Ramirez 1

Field Observation
Vanessa Ramirez
1 May 2018
Professor Vicki Rieger
EDU 203-3001
 Ramirez 2

Assignment 1 (Observations):

Observation 1:
The first impression of the classroom was that it was very organized and clean. The theme of the
classroom is superheroes. For having 3-5 year olds, Mrs. Yachbes, has her classroom very put
together. It is a very welcoming environment and all the kids enjoyed all the toys that they had
out. They have a play area where they are allowed to go for their breaks and reinforcement time.
Mrs. Yachbes has 3 tables in her room and each of those tables are used for a different center, run
by one of the two aides and herself. By each table she has drawers where all the children’s
reinforcements are kept, so when they earn all their tokens they are allowed to grab a toy from
there. Each child has their own cubby, where they store their backpacks. The classroom that she
is in is a regular sized classroom split in two and next door is the other kids program. This makes
the classroom a bit small. The classroom is connected to a bathroom so that makes it easier for
children to use it and she has easy access to the playground. Even though the classroom is small
it works for the class size and keeps kids at close range to keep track of and less space for them
to run around.
Observation 2:
The classroom I observed was a kids program. This particular classroom had 6 kids. Five boys
and one girl. Two of the six kids are typical peers. The remaining four have autism. The ethnicity
of these kids consists of Hispanic, Filipino, and White. The first boy with Autism is non-verbal.
He uses a Pex book to communicate with us and uses it very frequently. He is starting to make
sounds and say “Ya” and “Na”. He usually will run back and forth in the classroom and loves
anything that spins. The second boy is aggressive at times when demands are put on him. He will
hit, scratch, and bite. When he is upset he will cry and throw things. If he is really upset, he will
begin to hit the other children; even if they have nothing to do with it. It takes him about 10-15
minutes to calm down. The third boy is very verbal, but at times his speech is still not clear. He
has a hard time transitioning from the play area. Any time he has to do work, transitioning is
hard. That would be the only behavior he has. The fourth boy is verbal and his speech is
improving every day. He has had so much progress, he will be transitioning into General Ed
kindergarten with very little resource time. Out of the four boys that have Autism, two of them
will be moving on. One to Kindergarten and the other to Primary Autism.
Observation 3:
In the classroom, Mrs. Yachbes does not use rules. She uses goals. Each child has a set goal that
they need to work on. Each goal is written on a sentence strip with the child’s initials on it and
displayed on the wall.
T.A. - Following Directions
 Ramirez 3

R.M. - Following Directions

M.R. - Following Directions
R.C. - Following Directions
L.D. - Sitting
J.S. - Following Directions
The majority of her kids have the same goal, except for the one. He is working on sitting for a
long period of time.
Observation 4:
During circle time and center time, these goals are enforced. When they show that they are
achieving their goal, Mrs. Yachbes reinforces them with a token. During circle time, she uses a
poster sized token board that has all their names on it. When one of the students earns his/her 5
tokens they are able to leave circle time and take a 2-3 minute break in the play area. During
centers, each child has their own, individual token board. So when they earn all 5 tokens, they
are rewarded with their highest reinforcement or a 2-3 minute break in the play area. At all times,
during the day, they are also given positive feedback for doing their set goal. When the child is
not being compliant, Mrs. Yachbes redirects them and shows them what they are supposed to be
doing. She will tell them to touch their head, touch their eyes, tummy, mouth, etc. or she will
have them count. If they keep resisting and their behavior starts to escalate, she will give them
their space and wait until they are ready to comply. While the behavior is going on, she is still
using the token board and gives a token each time it deescalates.

Assignment 2 (Classroom Layout):

Classroom Layout Question 1:
The workflow of the classroom is organized. In the morning when they get inside from recess
each student has their own morning work binder. It has the child’s first and last name, their date
of birth, address, phone number, alphabets, numbers, and tracing. They do that for 30 minutes.
Each center runs for ten minutes. Both aides and Mrs. Yachbes have one activity they do for the
week. There are three centers and two kids at each one. After ten minutes, the students will
rotate. Each table is named by a different superhero. There is: Wonder Woman, Batman, and
Captain America Mrs. Yachbes will call the tables out by their names and the students know
which table to go to and are not confused. The workflow is easy going for the most part. The
space in the classroom is very compact. It is good because it is easier to keep track of the
students and the space is used efficiently. Being that it is so compact, this does not leave much
room for the play area and the circle time area.
Classroom Layout Question 2:
The physical arrangement I would change would be the size of the play area and the size of the
classroom. The size of the play area is not big enough for 6 children, especially when the teacher
 Ramirez 4

would like them to stay in that area while they play. The play area being so small causes the kids
to come out of it and run around the classroom. Even though it is a small space, the students will
run in circles and it causes chaos. If the play area was bigger, I feel, the children would stay in it
and not feel so on top of each other. Another problem with it being so small it causes the students
to argue with each other. Someone stepped on his hands or stepped on her tower. The classroom
size is small and I feel that it causes more chaos and it seems louder. It may only be 6 kids, but
being in a classroom that size makes it feel like there are 20.
Assignment 3 (Instruction):
Instruction Question 1:
Class Schedule:
9:00- 9:30- Outdoor Play
9:30- 10:00- Morning Work
10:00- 10:15- Circle
10:15- 11:10- Centers
11:10- 12:00- Lunch/Recess
12:00- 12:10- Brush Teeth
12:10- 12:30- Afternoon work
12:30- 1:00- Afternoon Circle
1:00- 1:30- Recess
1:30- 2:15- Math Centers
2:15- 2:45- Snack
2:45- 3:15- Social Skills/except on Wednesdays, Cooking Class
Instruction Question 2:
Instruction in the classroom is done in centers, whole groups, and individually. All day Mrs.
Yachbes is doing instruction; whether it is redirecting them from behaviors, helping them with
small tasks, or teaching them how to play with each other or a particular toy. When it is done in a
group, she does a learning activity with them. When it is done individually, she is running trials
on them or doing tasks with them to get all her TSG’s together. In centers, her and her aides are
doing instruction.
Instruction Question 3:
Mrs. Yachbes’ teaching style is very organized. She prefers everything to be done in a timely
manner. She makes sure that it is done neatly and step by step. Mrs. Yachbes makes sure that
each set of directions is clear and understood. When it is time for a new activity she will give the
instructions and ask the students what they will be doing, to make sure that they understand what
 Ramirez 5

is going to be done and when. She will inform all the students ahead of time when it will be time
to transition or start a new activity. Mrs. Yachbes makes sure that her lessons are fun and very
hands-on. She wants her students to be involved and get that hands-on learning. On Wednesdays,
she has a cooking class for them to help them with their speech. The students love it and enjoy
trying different foods. Mrs. Yachbes likes to keep her classroom and lessons organized and well
put together.
Instruction Question 4:

One of the ways Mrs. Yachbes incorporates her teaching style is through her cooking class. She has one
every Wednesday. First, she sets up her area with all the items they will be using. Then Mrs. Yachbes will
introduce each item to her students and describe to them what they are. When it comes time to put all the
ingredients together she will have each student ask for a turn. The students seem to really enjoy doing
this. They get to have a chance to try new foods and it gives them a chance to work on their speech and
language. The students love to see their creations come together. Mrs. Yachbes will make some for the
staff and her students are able to deliver them personally and describe to other staff members what they
made and how they made it.

Instruction Question 5:

The students in her class are very engaged in her lessons. Since the lesson is hands-on, it allows the
students to be more interactive and makes them want to do it. The students love to watch all the
ingredients come together. They love to walk around the school and deliver the food to all the teachers.
Students get to get out of the classroom and learn to interact with other people.

Instruction Question 6:

None of the students are isolated from the classroom. She makes sure that all students are included in the
lesson. The only time a student will be excluded is if they are taking a nap.

Instruction Question 7:

Instruction time is managed efficiently. Mrs. Yachbes was doing a letter “R” practice sheet. She first
introduced the letter and had each of her students say the letter and the sound it makes. She will then start
by giving an example of a word that begins with the letter “R”. Once she gives her example, she will then
go around the table and have each student give her another word that starts with the letter “R”. After each
child has gone, if they know any words that begin with said letter, she will then pass out the practice
sheet. In the practice sheet, students need to color all the uppercase and lowercase letter R’s. After, they
will then cut out uppercase and lowercase R’s and sort them out.

Instruction Question 8:

During center time, each center is ten minutes long. So, when it is two minutes before transition time, she
gives an announcement, “Two minutes and then we will be switching.” After the two minutes are up she
will then say it is time to switch and remind students what table they will be going to next. Other times
she will use a timer. This technique works most of the time. There will be times when transitioning is hard
for some of the students when they are at a preferred activity.

Instruction Question 9:
 Ramirez 6

The only command Mrs. Yachbes uses is the clean up song. It is very effective for students and helps the
ones who don’t like to clean up find the fun in clean up time. Once students hear the song they
immediately begin to clean up and it is done in a timely manner.

Instruction Question 10:

The behaviors this classroom has to deal with are refusing to transition, pinching, biting, hitting, and
throwing of toys. Child A has a hard time transitioning from the play area to a work center. Child B will
push others, pinch, bite, hit, and throw his toys, when frustrated or is not getting his way. Child C will
remove his shoes all day. When child A refuses to transition, Mrs. Yachbes will let the student know that
he is not following directions and tell him it is time to work. When he refuses again, she will then ignore
him and will begin with the lesson. He sees that she is paying no attention to him and will clean up and
come sit down. When child B begins to throw toys, she first removes all other students and any toys
around him. She will either have him sit down in a chair or block him from going towards the other kids.
While he is in the chair or standing, she will begin to tell him he needs to have a calm body and try to
calm him down. After trying this and he still isn’t calm, she will step away and let him have his tantrum.
It usually takes him about 20-30 mins for him to calm down. When he is done she will have him clean up
his toys. Child C removes his shoes when he is upset or trying to avoid doing work. When this happens
the teacher will give him a negative reinforcement, which is his socks. She will have him wear them for a
minute, takes them off, and puts his shoes back on. For the rest of the day his shoes are on, until the next
task.

Instruction Question 11:

When another aide is out they pull the SPTAs out of their classrooms to help where it is needed. This
hinders instructional time in the classroom because the teacher usually can’t run all her three centers with
just one aide.

Assignment 4 (Culture):

Physical Characteristics:

1. The school has a very safe feel to it. There are teachers at all entrances and one of the specialists
directs traffic inside the school parking lot. The school, on the inside and outside, is very clean.
The janitor is on top of everything. The hallways and cafeteria are kept up, as well. The colors of
the school are green and white. On each of the doors they have a magnet and keep the doors open.
The magnets are used for drills. The doors are locked at all times and when you pull the magnet it
automatically closes and locks the door. Every teacher has their own bulletin board and the
principal makes sure that they are all up to date with the student's work or artwork. There are
trophy cases filled with pictures of Mr. and Mrs. Frias during their life and things they did. They
are also filled with all their achievements throughout their lives. When you enter the school they
have a wall filled with tiles that all fifth grade students painted with artwork of something they
love, a hobby, or sport. All the tiles are switched out every year.
2. The interior of the school is kept up very nicely. The lighting is very bright and having a lot of
windows helps bring in the sunlight. The bulletin boards really add a pop of authenticity and
show how much teachers are proud of their students' work and show how hard the students work
in the classroom. Every parent has to enter through the office, sign in, get a visitors pass, and
 Ramirez 7

have their picture taken. No parents are allowed on either playground without a visitor's pass. The
principal and assistant principal are out on the playgrounds monitoring and helping out with duty.

Culture of the school:

1. Frias Elementary School’s mission statement is to create a partnership between school, home, and
community that will foster a positive nurturing environment in which students can reach their
maximum potential educationally, emotionally, and socially. The motto of the school is “Sail,
Soar, Succeed!” And the mascot of the school is a falcon.
2. The staff have a very close relation with all their visitors. They are very friendly and welcoming.
Staff is always helpful with visitors finding their way around their school. I love that all the staff
are very caring with their students and each other. The staff here are like a family and always help
each other out.
3. The type of program the school has for special education students goes between pulling out and
inclusion. The students will get pulled out for resource or will push in. For speech, it is the same.
The speech pathologist will either pull them out or do a group speech session. Grades Pre-k,
kindergarten, and second have lunch together, first and third are together and then fourth and fifth
are together.
4. All students seem to know each other, no matter what grade they are in. I feel that has a lot to do
with them going to safe key in the mornings and afternoons. The students are always saying hi to
each other in the hallways. The social areas of the school are the lunchroom, recess, and the front
of the school before they begin. Students at Frias elementary are very involved in all school
activities like plays, fundraisers, field day, and after school programs. Frias gives all students a
chance to be a part of something bigger.
5. Each month the school has Be Kind awards and Frias pride award. For Be Kind awards, each
teacher from each grade level will nominate a student for a random act of kindness they do inside
or outside of the playground. The teacher has to write a short paragraph on what they did; at their
lunch time they will bring the student up and read what their teacher wrote. It is nice to see the
smile the student has when they get recognized for this. With the Frias Pride award, it happens
once a month and a student will get nominated for going above and beyond in the classroom or
outside of the classroom. The student’s parents get invited to a special award ceremony and
afterwards get to have donuts with their parents. This really helps kids work hard and become
better friends. I like that they recognize students for going above and beyond and not only
recognizing the students who are defiant.

Culture of the Classroom:

1. Mrs. Yachbes is always encouraging her students to do their best and try. No matter what their
disability is, she always believes in her students and does not let boundaries get in the way. I like
how she takes them around the school for cooking class, introduces them to new things, and she
makes them speak up. Mrs. Yachbes always goes the extra mile for her students and aides.
2. No matter if it is not the right participation or much participation, Mrs. Yachbes will always see it
as something. She knows at times it can be difficult for them so, if they need to be in for a few
minutes and then get on break, she will allow it. Once she sees a student getting frustrated with
the assignment or getting agitated, she will let them walk around or take a break for a few minutes
and let them try again.
 Ramirez 8

3. Mrs. Yachbes is always calm with her students. She always tries to understand what is wrong and
will find different ways to fix it.

Assignment 5 (Cooperating Teacher Interview):

1. I’ve always had an interest in teaching but did not pursue it originally when I was in college. At
the time in Florida, they were laying off teachers. I ended up going to graduate school for
Rehabilitation Counseling. After graduation I worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs. I
helped veterans with disabilities get back to work. After my daughter was born I stayed home to
raise my children for 6 years. I knew once my son was old enough to go to school, I wanted to
return to work. Going back to the VA was not practical with my family (long hours and too far
from home) so I decided to combine my background in disability with my love of children and
became a Special Education Teacher. Since Clark County was in need of teachers, I completed the
ARL program (fast track to employment) and was able to be hired as a Preschool Autism teacher.
I am currently back in school to get my Autism endorsement.
2. My biggest challenge is the paperwork. The paperwork is so time consuming that it often takes
away from teaching time.
3. My students are the best part of the job. It is so rewarding to see the progress and growth.
4. We don’t have assigned seating in my classroom – we only have 6 students. During circle time
the students pick their seat upon arrival to the circle. At times I will separate students that do not
work well together.
5. I separate our center groups based upon ability level. Originally I only had 3 students with IEPs
and 3 centers so they were paired with a typical peer. I have one student that needs a lot of
attention and hand over hand assistance so he was in a group by himself. Now that I have a new
student I rearranged the groups to allow the most attention given to my students with IEPs.
6. I use the Brigance to test for IEPs. As a district we use Teaching Strategies Gold three times a
year to monitor progress.
7. I report TSG data three times a year. Progress reports go home 4 times a year. All my students
with IEPs have annual reviews, more if needed.
8. Most of the students are picked up at the door each day – so we have brief conversations at pick
up. I also plan monthly family engagement activities where parents are invited into the classroom.
They are my favorite days! I love talking with the parents and learning more about each student. I
also love that the parents interact with each other and become friendly. We typically discuss the
student’s progress and growth. Often the parents provide new information that I did not know
about the student which is always helpful to incorporate into our daily routine.
9. I don’t do grading since it is a preschool autism classroom. However, we collect data on a regular
basis.
10. Our schedule is very routine so there is not a lot of lesson planning required. We change out our
centers weekly. We also have a weekly art project and cooking class.
11. n/a
12. All my students are on a token board. They have individual token boards at center time. We also
have a group token board for whole group activities. Once the board is filled the students can go
to the reinforcement area which is the corner of the room with all the play toys.
13. Since we are preschool, my students do not go to specials. Most students do receive speech
services. I coordinate with the Speech Pathologist to have a weekly cooking class.
 Ramirez 9

14. Since I am a new teacher, I have 3 formal and 3 informal observations a year. I am evaluated on
the NEPF.
15. If my evaluation is not favorable I will be put on a remediation plan.
16. I receive a special education budget (about $1,000/yearly). The PTO typically gives us an
additional budget ($150/year). This year I was very fortunate that a grandfather who attended my
family engagement day was very happy with the classroom and donated $2,000. Being a new
teacher, I was assigned a mentor that comes as often as I need. I also have support from an
Autism specialist which has been very helpful. An Early Childhood specialist comes to visit me
also – since my students are of preschool age.
17. I was surprised at how attached I would get to my students and their families – especially the
harder students. I never realized how much I would think about them when I would leave the
classroom – and worry about them like they were my own children.

Assignment 6 (Observing a student):

After circle time, the kids were told to push in their chairs and go to their assigned centers. All the
students pushed in their chairs except for Jeremiah. He wanted to put his chair in a spot that was already
filled with another student’s chair. So Mrs. Yachbes told him to go push it in an open spot. Jeremiah is
very controlling and stubborn. That is the main behavior Mrs. Yachbes is trying to lessen. Him being
controlling, he did not like that idea. He then shouted, “No spot!” He then stood there and stared at the
teacher and us aides. He was told by an aide this time to put his chair back, but he refused once again.
After he refused he picked his chair up and threw it. Mrs. Yachbes told him to pick his chair up and put it
away. He refused and shouted, “No chair!” He started to run to his chair to throw it again. I was able to
hold it down and stop him from throwing it. I removed it from him and he started to cry and fight with me
to get his chair. I told him he couldn’t have his chair until he was calm and ready to put it back nicely. He
started to hit me while he was crying and yelling, “Chair! Chair! Chair!” I started to walk away with the
chair and he followed me but still wanted to hit me. Mrs. Yachbes then stepped in and held him back. She
tried calming him down by having him count or touch his eyes, mouth, nose, and head but it was not
working because he wanted to get his chair to throw it. Jeremiah then threw himself on the floor and
began to cry even more and would not get up. He then started to make bubbles with his saliva and let it
hang from his mouth until it fell onto the carpet. At this point, Mrs. Yachbes ignores him and we continue
with our centers. She lets him calm down on his own. After about 20 minutes he is finally calm. He goes
and gets his chair and pushes it into an empty spot. With this type of situation I would have handled it the
same way. I believe sometimes, a child needs to just be upset, just for the safety of the other kids and
teachers. Removing all students and items that are in reach to them is something I need to remember,
always. Always remaining calm and never reacting to their behavior is always a tactic to keep in mind
because once they see you aren’t reacting, the behaviors deescalate. Being in situations like this have
taught me to be calm and have patience.

Assignment 7 (Summary):

During my ten hour observation one of the main characteristics I need to obtain to be able to do this job is
patience. Patience really is key to doing this job. Observing and doing this job everyday has shown me
that when you have patience and show students that their behavior does not impact you, they feed off of
the calm in your voice and body language. Yelling and screaming at them only escalates their behavior. I
have learned that training is really going to help me get better and learn new strategies that will help me
deal with behaviors and how to lessen them. Observing this classroom has given me ideas on how to run
 Ramirez 10

my future classroom and has given me hands-on experience on how to deal with all kinds of behaviors . It
has helped me get a look at what it is to be a Kids Program teacher. Mrs. Yachbes has helped me improve
the way I work in the classroom and with our students. Every year I do this, the more experience I am
gaining. Working in this field reminds me everyday why I am going to school. My job is what pushes me
to keep going because in the end, I can’t wait to have my own classroom. I am very lucky to have this
opportunity and to be gaining all this hands-on experience. When it is time for me to be a teacher, I will
already be familiar with different types of behaviors and different types of children. I love what I do. I
treat all my students as if they were my own children. This opportunity is molding me into the type of
educator I want to be. I can’t wait to keep going and keep learning through new experiences.