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Field Observation and Reflection

Nazmun Shanta

Department of Education, College of Southern Nevada

EDU 203: Introduction to Special Education

Professor Constantina Pappas

April 28th, 2021

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Part 1 (Instruction):

Video Selected: https://youtu.be/UzMaLV1Dpk4(Kindergarten Moderate/Severe SDC)

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

The instruction was mostly in small groups but the teacher did circle time with the whole group

in the beginning.

2. Describe your teacher’s teaching style.

Most students were non-verbal in that classroom. That’s why the teacher used four strategies:

● Visual Schedules help students predict group rotations.

● First/Then Cards motivate students with rewards.

● 15 Minute Rotation(Times are flexible).

● Sensory Group Rotations help students calm down.

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

The teacher used pictures(Monkey, Money, and so on), some real objects( Marshmallows), some

movement activities( jumping, light exercises), and Ipads to listen to the colors and shapes to

incorporate the sensory modalities.

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

The students did engage in the lesson presented but some got distracted easily because those

students were working on how to stay in their seats. The teacher had to go and get that student to

get engaged. It takes a lot of patience and a lot of repetition but it is the daily routine for all of

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

There was one student who was walking around and not engaging in the lesson. The teacher

stated that teachers should be flexible with them and it’s okay to walk around the room and pace

if the teacher knows that the student is probably an auditory learner and he is listening to

everything that his teacher says. So, teachers should always stay calm and keep working so that

they’re able to hear.

6. Did you see any accommodations or modifications made to the lesson for the student? If so

what were they?

The teacher used setting accommodations to minimize distractions. She split down the middle so

that one teacher can have possibly half the class on one side and the other half on the other. She

also used visual presentations of verbal materials, such as pictures. I have noticed that the

teacher used flexible timing accommodation as well where students get more times to finish

their work or get some breaks to calm down or she shortened the activity time if the students get

reluctant.

7. The teacher used visual(pictures) and verbal instructions to handle the transitions from subject

to subject or activity to activity. Those were effective. I think she could also use some different

types of instructions, such as videos that have some instructional songs( clean up, It’s math

time…), turn off the lights for transitions, or some music( bell or wind chime or clapping hands)

for each activity or subject.

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

effective?

The teacher tapped on the students and repeat the words a couple of times to get their attention.
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9. What specific behavior issues does the teacher have to deal with? How does the teacher handle

the behavior issues? Be specific.

The teacher had to deal with non-verbal social-emotional challenged students. The teacher used

pictures to communicate with them. Some students had problems with staying in their seats. The

teacher brings them back a couple of times and starts over the lesson.

10. What positive reinforcements were used if any?

The reward system the teacher used is called first-then that helps motivate students. In this

strategy, the teacher asks the student to do something(write name) first, and then he/she will get

the item or food he/she wants.

11. Are there any policies or procedures that help or hinder instructional time? Please explain

them and how they help or hinder instructional time.

There were some signs to help the instruction time. The signs help students understand what is

their next activity as well as how to read short words by looking at the pictures and signs.

12. What could the teacher have done better to assist the student(s) with learning the material?

As I mentioned before the teacher could use some different types of instructions, such as videos

that have some instructional songs( clean up, It’s math time…), turn off the lights for transitions,

or some music( bell or wind chime or clapping hands) for each activity or subject. She also could

use some hand signals for each transition time.

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Part 2 (Observing a student):

Video Selected: https://youtu.be/J51CeK2IJqo (7th and 8th special education classroom)

1. What drove you to choose this student?

I chose the student that was in the second row with a redshirt. I chose him because he was a little

inactive than the other student and was not listening at once. The teacher had to ask him to listen

to her twice.

2. Explain what the student did during the observation.

At the beginning of the class when the teacher was passing the papers to the students, he was

playing with his paper and showing that he is not interested in working. When the teacher comes

to him, then he shows that he is working. But the teacher had to call him twice to get the

attention. Then he replied to the teacher. When the teacher went to a different student, he stopped

writing and playing with his pencil and hands. He was also looking here and there. Then the

teacher came again to him and asked him if he is done or not, then he started writing again. He

always waited for the teacher’s next instruction and then decided to write. The teacher had to tap

him sometimes to get his attention.

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

The students were working on their high-frequency sight words. They had to trace the words,

read them, and underline them in sentences. They also were working on their comprehension.
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The students were grouped by reading levels. The student I chose was in the lower level. When

the teacher asked him questions about the lesson, he answered her but before that, he was not

showing interest in his reading and writing. Sometimes, the teacher had to put his hand on his

paper and give him a pencil to write.

4. Make sure to document ALL behavior about what was being presented by the classroom

teacher.

The teacher kept going back and forth to the student I observed. The teacher was very polite to

him. The student was not showing his interest in his work but when the teacher came to him, he

was not disrespectful to her. He was having issues paying attention. That’s why the teacher was

coming to him, tapping him, and asking him to do his work. Whenever he answered her, she

smiled at him and politely asked him to do his work. I think if the student gets one-on-one help,

he would do more better.

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

and his/her educational needs.

In my observation, I discovered that the student is a visual learner. He also prefers to use

self-study and work alone. But he needs some help and motivation to work. Whenever the

teacher asked him to do his work, he did respond but the rest of the time he was not interested in

his class or work. I think if he gets one-on-one help, that would be more helpful for his learning.

6. What positive reinforcements were used successfully? What behavioral consequences were

used?
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The teacher said thank you when her students answered correctly. She asked her students politely

to do their work and gave them the instructions couple of times. She went to each of her students

and assist if needed. I didn’t see any behavioral consequences have been used in this lesson.

Part 3 (Summary):

I was asked to watched some videos to finish my 10 hours of field observation. I couldn’t go to

the real classrooms due to pandemics. I learned a lot and enjoyed those videos. I watched 8

videos that helped me to learn different types of disabilities that exist in the classroom. Though

my dream has always been to become an Elementary General Education teacher, I still wanted to

learn about special education as well. Nowadays, The schools have special ed students in general

ed classrooms. So, general ed teachers also have to know how to handle the sped ed students. I

am going to share my field observation experiences below.

The first video was about the preschool Autism classroom where I saw that how one student

came a long way. In the beginning, the student didn’t communicate at all but over time she

learned how to count, take deep breaths and express her feelings. This video also discussed the

definition of autism and how to categorize them. They also introduce an evidence-based

preschool autism program(PAC) that believes early intervention impacts a child’s learning and

behavior far into the future. I learned that the difference between a preschool class-based

classroom and a preschool autism classroom is that autism teaches things in a very systematic

manner. One strategy I observed is “discrete trial teaching,” where the teacher asks questions to

the students or tells them to copy whatever she says or does, and students answer her and follow

her instructions, and then the teacher gives them the feedback whether they are right or wrong.
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The teacher also used her students’ favorite reinforcers when they behave or respond

appropriately. These little reinforcers help them to learn. Sometimes the teacher uses the

reinforcement after two to three trials depending on how difficult the skill is. The teacher also

worked on increasing appropriate behavior and decreasing socially maladaptive behavior by

giving/taking away the reinforcement. They also have small centers where notes and data are

collected and shared with parents. I believe that a small ratio allows for more intimate

communication. The teacher has to have a lot of patience to handle this type of student. I also

learned that there is no medical detection or cure for autism. I would love to include a discrete

trial teaching strategy in my classroom. This observation helped me a lot to understand how to

prepare for the teaching profession by showing me the ways of how to handle the autism class

step by step. The second video was about the autism program at Fruitville Elementary School.

They used a collective efficacy strategy that informs the teachers, the paraprofessionals, the

therapists, the parents, or anyone who is taking care of the child, what does this individual child

needs. The teacher used both pictures and PACs to communicate with the students. One different

thing I observed and learned was that the teacher used clear plastic boxes to communicate with

one student. That was new for me. This video has different levels of autism classes of different

ages. I got to watch different types of teachers teaching different levels of students. It was helpful

for me to learn learn more about my teaching profession. This video has also taught me different

techniques of how to calm their bodies and to get their energy out of their body. I also learned

that talking and moving helps kids to learn better when they are working. I can use this idea in

my classroom. The 3rd video was about understanding autism. It was a guide for secondary

school teachers. I learned a variety of definitions and characteristics of autism and various ways

how it affects an individual. It’s way too different than elementary school. I liked the way
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teachers gave instructions to their autistic students. The 4th video was about middle school

reading special education class. The teacher’s instruction was clear and concise. She was very

helpful, polite, and giving the instruction couple of times to her students. I love the way she

grouped the students according to their reading levels. I will use this idea in my classroom. The

5th video was about small group rotations in moderate/severe special education. I learned the

daily schedule of a preschool special education class. The teacher was patiently talking to the

students and giving them rewards when they follow directions. I also learned how to talk to

non-verbal students. Those are helped me to understand the teaching profession. The 6th video

was about the everyday tasks of the students and teachers in a high school life skills classroom. I

like the idea that students start their day by swimming in the swimming pool. This gives them

time to move around and to get some exercise before they enter the classroom. Though I don’t

want to be a high school teacher, I still learned a lot. The 7th video was about the correction of

reading disabilities. The teacher first showed some vocabulary words, then read the book,

discussed the words, and then showed them some pictures to explain the vocabulary words.

Students were then asked to write down what happened in the story. I learned a new thing where

the teacher asked her students to act out the vocabulary words. I will apply this in my classroom.

The 8th video is a collaborative lesson taught by a general education teacher and a special

education teacher. The teachers in this lesson use the co-teaching strategy one teaching, one

assist.

Based on the observations, I can conclude that those videos were really helpful for me to learn

how to behave, talk and use the strategies to instruct and make the students follow directions in

special education classes. I will use those strategies in my classroom.