ASSIGNMENT #1 (Culture): Using the questions below, carefully observe and evaluate the

culture of the school. School culture refers to the way teachers and other staff members work
together and the set of beliefs, values, and assumptions they share. A positive school climate
and school culture promote students' ability to learn. Remember you are evaluating the school
for its educational culture, place of learning, sense of safety, invitation for learning, promotion of
self actualization, development of values and socialization.

Physical Characteristics: Look at a picture(s) of the school to determine atmosphere, comfort,

and feelings the school creates for students in the educational setting.

● The school is being rebuilt and the teachers and students are at another school. From
what I can see is that they have expanded the school and the building has more floors.
The old building looked outdated but now they are rebuilding the school.

1. Consider the school property: building, grounds, fencing, equipment, landscaping, trees,
parking lot, crosswalks, gates, signs and symbols. Describe in detail.

● The building is being rebuilt they’re are going to have different artwork and a new
building.

2. Next, (if available) study the interior of the school: halls, floor coverings, lighting, doors,
windows, hall colors and decorations and entrance security. Explain in detail.

● I couldn’t see the inside of the school.

Culture of the School: Read, listen and/or observe to determine the climate, values, and
atmosphere within the school.

1: What are your first impressions of the school? Enrollment, graduation rate, proficiency rates,
student/teacher ratio etc.

● From what I researched Myrtle Tate is ranked 258th in the CCSD public school system.
It also ranks 65% lower then other elementary schools when it comes to test scores. I
was surprised by this I thought that Myrtle Tate would have a better ranking.

2: Please describe the student make-up of the school, including gender, ethnicity, students with
disabilities, ELL students, and any other attributes that are important to note you found.

● Myrtle Tate has a high population of hispanic students (65.4%) and African American
students (22.7). The gender population is almost 50/50 with Males at 54% and Females
at 46%. 44% of the students are in ELL, and 17.7% have an IEP.
3. Explain the school’s mission/vision statements, motto, and mascot.

● The schools motto is “We strive. We believe. We achieve”, the school’s mission is to
“create a safe, respectful learning environment where all students achieve academic
success and celebrate responsible choices.” Their mascot is tate the tiger.

4. Examine school traditions, achievements and awards; community recognition or community

partners; extracurricular activities/clubs and athletics. Look for and document sources of
community pride and sense of identity through ceremonies, assemblies, trophies, and artifacts.

● The have student rewards ceremonies and they have special programs during this
pandemic like a zoom class to help students with english and they have a class for
students interested in the arts.

5. Briefly describe three other pieces of information that can be found on your assigned school’s
website.

● They have information on homework help, they have teacher contact information, and a
link to report a bully.

Culture of the Classroom: Each classroom has its own culture and way of life.

1. What are the teacher’s expectations for learning and success?

● She expects her students to be on time and be on tasks and to actively participate in
class discussions.

2. Evaluate the level of student participation in the class. Who participates? Who does not?

● All of her students participate in some students don’t want to participate but Ms.Mosier
makes sure that they participate in class activities and discussions.

3. Evaluate the interactions between teacher and students, rapport, cohesiveness, distribution
of power, teacher personality.

● Ms.Mosier is always respectful towards her students and they are respectful to her, the
only problem she had in her class was students unmuting in inappropriate times.

4. Observe student-to-student interactions, inside and outside of the class. Are they using any
chat features to communicate with each other?

● None of the students use the chat box

ASSIGNMENT #2 (Observations)

1: What are your first impressions of the virtual classroom environment? Is it warm, inviting,
organized, etc? Describe the virtual environment in detail.

● It was a interesting new experience I had never observed a classroom before and doing
it virtually made it feel out of place. Ms.Mosier made me feel welcomed so did the
students.

2: Please describe the student make-up of the class, including gender, ethnicity, ELL, students
with physical challenges, and any other apparent attributes that are important to note.

● She had a majority of females in her class and most of the students were hispanics,
some had a difficulty with the English language.

3: Are their posted class rules or course expectations? If rules/expectations are posted write
them exactly as they appear.

● She does not have any rules posted

4: Does the teacher enforce these posted rules/expectations? What rewards or consequences
are used for compliance or noncompliance?

● She hasn’t when I was observing

5: What is the posted daily/weekly schedule for different subjects or periods?

● She doesn’t have them posted but she does tell them verbally.

6: Do you see evidence of the school’s mission/vision statements in the virtual environment?

● Yes, Ms.Mosier has a hand puppet that resembles the mascot and had him go over their
school motto and objectives.

ASSIGNMENT #3 (Classroom Layout): Take screenshots of the learning management system

used by the teacher (Canvas, Google Classroom, Seesaw etc..) >>>INSERT YOUR
SCREENSHOT HERE<<< They use canvas as a tool

● Ms. Mosier should me her lesson plan on canvas but I was unable to take a screenshot.

1: Describe the workflow of the online environment. Is the space and time used efficiently?
 ● Yes, Ms. Mosier is always on task and so are her students, she makes sure her that all
her students are on task.

2: In your opinion, how can the virtual arrangement of the room be improved?

● I believe that having hands on assignments would keep students more engaged and
excited to learn.

ASSIGNMENT #4 (Instruction): Observe any instructional time with your assigned Cooperative
Teacher, and record your observations when presented with the questions below:

1: Is instruction delivered in small groups, centers, whole groups, individually?

● She addresses the class as a whole but after each lesson she goes out in breakout
groups and talks to the student in their small group.

2: Describe your cooperating teacher’s teaching style.

● She likes to involve all her students in discussions and she encourages them to answer
questions and to ask them. She lectures the students and had them do an activity
together then they do individual work and on certain days she’ll have them work as a
group. She also loves to sing she sings educational songs to her class everyday.

3: How does the teacher incorporate the sensory modalities (learning styles)? Give examples.

● She uses a lot of imagery when teaching she associates things with pictures she also
uses songs to help her students remember the things they learn. She has a song for
every lesson.

4: Do the students seem engaged in the lesson(s) presented? Please explain.

● Most students are engaged and are eager to participate in her lessons, some students
are not that engaged due to distractions that are going on around them.

5: Are there any students isolated or not present/participating in the class? Explain?

● No, Ms. Mosier makes sure that she includes all of the students in discussions and she
speaks to all of her students when she ask how their day is and what they are going to
write about in their journals.

6: How does the teacher handle absences from the class?

● I haven’t witnessed her talk about or address absences when I was observing.
7: How does the teacher handle transitions from subject to subject or activity to activity? Are the
transitions efficient?

● She ends each lesson with a breakout group and she goes into each group by going
over the lesson and making sure they understand what they need to do next.

8: List ways the teacher uses “attention getting” commands, word phrases, signals, etc. Are they
effective?

● She sings a song about the topic she’s going over, she dances along with the students
and encourages them to dance as well.

9: What specific behavior issues does the teacher have to deal with? How does the teacher
handle the behavior issues? Be specific.

● She has to deal with her students talking without permission, she reminds them to talk
when called on but some students still unmute and talk while she is teaching, I have
seen her mute a student each day I was observing.

10: Are there any policies or procedures that help or hinder instructional time? Please explain
them and how they help or hinder instructional time.

● When it’s time for the students specials it gives the teacher a break and it gets the
students excited about the next hour.

ASSIGNMENT #5 (Observing a student): Discretely observe one student in your assigned

classroom during direct instruction.

1: What drove you to choose this student?

● She was always enthusiastic about learning, she was almost always the first one to raise
her hand to answer questions. She was always on task and always seemed interested in
the topics and lessons Ms.Mosier was discussing.

2: Explain what the student did during the observation.

● She was quick to answer the questions Ms.Mosier was asking, she constantly raised her
hand to answer questions and when she wasn’t called on she would look upset.

3. Summarize the lesson given and the student’s responses to the lesson.
 ● Ms. Mosier was having the students count dots and she would ask the kids to write the
number of dots on their whiteboards. The student was excited for this lesson she was
always one of the first ones to show her whiteboard and when Ms.Mosier asked
questions she would unmute her mic if she was called on and swiftly answer the
question. She was always on task and followed directions, and her attention was always
on Ms.Mosier.

4. Make sure to document ALL behavior in relationship to what was being presented by the
classroom teacher.

● Ms.Mosier was always happy to see the student answer her questions, she would praise
her when she had the correct answer. Ms.Mosier was always happy to see the student
participate.

5. Please describe what you discovered about the student’s learning styles, involvement in
class, and his/her educational needs.

● She likes hands on learning she likes doing activities and she likes her group
discussions. She is a visual learner she does better when visual examples are used, she
also does better with one on one discussions with Ms.Mosier.

ASSIGNMENT #6 (Cooperating Teacher Interview): Arrange for a convenient time to interview

your cooperating teacher either on the phone or by video conference. Ask the questions below.
Include any school document, handouts, etc. the teacher provides..

1: What was the primary reason you became a teacher?

Ms. Mosier said that she always knew she wanted to be a teacher.

2: What are the main challenges you face as a teacher?

She said that getting the students attention is one of main challenges she faces.

3: What is the best part of being a teacher? She said making a connection with with her
students.

ASSIGNMENT #7 (Summary): Thoroughly summarize and reflect upon your entire 10 hour Field
Observation. What did you observe, learn, realize about teachers, students, instruction, the
school environment? How has this observation better prepared you to understand the teaching
profession? How does the observation relate to the text information and class activities? What
specific ideas on teaching will you remember to include in your classroom?
______________________________________________________________________
In the ten hour observation I have completed I have learned many things I learned that
managing a classroom online isn’t easy. Ms.Mosier was an amazing teacher to observe she
knew how to keep all her students engaged and how to get them to participate. She teaches
kindergarten and she loves it she sings songs, dances, reads, and encourages her students to
to do the same. She includes every student she never left any of them behind. She put her
students in groups based on their learning styles and this helped the kids improve over time. I
always knew teaching was a difficult job but I have so much more respect for the profession,
teachers have to spend a lot of their time preparing for their classroom. All the discussions in
class and the topics discussed in the text helped me understand the world of teaching better. I
will remember to include catchy songs to lessons and to always encourage my students to
participate in a lesson.