CSN Education Department - Alternative Field Observation Activities Packet

Greetings Future Educator,

One of the most rewarding aspects of EDU 201, 202, or 203 is the opportunity you’ll have to
observe in a school classroom where students are actively engaged in learning. Each of these
three CSN courses require students to complete a 10 hour "Field Observation" in a Clark County
public school. If CDC Guidelines for Covid-19 prevent you from physically attending a school
campus during the current semester, this packet will offer the alternative experiences required to
satisfy your “Field Observation” requirements for this class virtually.
If possible, to pair you with a cooperating CCSD teacher, your placement will be processed by
CSN’s observation coordinator, and you will receive details regarding your assigned school from
your CSN professor. Only then, will you contact the school and meet virtually with your
assigned CCSD “cooperating teacher”. Both you and your cooperating teacher will design a
mutually agreeable schedule to complete your required contact hours once you meet for the first
time.
Within this packet, you will find the required field experience assignments that you must
complete in order to pass this class.

Your Name: Azsa Osborne

CSN Course: EDU 203-1002
Professor: Dr. Dale Warby
Professor’s email: dale.warby@csn.edu
CCSD School: Jesse D. Scott ES
Assignment #1

1.      Consider the school property: building, grounds, fencing, equipment, landscaping,

trees, parking lot, crosswalks, gates, signs, and symbols. Describe in detail.

I was able to observe teachers at my work location. Jesse D. Scott is clean with signs

around the school about social distancing and masking up at school. During the time of my

observation schools in CCSD were just transitioning back into the buildings for hybrid

learning.

1: What are your first impressions of the school? Enrollment, graduation rate, proficiency rates,

student/teacher ratio etc.

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.

According to nevadareportcard Jesse D. Scott last year had a total enrollment of 610

students. 42% of the school is made up of Hispanic students with 33% black students.  53%

students are male while 46% female students at Jesse d. Sott.  17% of the student population

have IEPs and 13% of students are ELL. At Jesse D. Scott  is a 100% free and reduced lunch and

breakfast. All students can receive and free breakfast and lunch. 

3. Explain the school’s mission/vision statements, motto, and mascot.

Jesse D Scott mascot is a bighorn sheep and the mission statement promotes academic

excellence and character development while preparing todays students for tomorrow's world. The

motto is climbing higher, preparing for tomorrow by doing our best today. 
4. Briefly describe three other pieces of information that can be found on your assigned school’s

website.

At Jesse D. Scott has a school wide homework policy of reading daily for a minimum of

10 minutes for K-1st grade, 2-3 for 15 minutes and 20 minutes for 4th and 5th graders.  Scott ES

is also a part of PBIS rewards. They have a school store that students may use to cash out their

points earned by being respectful, being prepared, camera on, responsible, work complete and

participation. Students are able to redeem points quarterly. They also have a after school program

that includes tutoring and clubs during distance learning. 

Assignment #2

1. What are your first impressions of the virtual classroom environment? Is it warm, inviting,

organized, etc?  Describe the virtual environment in detail.

My first impression of the classroom was nice. The cooperating teacher greeted me and

introduced myself to the students. The teacher reminded them of classroom rules of having a

camera on and staying on mute. Before class started the teacher and the students were talking

about their weekend and plans for spring break. 

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.

I observed an intermediate resource classroom. Students met after their gen-ed time for

small groups during their subjects. The class consisted of 5 students all Hispanic. There were 4

boys and 1 girl, who all met for reading and writing. 
        

3: Are their posted class rules or course expectations?  If rules/expectations are posted

write them exactly as they appear.

Due to this school year being virtual no classroom rules. The main rule during virtual

learning was to stay on mute and have cameras on during class.      

4: Does the teacher enforce these posted rules/expectations? What rewards or

consequences are used for compliance or noncompliance?

The teacher enforces having their camera on during small groups and staying on mute.

All students followed the directions during my observation. They completed their work together

and were able to leave.         

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

The daily schedule for the intermediate resource room consisted of a 4th grade math

small group from 7:45a-8:15a.  The 4th grade small group left and returned online as followed

with Reading small group 8:45a-9:15a and then writing 9:15a-9:45a. Immediately following was

the 5th grade small group for Reading from 9:45a-10:15a. The 5th graders then went into math

from 10:15-10:40. The resource teacher in the afternoon then went into other Google Meets to

watch other students for inclusion time. 

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

Environment?
         Scott Elementary School mission statement promotes academic excellence and character

development While preparing today's students for tomorrow's world. In class the students

completed all of their work during small group and followed directions from the teacher. 

Assignment #3

1: Describe the workflow of the online environment. Is the space and time used efficiently?

        Students knew their expectations throughout the day. Students used worksheets to complete

their assignments.  The students had enough time to complete their work during asynchronous

times in small group. 

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

In my opinion this class ran smoothly. The students knew what was expected of them.

They all completed their work and asked questions when needed for their research project on

other countries. Some students were excited with facts about their country and would share their

screen to the class and share what they found out. All of the students participated daily with

reading and reading comprehension. The teacher provided worksheets and the students all

followed along on the worksheets.  They all discussed returning to school and their new

schedules. 

Assignment #4

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

Instruction was given in a small group as it was a resource classroom. 

2: Describe your cooperating teacher’s teaching style.

During virtual instruction the cooperating teacher teaching style was mainly lecture. The

teacher displayed pictures and showed videos of different animals. The teacher had good

instructional control so that the students knew classroom expectations.

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

While this school year is virtual the teacher was able to teach sensory modalities by

providing videos, modeling, using jamboards and other online resources. 

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

All students were engaged during the lesson. Students were able to see the presented

screen of the worksheet and wrote down their answers in their folder. All students had their

camera on and took turns reading and answering questions during the lesson. 

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

During my observation in a resource room all students participated with reading and

answering questions as it was a small group of three to five students in class at a time. 

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

This year absences are handled differently. Due to CCSDs new attendance policy. Parents

and or students just have to make contact with the teacher daily in order to be counted present. In

the morning the cooperating teacher would reach out and call the students for a wellness check. 
7: How does the teacher handle transitions from subject to subject or activity to activity?  Are the

transitions efficient?

Due to school being virtual, transitions from subject to subject the students followed their

personal schedule to meet during their small group times online. Students met for their

appropriate time for a small group as it was a resource classroom.

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

effective?

         The teacher did not use any “attention getting” commands. The class was on task the

whole time in a small group.

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

the behavior issues? Be specific.

  A specific behavior the teacher had to deal with was a student would say they couldn’t

write and had their mother do their work for them. That student was redirected and reminded of

their designated area at home to complete their work. Another student who would spin in their

rolly chair and did not want to read when it was their turn. The teacher would read with them and

faded out. The student then followed along with the teacher. Verbal praise was given to the

students and they earned PBIS points so that they may use at the store. 

10: Are there any policies or procedures that help or hinder instructional time? Please explain

them and how they help or hinder instructional time.

 Although this year is virtual, procedures that help instructional time is a schedule with

links for the appropriate time of when to meet for a small group and inclusion minutes. 

Assignment #5

1: What drove you to choose this student?

 I chose this student as they came twice to a small group for Resource. This fourth grade

student would avoid writing and say that they couldn’t write. They then had their mother come

and write for them during live synchronous time during small group. 

2: Explain what the student did during the observation.

The student came to the Google meet at the appropriate time. The student had their

camera on and was unmute. During reading and answering comprehension questions about the

short story the 4th grade student would avoid writing the answers down and said that they

couldn’t write it down. The student's mother then came over and wrote all of the answers down. 

The student was redirected by the TOR to write on their own. The student's mother then left.

Once the student was in a designated area at home away from distractions the student was able to

focus and write and read independently. 

3. Summarize the lesson given and the student’s responses to the lesson.

Students were completing a worksheet  on herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores. This

was a worksheet with a short story the students read and had 5  reading comprehension

questions. The students had to list which animals were herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. 
4. Make sure to document ALL behavior in relationship to what was being presented by the

classroom teacher.

During reading small group students all had cameras on and were on mute. The students

would read a short story and each take turns reading a page in the book.  The student would sit in

their rollie chair and spin. When they were called on by another student that student was not

following along with the story and was reminded by the teacher of what page they were on.

During reading out loud the student would read quietly on larger words and the teacher would

help the student say them. Every time it was the students' turn to read they would huff and puff

and complain. The teacher would redirect them that they can do it. The student would then read

the paragraph and go back on mute when they were all done.

5. Please describe what you discovered about the student’s learning styles, involvement in class,

and his/her educational needs.

The student would ask questions off topic. They appeared to avoid reading at the time.

Student asked for help on spelling words and writing. They stated that they “couldn't and did not

know how to spell” The teacher redirected them and reminded them that they can and will have

time to finish their work.

Assignment #6

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

I wanted to be a teacher because of my children. I wanted to know their education and

what they were learning and to be a part of it.  

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

The main challenge I face as a teacher is time. As a special education teacher I never

have enough time to complete IEPs. I always work outside of my contract hours, and not being

able to give as much as individualized education to the kids as I would like because I am a

resource teacher.

3: What is the best part of being a teacher?

The best part of being a teacher is working with the kids and seeing their growth. I also

enjoy being a part of the school team. 

4: How do you determine where students sit in class?

The students have a choice in class as it's a small group and I only have three to five

students at the same time. 

5: How do you select members of any flexible groups?

My students are selected based on grade level and IEP goals.

6: How often do you interact with parents in person?  What are the main reasons for

interactions with parents?

As a resource teacher I interact with the parents during annual IEP meetings, reevaluation

meetings, parent teacher conferences, and behavior plan reviews. I interacted with my parents

monthly based on their IEP meetings. 

7: How much grading do you complete on a daily/weekly basis?

 In Resource we don’t grade but I take data daily for IEP goals.

8: How long does it take to prepare lessons for the day/week?

It takes me 1 to 2 hours a week. Most of my lessons stay the same due to the students'

IEP goals.

9: What procedures or strategies do you use to maximize instructional time?

Based on our classroom norms and rules students follow their daily schedules. 

10: What positive reinforcements have you used successfully?  What behavioral consequences 

 seem most effective with this age group?

As a school we all use PBIS points for the students to earn.  It works in our class and the

student can earn the store.

11: How are specialist teachers involved in your instructional planning and process?

In resources they are not involved unless it is in their plan. 

12: How often are you evaluated, and what measurement tool is used by the administration for

determining your teaching performance?

I am evaluated 2 times a year and we use the NEPF Nevada Education Performance

Framework.

13: What consequences are there if your evaluation is not favorable?

 For your evaluation we(teachers) need 3 or 4s. If you receive a 2 you can be on probation

which includes 3 or more evaluations per school year. 

14: What surprised you most about teaching as a profession?

The amount of paperwork and not having enough time for the paperwork. 

15: What drives their lesson plans? What standards do teachers use during lesson planning?

My lessons are based on the students' IEP goals.

17. How do you accommodate ELL, GATE, General Ed and Special Education students?

As a resource teacher I provide my students with visuals and models, frequent repetition,

and having students read out loud and repeat directions. 

Assignment #7

This school year has been extremely difficult with the pandemic, education has taken a

sharp turn. School now is all online with synchronous and asynchronous times. Students have to

complete most of their work online independently using programs such as Google Classroom,

SeeSaw, Nearpod, Canvas and others.  Although I am a teacher's aide in an Autism classroom.

Distance Learning ran smoothly for my students.  It was nice to see how others run their classes. 

I observed a small group in a special education resource classroom. In a small group of 5

students the teacher worked on math, reading and writing. Although the students were in the 5th

grade the students were working on a 3rd grade level reading comprehension with assistance

from the special education teacher. The resource teacher provided worksheets and books for the
students to work on. The teacher was in the building and using an Elmo so students were able to

follow along with the teacher while they all completed the worksheets together.   Since I have

been a teacher's aide for the past 8 years. I feel that I didn’t learn anything new. Although I was

at my work location and I knew many of the students it was a good experience to look for

teaching styles and observe.