Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Kristen Thomas
EDUC 1301.200
5/1/20
Running head: OBSERVATION REFELECTION PAPER 2
educational aide. This position affords me the opportunity to spend time in a variety of
classrooms. Some of the teachers and classrooms that I had the chance to observe in were
Mrs. Godwin in second grade, Mrs. Cathey in fourth grade math and science, Ms. Donald in
fourth grade English language arts, Ms. Morrison in dyslexia and reading resource, and Mrs.
Hacker in LEAP. Each classroom had their own climate and each teacher had her own teaching
philosophy. I would like to reflect on Mrs. Cathey’s and Ms. Donald’s classrooms.
Mrs. Cathey who teaches fourth grade math and science struck me as being the type of
teacher that I would have liked to have had as a student and in some aspects the kind of teacher I
would like to be in my own classroom. During my observation time I noticed that Mrs. Cathey
would point out the accurate points of a student’s answer and correct gently when needed. She
would never speak negatively to a student. For example, if a student said that the numerator was
at the bottom of a fraction Mrs. Cathey would explain that the numerator is a part of the fraction
at the top; the denominator is at the bottom. Building up the student’s knowledge by asking open
ended questions and checking for comprehension during and after a lesson were paramount.
There seemed to be at least two to three checks for comprehension and a focus on TEKS. She
would say to a student, think about what we learned yesterday and let’s look at the board to think
about what we will learn today. Then she would have a student read the board for the TEKS of
the day. For example, Math 3.C-We will determine if two given fractions are equivalent using a
variety of methods. Students who were more kinetic learners were able to interact with the lesson
by using three dimensional models at their work station and visual students could write on white
Running head: OBSERVATION REFELECTION PAPER 3
boards. A variety of seating was also offered to encourage attention and comfort. Math,
especially in fourth grade, moves at a rapid clip. Mrs. Cathey would offer adapted learning
sheets and small group pull outs to her students that were falling behind in comprehension. The
lessons were all teacher and district driven given state testing mandates, but student needs were
always at the forefront. Positive uplifting interactions, comprehension checks, and flexible
Another teacher that I had the opportunity to observe was Ms. Donald. This was Ms.
Donald’s first year in the classroom and unfortunately it was painfully obvious. Although
Ms. Donald seemed to have a great deal of compassion for her students she did not have class
control. There appeared to be no positive relationship between teacher and student. Repeatedly
the students would be disrespectful and talk over her or speak inappropriately. Ms. Donald had
no response for these actions and she seemed defeated. Only one learning style, visual, was
tailored to. There were no differentiated learning options. Given the time I got to spend in this
classroom, I now know what I do not want for my classroom. In my future classroom I would
climate.
and mutual respect are all things that I witnessed in Mrs. Cathey’s classroom and were missing
from Ms. Donald’s. Noting this contrast reinforced my teaching philosophy. Now more than
ever, I feel driven to complete my educational journey and find my own voice in a classroom.