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Irishelle Estrada

Professor Rieger

Introduction to special education

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Assignment 1 (Observations)

Observation 1: My first impressions of the classroom environment was it was very colorful,

organized, and friendly. When I first walked into the classroom I noticed there was a lot of

drawings of students classwork, there was posters of encouraging words that look self-made.

Overall, the classroom looked very organized with labels of what was inside of the bins. The

classroom had a very friendly feeling to it because of all the dim lights, drawings of students

work, and encouraging words.

Observation 2:​ In Ms.​Dlouhy classroom it is mostly caucasian kids making up the ethnicity in

the classroom. There are 11 boys and 8 girls in the classroom.

Observation 3:​ Classroom rules:

1. Follow directions quickly.

2. Raise your hand for permission to speak.

3. Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself.

4. Make smart choices.

5. Keep your dear teacher happy.

Observation 4:​ yes, the teacher enforces these rules by using an app called dojo keeping track of

the kids behavior by points. When the students is well behaved a point will be given and if the

student is misbehaving points will be taken away.

Assignment 2 (Classroom Layout):

Classroom Layout 1: ​Students have a assigned seat where they start off their day and eat

breakfast at. Then they have a morning question where then they sit on the floor in front of the
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smart screen and answer the question. Most of the observation I did was partner work, they

would choose anywhere in the room where they wanted to work.

Classroom Layout 2:​ The physical arrangement of the room can be improved by spreading out

the tables more so the students do not feel crowded in the big room.

Assignment 3(Instruction):

Instruction Question 1: Daily schedule

8:55am- Door Opens
9:10am- Bell rings
9:22am- Morning Challenge
9:30am- Phonics
10:15am- Centers
11:00am- Reading
11:30am- Lunch
12:10pm- Language
12:30pm- Writing
1:10pm- Brain break
1:20pm- Math talk
1:30pm- Specials
2:20pm- Math
3:21pm- Go home

Instruction Question 2:​ Most of instruction time is done as whole groups or in partners on one

of my observation days. On one of the days, the students were playing games as partners, and

another day they were in groups of four or five playing a educational games.

Instruction Question 3:​ I would describe my cooperating teacher’s teaching style as having a

very positive teaching style. She asks many question throughout the lesson to make sure the

students are following and understanding the lesson for the day. She has many small

individualized groups, which helps her students learn better by having one on one interactions

with each other.

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Instruction Question 4:​ A modification Ms. ​Dlouhy would do throughout her lessons is having

small drum for a student who would be able to play the syllabus of words being said in the

lesson. This would help the student engage into the lesson better.

Instruction Question 5:​ yes, the students are very engaged during the lesson being presented.

When the teacher asked a question majority of the class would raise their hand to answer the

question. Ms.​Dlouhy would also create chants to do during the lesson to make sure the kids were

following along when she would say a chant the students were very excited to say it back.

Instruction Question 6: ​No during the days I observed no students were being isolated from the

rest of the class.

Instruction Question 7:​ yes, the instruction time is used efficiently Ms. ​Dlouhy would have a

posted schedule on the board and she would continually follow it. She would always have a

timer on her phone to let herself know when it was time to move on into the next lesson.

Instruction Question 8:​ Ms. ​Dlouhy would handle transitions between subjects by first making

the students clean everything that was around them from the last lesson. Then she would have

them sit in their seat while she is introducing the next lesson. This helps the student to become

ready for the next lesson.

Instruction Question 9: ​Attention getters used in the classroom were chants Ms.​Dlouhy made

up the kids would chant it back while she is trying to get their attention. An example of a chant is

she would skip count by 5’s and when they would reach 100 they would have to be quite in their

seat ready to learn.

Instruction Question 10:​ A specific issue Ms.​Dlouhy would have to deal with in her classroom

is behavior issues. An example is when the students were doing a activity with whiteboards and
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markers, one of the students grabbed the cap and started throwing it around and he hit a light

bulb and it broke. The glass flew everywhere. Ms.Dlouhy took the kid outside of the classroom

and had a talk with him.

Instruction Question 11:​ To save instructional time Ms.​Dlouhy can create a system where

students can talk nonverbally. This will help hinder time by students not interrupting class every

couple of minutes to ask to use the bathroom or get a drink of water.

Assignment 4 (Culture):

Physical Characteristics:

1. On my first day arriving at a Helen Marie Smith elementary school I notices the sidewalk

were being kept clean. The grass was cut very nicely and there was no trash around. The

gates surrounding the building were locked for the safety of the students. Other than the

the school name outside there is bing A,B,C letters on the side of the building. There is

also a digital sign bny the front of the school giving out important dates everyone needs

to know.

2. When I first walked in there was a receptionist at the front of the school when you needs

to sign in. I had to show my ID and tell them I was a CSN atuddents there to observe a

class. Then I was shown where the classroom was located at. When I walked into the

school the first thing I saw was a reward for being a blue ribbon school, which is a high

achievement. I also saw a lot of students art work and drawing. There also is digital

screen showing important dates and also there is pictures of students being shown doing

work.

Culture of the school:

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1. The mission statement at Helen Marie Smith Elementary school is to provide a safe and

positive learning environment for all students. Through collaboration between students,

parents, and staff, we strive to promote lifelong learners who are able to meet the

challenges of a diverse society. The motto is “help make success...Respect and

responsibility”. The mascot is a superstar.

2. When I arrived to do my observation the front office was very busy I saw a lot of parents

and students talking to the lady in charge of the office. When she greeted me she was

very friendly I was able to sign in and she lead me to the classroom I was assigned to

observe. As were walking in the hallways most other staff was very friendly and said

hello as we passed them.

3. The assigned school I got started at 9:10 and ends at 3:21.The school used a pull out

program for english language learners, they get pulled out every other day for a certain

amount of time, they get one on one time with a specialist teacher who will help them

improve their english.

4. As I observed students to students interactions throughout the school I realized every

student is very friendly and talkative. The students are always say hi to every teacher they

pass in the hallway. At recess time most of the students are playing some kind of sport or

they are running around the grass area. They usually have their own groups of students

they socialize with.

5. Helen Marie Smith elementary school is known as a blue ribbon school. As you walk the

hallways of the school you can see walls covered in artwork of students of all grade
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levels. You can also see many pictures around the school from award ceremonies and

extracurricular activities, such as student council, choir, and garden club.

Culture of the Classroom:

1. The teacher is always in a happy mood to teach her students. She is always giving them

positive feedback making sure she knows they are trying their best in everything they are

doing. She always believe students in working harder to being able to learn the new

lesson being taught. Ms. ​Dlouhy​ personality is very positive and welcoming, she wants to

have a impact to each of her students lives, she wants to have a fun year with her students

while they grow.

2. During the lesson mostly all the students are raising their hand and participating, but if

she see someone who does not look engage she will call out their name and ask them a

question regarding the lesson.

3. The interactions between student and teacher are always respectful. If a teacher is asking

a student to do a task the student will not complain and will successfully do the task. The

teacher always has a soft tone when she is speaking with the students and she always

seems excited to teach the material.

Assignment 5 (Cooperating Teacher Interview):

Interview Question 1: ​The reason why Ms. ​Dlouhy became a teacher is because she always

imagined herself becoming a teacher growing up. While she was in college she was observing

considering other majors but then she realized teaching was for her.
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Interview Question 2:​ The main challenges Ms. Dlouhy faces as a teacher is district

requirements such as how she has to teach in her class. Another challenge she facs is paperwork,

as she grades for hours before and after school.

Interview Question 3: ​The best part of being a teacher according to Ms. Dlouhy is bulding

realaltionps with kids and being able to have a connection with the kids.

Interview Question 4:​ The setting arrangement is based on where the students want to sit. They

are able to choose their own seat at the beginning of the year, but this is there permanent seat for

the remainder of the year. She also makes assigned seats mandatory because this is a easier way

of taking roll call and seeing who is absent. She can also change the seating if the students are to

chatty or continue to abrupt the class.

Interview Question 5:​ Ms.Dlouhy determines any flexible group by ability to reading levels.

She also likes to put kids who do not talk much with each other so they will be able to come out

of their shell.

Interview Question 6​: Beyond standardized testing Ms. Dlouhy creates her own assignments to

use as a regulatory assessments. She does this to make sure her students are understanding the

lesson. As she presenting a new lesson or teaching a past lesson, she will go around the room

asking students questions making sure they understand the lesson.

Interview Question 7: ​The requirements placed on Ms. Dlouhy for reporting progress to parents

is a standardized progress report is sent out to parents every nine weeks. At Helen Marie Smith

Elementary School they use a app called class dojo which tracks the students behavior through

points. This gives s. Dlouhy east access to sent a quick message to a students parents to report

any good or bad behavior.

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Interview Question 8:​ Ms. Dlouhy uses class dojo to report any information to the parents since

she started using this app, her interaction with students parents in person as decreased. The

district makes teachers have a face to face talk with the students parents for a conference in

december, but is hse sees any potential behavior problems she contacts them right away and

schedules a meeting.

Interview Question 9: ​Most weeks Ms. Dlouhy grades about three assignments as much of

work in her class is done as whole group and she grades as class is in session.

Interview Question 10: ​Ms. Dlouhy creates her lesson plans during her prep period as she does

not want to take work to home. This gives her about 30 minute window to create lesson plans,

sometimes this is not enough time and she has to either go in before and after school to finish it.

Interview Question 11:​ The strategies she uses to maximize instructional time is engagement

strategies and making sure the students are paying attention to the lesson at all times.

Interview Question 12: ​A positive reinforcement program Ms. Dlouhy has success with is class

dojo app. The students are either receive or loss points based on their behavior. Ms. Dlouhy

observed the good kids are building up encourage for other students to behave well.

Interview Question 13:​ Specialist teacher are involved in the instructional planning process by

using vocabulary that their regular teacher is teaching in their classroom.

Interview Question 14:​ Ms.Dlouhy is evaluated once a year and the feedback she gets gives her

strengths and what she needs to work on. They also write down every single thing you say in

class so they are able to evaluate on how you speak to the students as well.

Interview Question 15:​ If the consequences are not favorable you are sent to training to be able

get the skill you lack in.

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Interview Question 16:​ The kind of support she receives is PTO, they help her with school

supplies when she is running low. The principle also gives the teacher of a sub for a day so she

can get caught up wither her work, which is a great help so she would not fall back on work.

Interview Question 17: ​what most surprised Ms.Dlouhy with teaching is how consuming it is. It

consumes your life and how you are always thinking about new ways to teach even if you are not

in the classroom.

Assignment 6 (Observation)

Throughout my days of observation the student I observed was very engaged in the

lesson. I observed a first grader in their everyday environment. One my first day as I observed

this student she came in and right away started to eat her breakfast that the school provided her

with. When breakfast was over and Ms.Dlouhy started to count for students to go back to their

seats, the student quickly finished her breakfast and got up to throw away her trash to start the

day. Every morning Ms.Dlouhy starts off her classroom with a morning challenge and she gives

student time to figure out the answer before doing it as a whole class. The student sat on the floor

trying to figure out what was the answer to the question. She started to draw a picture of the

problem that was on the board she came up with a answer and showed it to Ms.Dlouhy,

unfortunately she got in incorrect and went back to her seat trying to solve the problem again.

The time was up and they started to solve the problem as a whole class where she got to

understand how to do the problem. I also observed the student on the playground at recess, she

was running around playing with her friends on the playground also on the grass field. As I put

myself in a student shoes for a couple of days I noticed how different every student will be in

your class would be. Although I only observed one student I noticed how different fellow
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students who would be around her would act. It is important to know each one of your students

who walk in and out of your class everyday.

Assignment 7 (summary)

As i finished my ten hours of observation at my elementary school I was lucky enough to

get a great school and teacher. This is only my second time in a elementary school environment.

I was excited to see a everyday school teacher schedule and what they have to deal with on a

daily basis. On my first day wasling into the classroom it felt very welcoming and friendly. The

teacher made me feel very comfortable in her classroom and reassuring if I have a question I can

always ask. I was able to see how students first walk into the class in the morning as well as

eating breakfast. I was also able to watch how the morning challenges are thought out and how

they are able to solve it as a class. The next couple of observation days I mostly saw group work

and different games that were being played to understand a lesson in a fun way. I was able to

help students with counting in the game and also belong them when they asked for help.

Throughout the days of my observation I was able to see what the day to day life of a teacher is

first handed, in which I gathered a lot of information from. I was also able to see how the teacher

reacts to different student behavior and well she handles every situation she is put in. was glad I

was able to have this experience to realize if a teaching career was right for me.