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: 9-26-19

Grade Level: 2nd Number of Students: Failed to count

Grouping: Whole Time Begins/Ends: 2:15/2:57

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)

Miss Walker was respectful to the students and for the majority of the lesson she used
appropriate tone, volume, and cadence. She knew student’s names and observer could tell
that appropriate rapport has been established between teacher and student. Still a work in
progress.
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)

Be aware of your tone throughout the lesson. You were a bit harsh or irritated when
redirecting a student on the rug during your direct instruction.
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)

Miss Walker was able to refine her lesson from the first group math lesson she taught in order
to make the lesson more efficient and effective to engage students. She responded to issues
and was receptive to students’ needs when students lacked understanding of math concepts
being taught.-measurement with a ruler. You were able to focus on the number line and ruler
as you taught as visuals for students.
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)
Engage students more as you are teaching your topics and concepts by utilizing strategies such
as: Think, Pair, Share, and Shoulder partners, elbow partner, etc. Peer to Peer learning is a
technique that facilitates student learning. How long should students be on the rug? How long
should rug part of the lesson take? Encourage more student talk in the lesson which leads to
formal assessment which checks for understanding and guides teaching for the next lesson(s).
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)
Use more direct teaching of expectations and be consistent. State all expectations for behavior
and academics prior to the start of the lesson. Review these during the lesson as needed and
reinforce when students display the desired behavior. You used 1, 2, 3 eyes on me not all
students stopped what they were doing. Use attention getters from Mrs. Hodges that work or
find your own. Teach, model, practice before using any attention getter.
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)

Transitions were done promptly, students knew what to do for the most part, and most
students were engaged in the lesson. Continue to further your development of concepts by
observing the first lesson taught, watching teaching videos, and utilizing teacher feedback of
your lessons. After sending students to independent practice-teach students to work for 5-7
minutes then they can raise their hands if help is needed. Teach ask three before me. This will
assist in making students work more independently and not use you as the crutch. If most of
the students are raising their hands then pull group back together and reteach. You should and
could have done this because most students were having the same issues. (Debriefing shed
light on this).
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)

Clear, concise, and explicit instruction is key. This will come with further concept knowledge on
your part and more teaching. Very well done hook (opening) –connected to real life
experience-your house (steps, decorations, party, etc.). Modalities all used but continue to
utilize and find what works best for each student.
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)
More higher order thinking questions should be developed and allow student facilitated
learning if at all possible.
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)
 Scaffolding was observed and remember to build on previous learning and future learning in
order to enrich learning each lesson that you teach. Reinforcement needs to be specific and
contingent when academic progress and behavior progress are made. The observer noted some
throughout the rug and independent learning.
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)

If you are doing most of the talking then you are doing the most learning. Allow conversation in
an organized and systematic process. Elaborate, use higher order thinking strategies, whole
brain strategies, age appropriate math language which extends learning, and find a strategy to
encourage more opportunities to respond within your lessons-(numbered students, student
sticks, etc.)