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: Brianna Ocegueda

CSN Course: Edu 203-1001-1005
Professor: Dr. Dale B. Warby
Professor’s email: dale.warby@csn.edu

CSD School: Desert Oasis High School

Cooperating Teacher: Thomas Draa

THE FIELD OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENTS Cooperating Teacher

assigned to CSN student

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. Use
online resources such as your assigned school’s CCSD webpage,
http://nevadareportcard.nv.gov/di/, https://www.publicschoolreview.com, and
https://www.greatschools.org/nevada/las-vegas/ to answer the following questions.

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.

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

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

-From looking at the pictures of Desert Oasis High School online the atmosphere seems to
be very welcoming and friendly. I actually went to high school at Desert Oasis and I always
loved the landscape, trees, parking lot, etc because it is very modernized and almost college
like.

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.

- From the few pictures I found online the classroom walls are filled with fun and colorful
student projects. Since I only observed the virtual classroom every students' background
included their kitchen, bedrooms or most would just leave their cameras off. When I went to
Desert Oasis there was always posters and projects hung up throughout the hall ways which
was very nice to look at.

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.

-My first impression of the school virtually is that all the students were very respectful to
Mr.Draa and ready to learn. Although Mr.Draa did a very well job teaching to the class I do
miss school being in person because it is easier to do group work and ask questions. As for
enrollment, there are always about 30 students logged into google meet for class every day.
Since the students are productive and listen to their teacher, I would say the graduation and
proficiency rates would be quite high. I would say that the student/teacher ratio is about
30:1, which I feel is a good size for a high school class.

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.
 -It is hard to describe the student make-up of the school since I only got to observe a small
portion of the students who attend Desert Oasis High school. Though, I am sure the school
is very diverse with genders, ethnicity, students with disabilities, ELL students, etc. The reason
I feel this way is because when I went to Desert Oasis for my high school years, I always felt
that the make-up of the school was very diverse. On the Desert Oasis website, I found that
this school is the top 5% most diverse high school.

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

- The school's mission that is written on the Desert Oasis website is "graduating students
who are prepared for continuing education and making positive contributions to our
community." I agree that Mr.Draa does a great job expressing the school's mission. The
schools vision statement is the three E's "enrollable, Enlistable, or Employable." The school
motto is "Strike at Every Opportunity!" And their mascot is a diamondback snake.

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.

-As I looked round Desert Oasis website, I examined the extracurricular activities/clubs and
athletics. They have such a large variety such as; band, choir, theater, soccer, football,
volleyball, basketball, cheerleading, Spanish club, etc. Just like most high schools who offer
similar extracurricular activities though, because of the current pandemic and the school
being closed there is no real opportunity for students to join that at the moment. Desert
Oasis is not holding any ceremonies or assemblies at the moment since the school is closed.

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

-A cool piece of information that I found on this school's website is Safevoice, essentially
when using Safevoice anyone is able to anonymously report anything. In the description of
Safevoice it is a way to report school threats, bullying, risk of suicide, drugs, and anything
else. I thought this piece of information was very interesting and can be very helpful.
Secondly, I learned that Desert Oasis has a Newsletter which gives out lots of information
about electives, clubs, and virtual meetings. The third piece of information that I found on
this website is that Desert Oasis made it very easy to contact any teacher from any subject.
To contact any specific teacher, the website lets you type out your email and the specific
teacher will contact you back efficiently and simple.

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?

-The teacher expects his students to ask for help and to complete their assignments on time.
He is always encouraging his students to ask questions in class and in email to make sure
everyone is understanding what they are learning. Mr.Draa also goes over deadlines and
point deduction to the class so that everyone is aware.

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

-The students all seem to participate in the class. All the students are very respectful and
mute and turn off their cameras during class, which makes it easier to hear Mr.Draa without
any interruptions. When it is time to speak, the students unmute their mic. I would say that
everyone's participation is about equal, those who do not participate do not even log in to
the google meets.

3. Evaluate the interactions between teacher and students, rapport, cohesiveness,

distribution of power, teacher personality.

- The interactions between the teacher and students are very polite and informative. The
students are not afraid to ask for help when they need it. Since it is an online class, the
students often struggle with uploading files, going to the same site as instructed, etc. The
teacher's personality is very understanding which makes the interactions go by smoothly.

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

- The student-to-student interactions are few inside the classroom since the students are
on mute during the majority of the class. Being on mute helps the teacher teach without
any outside interruptions from other student's backgrounds. There are small group
assignments where the students interact. As for outside of the virtual class, I would not
know.

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.

- My first impressions of the virtual classroom environment was me thinking how kind and
professional Mr. Draa is. This class is a warm and inviting environment. All the students
seem happy and ready to learn. I did notice the level of difficulty that comes with
teaching in a virtual class because the loss of connection.

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.
 - The student make-up of the class seems to have more males in the class than females
from what I noticed looking at their names. The diversity of the class is unknown because
all to most had their cameras turned off so I did not get to look at diversity very well. The
students in this class are special needs students.

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

- I did not notice any class rules or course expectations in the virtual class, it was just the
student's faces or just blank screens. Since it is a virtual class there are no posted class rules
or course expectations, though he would communicate with her students what he expected
from them.

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

consequences are used for compliance or noncompliance?

- I am sure that he would have rules and expectations posted in his real classroom. Though, I
did not get the opportunity to go to his classroom other than virtually. The teacher did
communicate his rules and expectations for the class every day before starting his class.

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

-Mr. Draa teaches his special education class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Since Desert Oasis
has A and B days, on Tuesday and Thursdays he starts his 2nd period class, Bio honors
7:00AM-8:45AM. 4th period class, Geoscience 8:55AM-10:40AM. 8th period class, Geo
Honors 12:45PM-1:16PM.

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

environment?

-I do see evidence of the school mission in the virtual environment. Mr. Draa is always very
clear with his teaching and very effective. He is always making sure that his students understand
the lesson plan and always offers to help those students who seem to struggle with
assignments. I also noticed how he repeats the directions many times, which seemed to be very
helpful and appreciated.

ASSIGNMENT #3 (Classroom Layout):

Take screenshots of the learning management system used by the teacher (Canvas, Google
Classroom, Seesaw etc..)
 >>>INSERT YOUR SCREENSHOT HERE<<<

The teacher uses CCSD Canvas and Google Drive

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

-The workflow of the online environment is at a steady pase. The time is used efficiently and
Mr. Draa allows his students to work individually during class time, then offers to help with
any questions that the students may have.

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

- In my opinion the virtual arrangement of the room was already done very well, I like how
everyone was muted and had their cameras off. The students would write in the chat or
unmute themselves when they had something to say. I like this because all the attention
was on the lecture, which is easier to concentrate and 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?

-Instruction is delivered in whole groups. Mr. Draa has 2th,4th, & 8th period on B days with his
special ed classes and instructs each period in their own group.

2: Describe your cooperating teacher’s teaching style.

-My cooperating teacher's teaching style is very laid back and chill but at the same time very
serious and professional

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

-Mr. Draa incorporate sensory modalities by listening to what the students have to say and
asked them questions to feel welcomed. He is a friend to his students but is still respected and
well-mannered.

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

-The students do seem engaged in the lessons presented. Although it is a little hard to tell if
they really are because their mics are on mute and their cameras are off during class, unless they
are presenting something.

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

-I would say that there are no isolated students. All the students seem to work individually with
the assignments given. The whole class chooses to mute themselves but they do all interact in
the chat some time.

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

-Mr. Draa understands and takes note on who is missing in class by looking at the attendance
sheet. It is then the student's responsibility to get the information that they missed in class. The
assignments are also posted online so it is easy for the students to catch up on what they
missed.

7: How does the teacher handle transitions from subject to subject or activity to activity?
Are the transitions efficient?

-The teacher does teach more than once subject but he transitions every period. Mr.Draa would
simply say goodbye to his students at the end of class, then moves on into his next period after.
The transition is efficient because the students are already used to this transition from middle
school so it is nothing new.

8: List ways the teacher uses “attention getting” commands, word phrases, signals, etc.
Are they effective?
- A way that the teacher uses "attention getting" is by simply using a strong and affirmative
voice to regain the student's attention, although Mr.Draa never really struggled with attention
getting since no one interrupts his lectures.

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

-I would say that Mr. Draa does not really have any behavior issues. Since his students are
always muted there really never is any one talking other than the teacher. Because this being a
virtual class, I did not point out anything specific.

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

-The procedure that help instructional time is having all the students on mute when Mr. Draa is
teaching. This helps a lot because it makes sure that Mr. Draa is not being interrupted by
background noises and every student has the best opportunity to listen to his lectures. It is very
easy to learn from his lessons because there are no interruptions.

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

classroom during direct instruction.

1: What drove you to choose this student?

-Since the students always had their mics on mute, it was hard for me to choose a student to
observe. Though there was a student who shared her project to the class, so I observed her for
that short period of time.

2: Explain what the student did during the observation.

-The student was sharing her project about her celebrity crush and what genetics the baby
would have with that celebrity crush. She had created a really nice PowerPoint that showed the
charts of her characteristics and her crush.

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

-The lesson given to the student was to learn about how genetics works and what chromosomes
make up what kind of child between two people. The students project was very well done and it
seemed like she did put in a lot of hard work into it.

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

-The only behavior in the relationship shown was that small occurrence of her sharing her
project to the class. Since most of the class the students didn't really talk it was hard to take
note of the student-teacher relationship. Though, from what I saw they were all very respectful
and open to learning.

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

-What I discovered about the students learning styles is that she likes to use bright colors and
add nice detail to her PowerPoints. What I did notice about this student is that she seems to be
very involved in her class, because she was the first one to volunteer to present her project and
she spoke with confidence.

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?

-Mr. Draa's primary reason he became a teacher is because he loves helping kids and
appreciates when his students learn what is being taught.

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

- Mr. Draa's main challenge he faces as a teacher is the fact that he wants all her students to
succeed and some students don’t have that same goal/drive that he does. He would like his
students to have the same mentality as him when it comes to school and studying.

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

-The best part of being a teacher is building connections and watching his students succeed in
class.

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

-If Mr. Draa was teaching in a real classroom, he would either do random assign seating or
arrange his students in groups based on the students work performance scores or let his
students pick where they sit.

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

-Mr.Draa lets his students volunteer themselves when they want to speak. Since it is harder to be
in groups virtually, he is flexible with selecting members of groups.

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

- Mr. Draa would only interact with the parents in person if there was an issue with the student
and parent teacher confreres. If there was a student that she felt needed an intervention, then
he would contact the parent.
7: How much grading do you complete on a daily/weekly basis?

- He does a lot of grading; it just depends on how many assignments he decides to give out.
Mr.Draa has about 30 students in each class so he does a lot of grading for his students. Though
since school is virtual it can sometimes take longer or shorter to finsih grading.

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

- It takes about two to four hours to prepare lesson plans as he goes. Though lately since his
classes are virtual, he feels as if it is much easier to make up the lesson plans. Mr.Draa also has
other teachers join his class who help sometimes with lesson plans.

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

- Mr. Draa makes sure his students are paying attention and are asking questions if they have
any before he moves on, it avoids his having to go back and repeat herself and waste
instructional time. He always lets his students know that they are able to email him whenever
they need help.

10: What positive reinforcements have you used successfully? What behavioral
consequences seem most effective with this age group?

- A positive reinforcement he has used successfully is giving shoutouts to her students that are
doing a great job staying on top of their assignments. This motivates students. Behavioral
consequences that seem the most effective is just telling the students to be respectful and get
the work done. The age group seems most effective when being direct because they are high
school students so they can be treated like adults.

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

-Specialist teachers are involved with his instructional planning and process by often join his
virtual class. Since Mr.Draa teaches special ed students he is often involved with specialist
teachers.

12: How often are you evaluated, and what measurement tool is used by the
administration for determining your teaching performance?

- He is evaluated about a year to every two years. Administration uses rating forms, asking
questions, determining if he is teaching the core lesson plans, etc.

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

- If Mrs. Draa evaluation is not favorable the consequence would be that the evaluator would
have a talk with the teacher and revise what is expected of him and how to achieve that.

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

-What surprised Mr.Draa most about being a teacher is how much work he has to put into it,
there is always something to do and he is always constantly learning new things.

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

- What drives his lesson plans is the common core lessons that are required for his to teach for
those certain subjects that he teachers. He teaches three different subjects so he does each of
his lesson plans according to what the school says that he has to go over for the students.

16: If they are teaching at a Nevada Charter school, are there lessons prescribed from core
standards or from other resources?

- If he was teaching at a Nevada Charter school, he would be using the same standards, if not
similar. Though it would be quite similar because the students are both supposed to take the
same standardized test.

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

- Mr. Draa accommodates with ELL, GATE, General Ed and Special Education students by
teaching in a way that they could understand due to their specific needs and use help from
specialized teachers. Every now and then there are other teachers who join his class to observe
and sometime add some input.

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?

- My entire 10-hour field observation was definitely different and not what I had initially
expected. I observed Mr. Draa high school special ed class and how effectively he teaches his
students. I learned that being a teacher can be quite difficult, especially teaching virtually. He did
not seem to struggle to get students attention because they were all very respectful and woud
participate in class by writing in the chat. Mr. Draa is a great teacher he did an amazing job with
being patient, effective, kind and overall making sure all his students understood what they were
learning. I realized from this observation, and my observation last semester, how being a
teacher, especially during these times takes true passion and dedication. This observation better
prepared me to understand the teaching profession by understanding that students want to
succeed they just need to feel supported and helped every now and then. Mr. Draa taught me
that as long as you do your work on time and efficiently then there is no real need to stress out.
The observation relates to the text information and class activities in my EDU class because it is
important to understand how to react or talk to students with special needs. I noticed that Mr.
Draa would repeat things such as deadlines or what time the class would end, etc. I remember
reading in my EDU class that teachers do this to help students remember what was expected of
them. I will remember to include the way Mr. Draa would carry himself with respect and how
patient he was with his students in my future classroom. Also, in my future classroom I will be
very nice and laid back just like Mr. Draa is because it seems to motivate his students even more.
There were times where I would feel myself confused or stressed because I had difficulties
getting into the google meets, because the code would not work. Mr. Draa would just email me
the url every morning which made everything most simple. Mr. Draa would calmly handle the
situation, that is something I will take with me in my classroom.

Remember that before receiving the final grade for this EDU course, the CSN
student must submit the completed Field Observation Activities Packet, Time
Log, and Student Evaluation to the CSN instructor for grading.

The cooperating teacher must also email the instructor to confirm the
successful completion of the observation. The student must provide the CCSD
cooperating teacher with their CSN professor’s email, so the cooperating
teacher can send an email to verify that the student has successfully
completed the 10 hours of observation. The instructor’s email must be
provided on the first page of this packet, and on the next page for the
cooperating teacher.

Remember that completion of the Field Observation is a PASS/FAIL

component of the course. Students must save this completed packet in digital
form, and as a hard copy for the Education Department’s capstone course,
(EDU 299) or (EDU 220)

COOPERATING TEACHER INFORMATION - CSN FIELD OBSERVATIONS - VIRTUAL

Dear Cooperating Teacher,

Thank you for assisting in the preparation of a new generation of Nevada teachers. Our
education majors are required to complete 10 field observation hours in: EDU 201
Introduction to Elementary Education

This class is where many of our students actually make the decision whether they will
continue further study of the profession. We appreciate you joining us in providing
these students with a wonderful first experience in the virtual classroom. If at all
possible, please utilize the student to assist you in supervised classroom instructional
activities if you deem them ready.

We are hopeful that the information we have enclosed with this letter, which has been
approved by the Nevada College Consortium, will help you with a clear sense of how
this field experience works.

When the student has completed his/her required 10 observation hours, please
complete and sign the “FIELD OBSERVATION TIME LOG” and “FIELD OBSERVATION
STUDENT EVALUATION” (along with the student). Then, return these two pages to the
student who will submit them to his/her professor.

For your convenience, the student has provided you with CSN contact information
below. Please contact the CSN instructor if there are any questions or concerns.

Also, before a final grade for EDU 201 can be assigned, the CSN professor MUST receive
your official email verification that the student successfully completed the 10 hour
observation. Please also “cc” the student on this email. The student WILL NOT receive a
final grade in the course until the email is received from you.

CSN Course # 1004

EDU 203 Introduction to Special Education

CSN Professor: Dr. Dale B. Warby

CSN Professor’s phone: 651-4189

CSN Professor’s email:dale.warby@csn.edu

Student’s full name: Brianna Ruby Ocegueda

Student’s email: 5006196970@student.csn.edu

 Oceguedabrianna@yahoo.com

Should you have any concerns or questions about this process, please feel free to
contact the instructor directly, or the CSN Education Department at: (702) 651-4400

TIME LOG - CSN Field Observations - VIRTUAL MEETINGS

CSN Student:>>> Brianna Ocegueda

CSN Instructor:>>> Dr. Dale B. Warby

CCSD School Assigned: >>> Desert Oasis High School

CCSD Cooperating Teacher: >>> Thomas Draa

CCSD Grade/Department: >>> 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th/ Science

CCSD School Principal: >>> Dr. Jennifer Boeddeker

CCSD School Phone >>> (702)799-6881

Date: Start Time: End Time: Hours:

3/23/2021 8:30AM 10:40 AM 2hours 10min

3/23/2021 12:45PM 1:15PM 30mins

3/24/2021 10:00AM 10:45AM 45mins

3/25/2021 7:00AM 8:45AM 1hour 45mins

3/25/2021 8:55AM 10:40AM 1hour 45mins

3/26/2021 7:00AM 8:45AM 1hour 45mins

3/26/2021 8:55AM 10:40AM 1hour 45mins

Total Hours: 10 Hours

Cooperating Teacher Signature: __________________________ Date: _________

FIELD OBSERVATION STUDENT EVALUATION - completed by Cooperating CCSD teacher

Please complete the following evaluation using the Performance Indicator Scores below (with
the student) once the total observation hours are met. Your constructive comments are
extremely valuable to the student. Return this page to the student along with their Time Log to
be submitted to the instructor with the completed Field Observation Packet.

Enter the appropriate “Performance Indicator Score” in the spaces below

(4)=exemplary (3)=consistent level (2)=not consistent (1)=lacking

_____ Professional appearance, adherence to CCSD dress code

_____ Reliability, punctuality

_____ Communicates effectively with teachers and staff

_____ Demonstrates manners, graciousness

_____ Reflects upon observations using critical thinking

_____ Demonstrates enthusiasm and curiosity toward the profession

_____ Models respectful behavior with students

_____ Uses appropriate language

_____ Exhibits pre-service educator success indicators

Comments:

Cooperating Teacher’s Signature: __________________________________ Date:__________