Field Observations 1

Field Observations

Erika Villasenor

CSN, EDU 201

Author Note

First paragraph: The Sensory Room

Second paragraph: The Power of Relationships in School

Third paragraph: Making Students Feel Safe

Fourth paragraph: The Powerful effects of Drawing in Learning

Fifth paragraph: The Importance of Recess

Sixth paragraph: Making Classrooms more Inclusive for Multilingual Learners

Seventh paragraph: A Daily Support System for Students

Eighth paragraph: Social and Emotional Learning

Ninth paragraph: Using Hand Signals for more Equitable Discussions

Tenth paragraph: A Student Centered Model of Blended Learning

Field Observations 2

A. Erika Villasenor

B. The Sensory Room: Helping Students with Autism Focus and Learn

C. https://www.edutopia.org/video/sensory-room-helping-students-autism-focus-and-

learn

D. I enjoyed watching this video. I believe every school should have a sensory room.

Research shows that if students are in the right mindset and get sensory needs met

they will be much better learners. After the sensory room they should be able to

focus more. I work with kids with autism and I honestly believe that we would

benefit from a room like this. At Hanover Elementary School they have a STARS

program which stands for Students and Teachers Achieving Remarkable Success.

At that school they took a whole room apart, they added carpet and shades on the

ceiling to change the color of the lights so that when they go in there they can feel

the change. I learned that some of their behaviors happen because some kids are

nor able to communicate. They need different types of sensory breaks throughout

the day. I like how in that school they use the sensory room for any kid in the

school. I agree that it's a good idea to let other kids use the room, not just the

autism class. They start from working with your breathing to adding some yoga at

the end. Overall I believe that most schools should have a sensory room and let

kids spend at least 30 minutes in there so they can calm down.

E. Question #1: Explain at least 3 good things of having a sensory room in the

school. How can it benefit our students?

Question #2: What can you combine or change from this sensory room?
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Question #3: What is the difference between a regular classroom and a sensory

room? Do you agree that every student should be allowed to use it? Why or why

not?
Field Observations 4

A. Erika Villasenor

B. The Power of Relationships in School

C. https://www.edutopia.org/video/power-relationships-schools

D. In this video I learned that students who feel safe and supported by adults at

school are better able to learn. Strong relationships are central to the learning

process. It's a benefit when students become attached to school, adults and other

students. Oxytocins have many positive effects on the development of the brain,

it's the key to establish and maintain social bonds. Having positive relationships

create an optimal condition for learning. Some teachers when they have a little

free time while the kids are working they actually go around and start making

connections with the students. While I believe it's an amazing thing to do, I feel

like every teacher should take some of their time to do the same thing. That

validates their presents in the building and helps them feel more comfortable.

Some of the students also connect with teachers when they see that they also

struggle. When students feel safe and supported they are more likely to perform

better academically. I also agree that when students feel comfortable they are able

to actually participate more because they feel more confident.

E. Question #1: Explain why students who feel safe and supported are more likely to

perform better academically?

Question #2: What is the function of Oxytocins? Does it have a positive impact on

a kid's life?
Field Observations 5

Question #3: How would you create a strong and long lasting relationship with

your students?
Field Observations 6

A. Erika Villasenor

B. Making Students Feel Safe

C. https://www.edutopia.org/video/making-students-feel-safe

D. From this video I learned a couple of things. At Fall Hamilton Elementary School

they implemented a social and emotional learning curriculum, they adapted

physical space and built a strong one to one relationship with the students. They

want to ensure that their students feel safe, supported and nurtured so that they

can improve their chances of academic success. They talked about the 7 habits

they use in the school. One of them is to seek first to understand, then to be

understood. They have synergize, sharpen the saw, begin with the end in mind,

put first things first, think win/win. I like how they have students lead other

students and they all value each other, I agree that it's a good thing for other

schools to do this with the students. In this school they also have a thing called the

peace corner, which allows students to sit in the corner if they are feeling

frustrated and they can write how they are feeling in a paper. They also mentioned

a check in and check out time with the students. That helps teachers build a

stronger relationship with students during a time of need. I have actually seen

some teachers do this at the school I work at and I believe it's a good idea to do

this.

E. Question #1: Describe a way you believe you can make students feel safe in

school?
Field Observations 7

Question #2: How can you adapt the 7 habits to create a difference in school? Do

you think they are helpful to the students? Would you use them? Why or why not?

Question #3: How can you rate the peace corner? Is it a good idea to add this into

classrooms?
Field Observations 8

A. Erika Villasenor

B. The Powerful Effects of Drawing on Learning

C. https://www.edutopia.org/video/powerful-effects-drawing-learning

D. In this video I learned that drawing beats out reading and writing to help students

remember concepts. They did a study where 49.5% of the students actually

remembered twice as much information drawing as the ones that wrote it. The

reason why they say drawing wins is because drawing involves visual, kinesthetic

and lingusting areas of the brain at the same time. So the information is being

processed in 3 different ways,establishing more connections in the brain. They

talked about the 4 ways to incorporate drawing into your class. The first one was

to emphasize a rough draft, letting students draw what they mean. Use an

interactive notebook, so that students can sketch out complex ideas, at this point

there is no note taking. Data visualisations, the students can collect data and put

them into graphs or charts. The last one will be, low stakes assessment, you can

challenge students to do a drawing of what they understood. I think this is an

interesting way of taking knowledge of what you have learned. I would like to try

it out with the students.

E. Question #1: Based on what you know, how can you explain that drawing is

actually more helpful than reading and writing?

Question #2: What is your opinion on this? Would you personally use this

technique of drawing in your class?

Field Observations 9

Question #3: If you were a student in elementary school, do you think this

technique would have helped you in the past? Why or why not? Remember you

don't need to be good at drawing.

Field Observations 10

A. Erika Villasenor

B. The Importance of Recess

C. https://www.edutopia.org/video/importance-recess

D. In this video it said that sometimes recess is sacrificed to make room for more

academics. Researches say that doing this is a big mistake because students need a

little brain break. Having recess promotes them to be physically active and that's

something that a lot of students could benefit from specially at a young age.

Regular exercise increases blood flow to the brain, which helps with being more

focused and with coping ability. It's actually good for their emotional health, they

are able to learn to take turns, work together and resolve conflicts. Another thing

that they do in recess is pretend play, which helps to enhance a child's ability to

produce and test multiple solutions to problems. They also mentioned how K-12

students take about 112 standardized tests, so I believe that they actually need

some recess time.

E. Question #1: How do you feel about recess being sacrificed to make room for

academics?

Question #2: As a student do you remember not having recess due to needing

more time for a test? If so, how did you feel about that?

Question #3: What can happen if schools add more recess time? Do you think it

will benefit the kids more if they have more time for recess?
Field Observations 11

A. Erika Villasenor

B. Making Classrooms More Inclusive for Multilingual Learners

C. https://www.edutopia.org/video/making-classrooms-more-inclusive-multilingual-l

earners

D. In this video they talked about the four ways to support multilingual learners. We

have many students in the United State that speak 2 or more languages. One of the

tips to support multilingual learners is by incorporating the students' home

language by providing a time and space in the day to use that language with other

students that speak that same language in the class. Which I agree with this tip

because I remember when I was in school spanish was my first language so i

would speak spanish with some of the students and they would help me translate

it into english. But also I would notice that some teachers don't like that. Even

now these days I would hear teachers telling their students to just speak english.

The second tip they gave was to be dramatic and visual, you can add songs and

sing together with the class to encode the language more deeply. They also

mention adding in role play that helps them to reinforce language skills. The third

skill is to try and layer questioning which is a way to frame the same question in

different ways for them to understand. You can go from a simple yes or no

question to asking either or questions or to add a bit of challenge to open ended

questions.

E. Question #1: Why is it important to let students speak their first language during

class?
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Question #2: Would you let students speak their first language in class? Why or

why not?

Question #3: Did you as a student struggle with language during K-12 grade? Or

did you know someone that did? Explain.

Field Observations 13

A. Erika Villasenor

B. A Daily Support System for Students

C. https://www.edutopia.org/video/daily-support-system-students

D. In this video I learned the importance of checking in and out with the students. At

Fall Hamilton Elementary school they provide support to students with daily

check ins. The students that need that extra social and emotional support have

check-ins with an adult in the beginning and at the end of the day. They have a

little wall of fame in the office with kids that do their check in. At Fall Hamilton

they have 41 students that do a daily check in and check out time with an adult in

the building. They meet for about two minutes at the start and end of every day.

Some of them set up about three goals per day, their goal is set up on something

that they are struggling in the classroom. They get awards at the end of the day if

they had a good day, recognition for positive behavior helps to motivate the

students. I really agree with this technique, I believe it really helps the students to

feel more comfortable in class. They get all this positive feedback from their

mentors and they like all that.

E. Question #1: What is the function of daily check in and check out?

Question #2: In your opinion, would you try a daily check in and out with your

students? Why or why not?

Question #3: How can you prioritise who gets to be part of the check in and check

out students?
Field Observations 14

A. Erika Villasenor

B. Social and Emotional Learning (A school wide approach)

C. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmVhO3nL2EM

D. This video contains a lot of information, Symonds Elementary ensures that

students are ready and available for deeper learning and provides them with a safe

and supportive space. Their goal at this school is for students to graduate from

elementary school with confidence. They have them understand the difference of

being in the blue zone or the red zone. Students feel like the blue zone is if you're

feeling sad or not having a good day while others say that the red zone is when

you are feeling angry. The psychologist from that school teaches them

mindfulness which helps them focus on the present and to be open of what is

happening right now. Some students say this helps them concentrate and that if

they are feeling frustrated with a lesson they remember about this and just stay

calm. They talk about what is going well with them and what is not.

E. Question #1: Would you apply social and emotional learning to your class? Why

or why not?

Question #2: What grade level do you believe social and emotional learning

would impact the most? Explain why?

Question #3: Do you agree with the way they describe the way you are feeling by

a blue or red zone? Give me a reason why?

Field Observations 15

A. Erika Villasenor

B. Using Hand Signals for more Equitable Discussions

C. https://www.edutopia.org/video/using-hand-signals-more-equitable-discussions

D. There are several examples that explain why hand signals are good for the use of

online or offline for managing class discussions. They enable students to engage

in multiple ways. Good discussions are Inclusive, Equitable and Respectful. They

say that hand signals can cause less interruptions during a lesson and allow more

time to consider ideas. A pinky and a thumb extended indicates agreement with

the speaker. A single index finger is for disagreement, one fist on top of the other

shows that a student wants to build on what another student is saying. A raised

pinky finger lets everyone know that the student has a question. Making air quotes

shows that the student can paraphrase a quote or concept. Using hand signals

indicate the way that the student wants to contribute. I actually agree that this is a

good idea to use both in the classroom and online. You would just have to practice

the hand signals with the students so they can get the hang of it. Also you would

have to reinforce the importances of listening and speaking by acknowledging the

non verbal and verbal students.

E. Question #1: How do you feel about incorporating hand signals to your classroom

or online? Do you believe it's a good idea or would it be a waste of time teaching

the students this technique?

Question #2: Can you name two of the meanings of hand signals?
Field Observations 16

Question #3: Do you agree that using hand signals enables students to engage in

multiple ways? Explain why?

Field Observations 17

A. Erika Villasenor

B. A Student Centered Model of Blended Learning

C. https://www.edutopia.org/video/student-centered-model-blended-learning

D. In this educational video they talked about if the educator ditched their lectures

and devised a self paced blended learning model their students will thrive. They

talked about different parts of blended learning which are Blended Instruction,

Self Paced Structure and Mastery Based Grading. With Blended Instructions

students access content through teacher designed blended instruction which leads

to Self Paced Structure. Students learn at their own pace within each unit and it

allows for students to progress through the course when they have demonstrated

mastery and this is called Mastery Based Grading. At Eastern Senior High School

there is a teacher that uses Blended Learning with his math class. He started by

getting rid of the lecture in the beginning of the class. He has some students work

on a new lesson while others are collaborating on other assignments, which means

they are all at a different pace depending on the level that they are on. Which is a

good idea because they all learn at a different pace. Some students can me on

level 5 while others are on level 3. He normally has recorded lessons so that if

they don't understand what they are doing they can look at the video over and

over again until they understand it.

E. Question #1: How can you improve this technique? Would you leave it the way it

is or change something?
Field Observations 18

Question #2: How many kinds of Blended Learning did they mention on the

video?

Question #3: What are some advantages or disadvantages from using Blended

Learning in the classroom?