot. The

parking lot is extremely small, only room for school employees to park.
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Running Head: FIELD OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENTS

2. Inside the school the floor is all concrete and when you go inside the classroom there is all

floor tiles. The lighting in the classroom is the same as in any school building. There is

functioning lighting outside as well. The doors are extremely sturdy in every classroom and the

windows are also covered with metal railing. The school is decorated with pictures of the mascot

and also pictures of encouraged multi-culturalism. There is no security (guards) in the school, but

guests must enter through the office and tell the office staff what they need.

Culture of the School:

1. The school’s mascot is a cougar, to represent all the students. The motto is, “Go Cougars Go!”

This is to help students out and reinforce the idea that they can do whatever they think they can.

The school’s mission statement is cougar’s paw, with PAWS written in the middle and four

prints that say what it stands for. PAWS = Proactive, Achieve, Work Together, Set Goals.

2. The teachers greet everyone in the school whether it is another student or an adult. The staff in

the main office is not as generous. They greet visitors after they have been in the office for a

while and do not always greet them with a good attitude.

3. Students talk to each other a lot when they are not in the classroom. They keep it quiet in the

classroom. Students interact with students from other classes and most of them socialize in the

playground.

4. The white line is a neat way to organize the way students walk. Students cannot walk out of

the line which seems great because they can not just go wherever they want. The library is also

organized by sections of what type of book it is. The order goes by Dewey decimal. The halls are

also organized by a lot of work that the younger students produce. The grades are also organized

by room, for example, students that are in fifth grade are next to other students in the same grade

and not close to other grade levels.

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Running Head: FIELD OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENTS

5. The schools has tradition of awarding students for their accomplishments every few months.

They basically give recognition to students that receive good grades, good attendance, and good

behavior. There is also something called a “Great American Award” where a student must

memorize a part of the Gettysburg Address, all presidents of the US, all states capitals, The

Preamble of the constitution, and the Star-Spangled Banner. The students get rewarded with a

golden plaque and a certificate signed by the Senator of Nevada. This is an ongoing tradition in

the school.

Culture of the Classroom:

1. The teacher expects the very best of every single student in his classroom with no exceptions.

The teacher wants every student to at least try if they do not know the subject. He just wants the

students to know that if they try their best they will succeed.

2. Almost every single student participates in the classroom. There are a few students that

struggle so much that they do not want to participate. The teacher gives the best of his ability to

help these students, but they do not get help at home.

3. The teacher has all of the power in his classroom, He makes sure that students know that he is

in charge. The teacher is nice to the students, but if the students get noisy or disruptive then the

teacher raises his voice and the students get completely quiet.

Assignment #5 (Cooperating Teacher Interview)

1. The primary reason that Mr. Arevalo became a teacher was to help students to achieve the

very best that they can.

2. The main challenge that Mr. Arevalo faces as a teacher is to get the parents of the students

involved in their own child’s education.

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Running Head: FIELD OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENTS

3. The best part of being a teacher to Mr. Arevalo is getting to know his students not only in the

classroom, but also personally. They know that they have someone to talk when they need, and

they can always trust him.

4. Mr. Arevalo gives his students the freedom to decide where they get to sit from the beginning

of the school year, but if they become a nuisance that get in the way of his teaching then he

moves them.

5. In order to select members of a flexible group, Mr. Arevalo makes the students take a test

called “Irody.” The test will place the students in whatever level they are in and this is how Mr.

Arevalo places each student in centers.

6. Mr. Arevalo does not really interact with the parents because they choose not to speak with

him. The main reason they interact is because of the behavior problems with the students. They

do not talk about grades as much as behavior problems.

7. Mr. Arevalo attempts to grade in a daily manner and tries to be punctual with the time frame

for the assignment.

8. Mr. Arevalo takes anywhere from 3-5 hours out of his day to prepare a lesson plan for the

classroom.

9. In order to maximize instructional time Mr. Arevalo makes students work in partners to make

sure that they understand what they are being taught.

10. Mr. Arevalo uses something called a class dojo as a positive reinforcement. Students get

points and at the end of the week they students with the most points get prizes. The consequence

that seems most effective with the age group is taking away the students’ recess and making

them read books instead.

11. There are no specialist teachers involved in Mr. Arevalo’s instructional planning and process.
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Running Head: FIELD OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENTS

12. Mr. Arevalo gets evaluated about once or twice a year for the most part. Administration uses

NEPF documentation for determining his teaching performances.

13. There are not really any consequences if the evaluation is not favorable, they talk to him

about ways to improve his teaching.

14. When Mr. Arevalo became a teacher, he was surprised at the number of parents that do not

care about the education of their kids.

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Running Head: FIELD OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENTS

Assignment #6 (Observing a student)

The very first day that I showed up to the school I was intrigued by a student in the

classroom. When I first entered the classroom, Mr. Arevalo had the students in centers.

The student was participating in a smartboard activity and everything seemed normal.

Then he finished his turn in the smartboard and sat back down with his peers in the same

center. He was talkative in the group as well. Then there was an incident where he

“accidently” stabbed a student in the leg, Mr. Arevalo solved the situation rationally and

he ordered the two students to head to the office.

The student seemed like a good student, I did not know why he would do that,

even Mr. Arevalo was surprised with the student. I was puzzled with the behavior for the

rest of the day. The next time I went to the classroom, Mr. Arevalo was teaching math. I

noticed that the student was back, and he seemed quite during instructional time. He

would sit in the back and try to pay attention to the lesson being taught, it was evident

that he really struggled. The student finally raised his hand to try to get involved in the

lesson, but he got the answer wrong and as he got it wrong he seemed like he was sad and

decided not to participate anymore. I could not help but feel sorry for him and I knew that

with a more positive attitude and more attention the student would try even more and

give it his best.

The last day in my observation I went in during another math lecture. I saw the

student again, he seemed to have a more positive attitude that day. The student was

energized and was participating more now. I noticed that when he got a correct answer

and positive feedback he would enjoy himself. I knew that he needed that attention for

him to better himself. It was also evident that he learned better when the learning seemed
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Running Head: FIELD OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENTS

one on one. The experience and evolvement of the students really helped reinforce my

goal of becoming a teacher.

Assignment #7 (Summary)

Through the field observation I have learned a lot and now I understand why this is a

crucial element for all students who are trying to become educators. I learned about the

importance of having complete control in the classroom to fully manage the class. As the

teacher you must be the boss and make sure that every student knows that, if not then

they will control the classroom. I also learned that every student is different and as an

educator we must know to go get to those students that are different. It is also extremely

important to know how to react to certain situations, as teachers we cannot panic in

situations that seem troublesome. Teachers have many different jobs other than teaching,

they have to babysit children as well as being another parent to the kids. The

responsibility is an enormous one. Educators have the ability to turn a student around,

this is important because we must know how to communicate with every student, we

need to form bonds with the students in order to know their needs. I underestimated the

teaching profession, but now I know what to expect. In class we learn about different

learning styles and how to react to student behavior. We learn a lot about what goes on

inside the minds of children, which is extremely helpful information now that we are

witnessing it in person. I will also remember to incorporate modern technology into my

classroom when it is needed. As we advance we need to learn how to use the technology

well enough to present it to students. This is a must for us teachers, especially in todays

world. Overall this observation really helped me and I hope to do it again later in my

college career.
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Running Head: FIELD OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENTS