Chapter 10: Observation Recording Sheet

Watch all three videos listed for this module and review any written materials that accompany them. Use this form to
respond to the prompts as they relate to your chosen video. Connect our chapter reading to your observation reflection.

Chapter 10 Focus: Making a Decision to Become a Teacher

There are many factors that influence a person making the decision to become a teacher. This chapter challenges you to
ponder your reasons for choosing to enter the education profession and challenges you to analyze your vision for
becoming an educator. The development of an ePortfolio, as the book explains, can play an integral role in helping you to
define and display your beliefs and values. The process can also guide you in exploring why teaching is especially
challenging in this period of time (even more so now with the impact of the pandemic!) This chapter also discusses the
impact of Common Core Standards on a nation who needed to “level the playing field” across all states, and offers
practical tips for new teachers.

This week’s video cases:

Should You Be a Teacher? | Teacher Vlog
https://youtu.be/soUojLihIq8?list=TLPQMTUwODIwMjCW47jMkbc6tQ

Teach Special Education

https://youtu.be/2XsaK3pWyII

Learning English: Diverse Students in American Classrooms

https://youtu.be/H_LCTQBiGeM

Reflection Questions Your Response

Create a thoughtful response with complete sentences. Provide specific examples
from the video and written commentary to fully answer each reflection question.

Which of the three videos did The video I felt the strongest connection with was the one teacher who made a vlog
you connect with most and why? attempting to answer the question of “should I be a teacher?” The reason for this

What level of passion do you
currently feel about teaching (on
a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the
most passionate)? Why is this
important to evaluate?
What have you concluded from
your evaluation of your
“goodness of fit” with the
teaching profession?
The prevalent theme throughout this textbook (TEACH) has been the importance of your own metacognition as you
embark on a career in education. As you reflect on that statement, respond to the following prompts.
What do you perceive to be your
strengths as they apply to
education?
strong connection is because of the attitude that is held by the man in the video. He is
exploring both the pros and cons that come with being a teacher, and he argues that
even the “cons” of teaching can be viewed in a positive light. This is a line of thinking
that I find myself in total agreement with, and I believe this attitude will serve helpful
for whatever daunting situations may appear.
Definitely a 5. For as long as I can remember, teaching is the only job I have ever
envisioned for myself. It is in my nature to be a helpful individual, and for me to love
my job, it must be one that is based on offering help to those who need it. I was given
the privilege of having
I have concluded that I am an individual who is prepared to fit into a teacher role, but
there are still areas of my professionalism that need a bit more work before I’m
ready to run my own classroom. I think that a lot of this will come to me naturally once
I am able to finally enter a classroom and observe the dynamics that are operating. I
know that I am choosing this profession for honest reasons, and with a few more
years of development, I believe that teaching will be a job I can do in a competent
manner.
1. I am extremely open to experience and understand the importance of the individual
perspectives brought forth by my students. I don’t ever envision myself as being
someone who tries to conform their students into seeing things a certain way.
2. I genuinely care about the progress of others, and often I do the most I can to
ensure that those people around me are striving to be the best that they can. I tend
to see the good in most people, and I have ambitions of being a teacher who can
produce effective students simply by believing in them.
3. I have a keen ability to convey ideas in a way that is digestible to even those with
the simplest of vocabularies. Communication is such a crucial part of students being

What do you perceive to be your
weaknesses?
How would you match your
strengths to the demands of
teaching? Explain.
What personality traits or
dispositions will you choose to
work on as you prepare to take
over your own classroom?
(Consider your Candidate
Disposition Form Reflection from
Module 15. Cite evidence from
that form in your response here.)
What has been your best
experience so far in a classroom
setting? Define what made that
so.
able to excel in a certain classroom, and I believe that clarity is a quality that our
world currently lacks.
1. I have troubles when it comes to being assertive. I fear that this may result in some
disruptive classroom environments early on in my career, but I am sure that is
something I will eventually get the hang of.
2. There are a lot of things about our current education that I find rather unnecessary
for one’s success in the real world, and sometimes I even feel that there are
traditions in place that are limiting to student development. I am afraid that I may feel
conflicted when in the position of having to impose one of these ideologies that I
disagree with. Hopefully, I will be able to find a happy medium that works for both the
students and the school.
I believe that my strengths as an individual are very much conducive to a successful
career as a teacher. Every teacher is going to vary in their intelligence and their
capabilities of expressing the messages that are supposed to be taught, but the most
important difference can be found in the way they feel about their students. For a
teacher to be truly impactful, its imperative that they are someone who genuinely
finds a sense of purpose in the profession, and this is a quality that I know I possess.
1. Effective Communication- I feel that this is an area where I still require some further
development, and this is purely due to my lack of experience when it comes to
communicating in a professional way. This is something that could lead to issues if
ignored, so I will definitely keep developing these skills as I progress.
2. Professional Development – Again, this is an area that I lack in because I have yet to
see the inside of a classroom from the perspective of a teacher. I am always very
quick to adapt to the environment that I find myself working within, and I have no
worries about doing so in a teaching environment.
My best experience in a classroom setting would be from my freshman year English
class at Las Positas College. My professor there was a young man by the name of Mr.
Robinson who made the course an absolute blast. He taught English in a way that was
extremely effective at mirroring our real-life situation, and the experience inside the
 classroom was as immersive as it gets. He brough tremendous energy to the room
and you could feel the entire class feed off of his presence. I genuinely looked
forward to attending his classes no matter how difficult the work, and I hope that I’m
able to have the same effect on my students.

Our text refers often to the term, “goodness of fit”. It is vital that this concept be considered before launching into this
demanding and rewarding occupation.

Describe the attributes you have
determined are needed to make
a person a “good fit” for
education. How do you currently
match up to those attributes?
1. Competence in the selected field of teaching – Probably the most obvious of the 3, a
strong understanding of a teacher’s field is crucial for one to be an effective teacher.
Luckily for me, English has always been my favorite subjects and I am extremely
confident in my ability to teach the subject.
2. Open-mindedness – Some of my most unpleasant teachers were the ones who were
unwillingly to look at the world from multiple perspectives. Being a closed-minded
individual is not only self-limiting, but also limiting to the ones influenced by this
individual. To truly give every student an equal shot at education, you must
acknowledge all their positions as valid.

3. Modernity – Similarly to number 2, being up to date with the current state of the
world is quite important for ensuring that the students can keep up. For example, if
technology had been better implemented throughout the last 8-10 years of my
education, I feel that I could have developed my understanding much quicker in the
classroom. In my opinion, keeping up with the world that the students are living in is
extremely vital when it comes to establishing relationships with them.

Teachers are always learning from each other. Classroom observations are an important part of developing a rich,
reflective, and effective practice. As you viewed these video cases, consider these two questions:

Share three things you have 1. Nobody is going to be a perfect teacher. All that one can ask of themselves is that
learned from this observation. their heart is in the right place and that they are offering they most they can.

2. The number of people entering the field to teach special education is dwindling. We
are in desperate need of people to step up and pursue the chance of giving these

What one technique, strategy or
tip will you make sure to take
with you into your own
classroom?
students a chance at education.
3. ESL students not only struggle with the challenge of having to learn an entirely new
language, but there are also nuances to English within each field of study that make
learning the language that much more difficult.
One strategy that will follow me into the classroom will be the ones of turning the
negative aspects of teaching into chances at growth as an individual and a teacher.
Any obstacle that I may face will only make me a better teacher in the long run and
carrying this mindset will hopefully allow me to act more reasonably when I find myself
up against those obstacles.