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Heidi Sistad - EDUC 280 - Timecard and Journal Entries

Task 1. Timecard
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Task 2. Journal 1 & 2 Combined Journal Assignment

Classroom Management
Question 1 – Do you think your teacher has successfully created a productive learning environment? Why or
why not?
I was able to observe two different classes: 8th grade Science and 7th grade Math. The science teacher I feel had a
more productive learning environment than the math teacher did. Maybe it was because science is naturally a
more hands-on, interactive class, but the students I observed seemed to be more interested in his class. The
math class was productive in its own way though as the teacher did do a good job with giving instruction and
then letting the students work on their own. The model he followed was an “I Do, We Do, You Do”. He would
introduce new formulas/material and do an example, he would do it all together as a class, then he’d set them
free to work for themselves while he offered help as they needed/requested.

Question 2 – What techniques does the teacher use to keep students actively involved in academic activities?
Science teacher did a good job with teaching for the entire period. He was made lecturing and interactive
lessons on their devices flow pretty smoothly. If a student was off for some reason, he was good to either ignore
or redirect to keep the rest of the class going. For the most part, students were being taught right up until the
bell (well, five minutes before the bell when it was part of the routine to clean up and sanitize/wipe down desks
because of COVID guidelines). The math teacher has a really good relationship with his students and they seem
to respect him. His class was definitely less teacher-instruction, but the students were used to that routine and
were able to productively work on assignments and for the most part, keep up.

Question 3 – How is your teachers “withitness?” In other words, do they have command of the classroom? Do
they have great systems of classroom management in place?
Both teachers have great “withitness”. The students respect them and there are no surprises as far as what they
can expect. Rules are pretty much followed and if something negative happens, the consequences don’t seem to
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take any of them by surprise. Both teachers are also really good at sensing when a student is off or agitated
because I noticed that they were careful to either push or ease up on students depending on how the student
was presenting themselves.

Question 4 – What types of “punishments” are used in your classroom?

Both classrooms had what seemed to be natural consequences. If an assignment wasn’t getting done, the
student wouldn’t be able to move on—they’d just get behind. If a student was too blurty, they were redirected
or sent out into the hall for a break or to take a quick walk with another staff member (para or behavior support
person). In science, if a student wasn’t following the lab rules during labs, they were not allowed to continue
participating for the rest of the period. In math, if a student was frustrated and started arguing with the teacher
about needing help, the teacher was good to recognize when it was appropriate to just leave the frustrated
student alone until they were in a better space to accept help from him.

Question 5 – How or where are the rules posted in your classroom? How were they created? By the students
or the teacher?
I actually didn’t see any of the rules posted in either classroom. I do know though that when all the students
came back from hybrid, that first day back when everyone was all together again, rules were gone over in both
classes that I observed. They were rules that were school-wide, created by the staff.

Curriculum
Question 1 – Give an example of when the teacher used integrated curriculum across subjects (i.e. combining
science and language arts)
One of the ways I saw the science teacher use integrated curriculum was when he would have the students
following along on their devices for whatever lesson they were on then he would stop, have them read and
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annotate an article (after explaining again what annotating looks like), then go over the articles as a class a few
minutes later. Combining Science and ELA. I thought that was really cool because I didn’t know what annotating
was in middle school—I’m not even sure if I knew how to annotate in high school!

Question 2 – Give an example of when the teacher used hidden curriculum.

In math, the teacher was pretty good to try to give real-life scenarios as to why a student might need to figure
something out mathematically. For example, perimeter—he related it to fencing in a yard. Math was a struggle
for me if I didn’t see a connection to real-life, so I was appreciative for the students that he did that!

Question 3 – Does your teacher used differentiated instruction?

Yes, both the science and math teacher used differentiated instruction. In both classes, there were a number of
students that were on IEPs and the teachers were good to recognize the extra needs they would have an tailor
the lessons to fit the students the best they could.

Question 4 – Can you tell what kind of learner the teacher is from his/her instructional preferences?
Yes! Which is interesting to me! The math teacher is former military, and I can tell that he learns best when
things are spelled out in black and white—it takes the guess work out of it I suppose. The science teacher seems
to be a more hands-on learner as he has a lot of labs that he enjoys doing with the students.

Question 5 – Do you think the teacher adapts the curriculum to the types of learners in the classroom?
Absolutely. Especially in hybrid I could tell that both teachers adapted the curriculum because the same thing
might be taught a little different on the B day than it was on the A day.

Question 6 – Does your teacher like the curriculum he/she is teaching?

I think so. The science teacher, I couldn’t exactly tell how he felt about the entire curriculum being online—
during distance learning, I think he liked it more than he does in person, just for the fact that everything was
already online and accessible by the students.
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Question 7 – What would they like to see added in the future?
Again, the science teacher, I think one frustrating he faces the most is what to do with students who don’t for
some reason or another have their device (whether they left it at home or it needs to charge). To have the
curriculum also in physical book form with worksheets that mirror what the other students are doing, I think it
would save him a lot of headache.

Technology

Question 1 – What kind of technology was used in the class(es) you observed? Was it effective?
In the math class, the instruction/curriculum was not presented via any kind of technology. The math teacher
was always working problems out and showing examples by writing them out on the white board. He would,
however, use technology when it was time to work independently when he’s play background music (usually
some kind of alternative rock). In science, like I’ve mentioned previously, everything was online except for the
labs. He would have the students follow along on their devices while he projected the same thing.

Question 2 – What type of technology might you use when you start your teaching career?
I think I’ll use a mixture of both. I was able to help out a little in the math class and found myself reaching for the
little whiteboards to work out problems for/with the students. I do like how the science teacher projected
though because it was easy to see who was paying attention by who was looking at the board—science is also a
really cool subject and there are so many different resources to tap into online that make it super cool.

Question 3 – Do you think it is harder or easier to incorporate technology into your classroom?
I think that especially with COVID, technology is only getting easier and easier to incorporate into the classroom.
It’s going to be the new normal to have everything accessible to everyone at all times and I really do like the
added variety and options that come along with embracing the new!
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Diversity
Question 1 – How diverse was your class(es) you observed?
The school that I observed at, while it’s definitely focused on academics like every school, it’s main purpose is
behavior and giving students that struggle behaviorally the tools they need to be successful in life. That being
said, because of the students it has, there’s really not too much diversity. There are both special education
students and students that are just pills in their ‘home schools’ and were more-or-less kicked out and sent to the
school I was observing. A lot of them are friends outside of school too.

Question 2 – What did your mentor/teacher do (or not do) to create a diverse classroom? 
Both teachers that I observed were good to acknowledge and respect the various backgrounds that the students
had. There are a bunch of students on IEPs and with some kind of disability, and both teachers were great to
make sure to include everyone and expect participation and teamwork from everyone.