Erika Larson

EDUC 280 – 001W

Journals 1 & 2 Combined
April 20, 2022

EDUC 280 Journal 1 & 2 Combined

Task 1. Classroom Management

Question 1 – Do you think your teacher has successfully created a productive learning environment? Why or
why not?
I am observing Stephanie Blackburn, a 2nd grade teacher at Lakevue Elementary and have really lucked out with
getting placed with a phenomenal teacher. She has created a very productive learning environment; from how
she has the desks arranged to the various posters, signs, and pictures she has hanging around the room. She
uses the Whole Brain Teaching methods when it comes to classroom management and I feel that it is extremely
effective in setting classroom expectations for students. She has a schedule written on the board that is updated
every day with what the students will be doing that day; for some it is generic such as quick write in the
mornings, recess, math stations 1 & 2, lunch, workshop, and math station 3, but she updates the ELA portion of
their day, which specials they will attend, reading, and science/social studies portion of the day each day so the
students know what to expect of their day.

Question 2 – What techniques does the teacher use to keep students actively involved in academic activities?
Stephanie provides students with the space to be a kid, she understands that 7- and 8-year-olds are not built to
sit silently for 6-7 hours a day and understands that it is bound to get noisy at times, especially when students
are working together or at different stations, but when she says ‘hey class’ they all almost always respond with
‘hey yes’. They know that this is the signal that it is time to pay attention to the teacher and listen. She has the
students sit at the front of the room on the carpet during some instructional times because she has found they

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focus better than when at their desks. She will walk around the room when students are working to be available
if they need help but also to help remind students that it is work time.

Question 3 – How is your teachers “withitness?” In other words, do they have command of the classroom? Do
they have great systems of classroom management in place?
I feel her withitness is very good. Her class as a whole responds with ‘hey yes’ when she says ‘hey class’ almost
every time or when she does a melodic clap. Her students know what they should be doing when and are usually
on task with minimal reminders of what they should be doing. When at the carpet she uses the Whole Brain
Teaching Rule called the Diamond Rule which means keep your eye on the target (her pointer) and then will
move it in all different directions so she can see that her students are paying attention. Even when she is working
with a group at the back table, she is checking the rest of the students, monitoring noise level, and giving
reminders if students are getting off task or noisy. She is rarely sitting at her desk because she is always either
walking the room, at the front of the class for instruction, working with students at the back table, and being
actively engaged with all students.

Question 4 – What types of “punishments” are used in your classroom?

Stephanie uses minimal punishment and tries to avoid it if possible, primarily because her techniques to redirect
behavior and her students are quite effective. Her students respond positively to words of praise and she
frequently gives them when students answer correctly. She also speaks in a positive tone when a student
answers something incorrectly letting them know that she recognizes their attempt and is glad they are trying.
She has found that most of the time just talking to a student is effective and helps, both one-on-one and as a
whole class. If it becomes necessary (especially for the whole class), she will first give a warning that Dojo points
will be lost and this is usually effective in getting kids back on task. If no other methods work, she will then resort
to taking Dojo points and this is something that the kids really seem to respond to because at the end of each
week they “cash in” these points for Dojo Dollars that they can then spend in the class Dojo Store for things like
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use a pen for the day, take your shoes off in class, bring a stuffed animal to class, candy, small prizes, stickers, the
Awesome Prize Box, and more. She has several non-verbal cues that are effective as well. Things such as looking
at a student and pointing to her book when they are reading as a class, looking at students and doing the shhh
hand gesture, as she is walking around the room she will also tap a student’s desk/book/work to let them know
they are off task.

Question 5 – How or where are the rules posted in your classroom? How were they created? By the students
or the teacher?
Stephanie has the rules posted at the front of the room at eye level when the students are sitting down at the
carpet. She also has signs throughout the classroom with behavior expectations. She has posters on the wall that
look to have been created near the beginning/middle of the pandemic that gave reminders of good
hygiene/health reminders (cover your mouth when coughing, wash your hands, stay home if you’re sick, etc.).
She has signs in the back of the room that provide behavior expectations such as appreciations – no put downs,
attentive listening, mutual respect, and right to pass/right to participate. She also has a chart at the front of the
room with a list of noise levels to help students be conscious of what level they are at. She uses the rules
provided through Whole Brain Teaching. In the past, she has tried including the students in creating the rules but
has found that the WBT rules have been the most effective.

Task 2. Curriculum

Question 1 – Give an example of when the teacher used integrated curriculum across subjects (i.e. combining
science and language arts)

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The entire second grade was recently learning about animals so Stephanie chose a book on chameleons to read
during their designated reading time that she was then also able to integrate in their science time with a lesson
on camouflage. The students then created a poster with two different backgrounds and a chameleon on top that
they colored to blend in to the two backgrounds. They also created a chart and drew pictures of animals showing
the different types of camouflage techniques animals use which then incorporated some art as well.
Students are currently reading a Magic Treehouse book titled Civil War on Sunday which is combining Reading,
ELA, and Social Studies (as well as Civil Rights but I know that isn’t technically a subject they learn yet) since
students are learning about some of America’s past, keeping a vocab journal, and answering writing prompts for
each chapter.

Question 2 – Give an example of when the teacher used hidden curriculum.

I was working with groups of students during some of their designated math time and during this time we would
be playing bingo. I would provide students with the problem and they would then need to figure out the answer
and cover that space to try and get five in a row. Students really enjoyed this because they thought they were
just playing a game, but she was able to also incorporate a math lesson into it as well.

Question 3 – Does your teacher used differentiated instruction?

Yes she does. She has a diverse classroom with some students who are still learning phonics, reading
comprehension, and fluency basics and others who are reading chapters books above grade level. She has
students divided into groups (Pokémon characters for ELA and colored fish for Math) based on where they are at
academically so that students who may still be learning foundational things are grouped together and can
receive instruction that is targeted for where they are at and students who are all at a level of reading chapter
books and having good reading comprehension are together. This is also the same for math groups. Students
who are still learning one- and two-digit addition and subtraction, number comparison, etc. are in groups
together and students who are now working on three-digit addition and subtraction, word problem solving, etc.
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are in groups together. She has found that this provides students with the opportunity to learn from and be
challenged by (but not made to feel incapable by) students who are academically at or near their same level. I
would have to agree that this is an effective method. I can personally understand how it feels when being
grouped with other students who are academically above where I am at and the defeating (and borderline
demeaning) feeling that one can feel when they are talking about things far above your current level of
understanding. I think this provides students the opportunity to learn from and with each other.

Question 4 – Can you tell what kind of learner the teacher is from his/her instructional preferences?
I think that she is a visual/hands-on learner. She has a lot of pictures/signs/posters hanging around the room.
She likes things organized in a way that works for her and her classroom, and she uses a lot of hands-on
instruction and lessons. For example, in math they created clocks out of paper plates to help students learn how
to tell time and she also has several hands-on math stations that give students the opportunity to practice math
skills that aren’t just answering problems on a worksheet.

Question 5 – Do you think the teacher adapts the curriculum to the types of learners in the classroom?
100% she does. As mentioned above, she has students whose comprehension levels are still below second grade
level, so she has created stations that help students learn what she is teaching at their level. For an example,
they recently began learning about money and more specifically coins. For some students, they are able to look
at the coin pictured on the worksheet and add them up to figure out the total but for other students she has
adapted the curriculum to include using play money for these students to use when completing the worksheet.
Stephanie also has a student in her class that uses a cochlear implant and she has adapted some curriculum to
include sign language.

Question 6 – Does your teacher like the curriculum he/she is teaching?

Yes, she does. Stephanie enjoys teaching fluency and phonics and says that the current curriculum (although it
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looks like the Vallivue School Board just approved to stop common core and adopt a completely new and
different curriculum) is set up great for these lessons.

Question 7 – What would they like to see added in the future?

She would like to see more trust in the future. Stephanie said that she feels the current administration at
Lakevue has trust and confidence in their teachers and staff to know what is best for the classroom and students
(within the guidelines set out by the district and state) but that this has not always been the case with previous
administrators and schools she has worked for and that it is something many teachers worry about. She doesn’t
work well (and well may not be the best word here, I would probably say to the best of her abilities or as
effective as possible) when being micromanaged, which I feel most people would agree. She would like to be
able to teach the curriculum, create lessons, and interact with students without having to worry if what they are
covering in class is going to be deemed too controversial or inappropriate. This particular conversation came
about when her and I were discussing the book they are reading (Magic Treehouse: Civil War on Sunday) and
how this topic was a heavy one first thing on Monday morning. She talked about how she has read this book
with her class for several years now and that this is the first year she has felt worried that reading this book is
going to be deemed too controversial and will be dropped from their plans even though the topic of slavery and
its place in America’s history is extremely important for students to learn. (Which in my personal opinion is
absolutely mind boggling to think that any person could ever consider discussions regarding the civil war and
abolishment of slavery as controversial)

Task 3. Technology

Question 1 – What kind of technology was used in the class(es) you observed? Was it effective?
Stephanie has several technology tools in use in her classroom. She has a Smartboard at the front of the room
that she uses for a large portion of instruction and there is a Chrome Cart that has a Chromebook for each
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student on the classroom. She uses several web applications to assist in student instruction and learning. In her
classroom she uses Class Dojo for communication and point tracking for students, iStation, Clever, Epic!,
Dreamscape for interactive learning and learning through game play, Prodigy for math, Google Classroom,
Imagine Learning, and Teach Your Monster to Read. She also uses resources such as YouTube (she always checks
videos prior to showing her class to ensure they are appropriate) and a document camera that is used place of
the old projectors.

Question 2 – What type of technology might you use when you start your teaching career?
I really like the Smartboard. I like that you can use it just like a computer to pull up different resources for your
class as well as to do screen mirroring from your computer, I also like that you can “write” on it when instructing,
and I like that it has the capability to play videos as well. I also really like Class Dojo and hope that whatever
school I work at will have it implemented. Communicating with parents through notes in a student’s backpack is
not reliable and I love that this provides a space where sending or receiving a quick message to parents is easy
and fast.
Each student having their own Chromebook is also great. In this day-and-age, it is nearly impossible to find a job,
career, or even assignment that doesn’t require use of some form of technology and this is not something that
will ever go away as far as anyone can tell. By providing students with a resource like a Chromebook, we are able
to teach them appropriate technology use and skills that will be used throughout all aspects of their lives for the
rest of their lives, it also provides teachers with the ability to conserve on paper, adjust curriculum for student’s
abilities more easily, and allows them (dependent on application abilities) to monitor who is actively engaged
and on task.

Question 3 – Do you think it is harder or easier to incorporate technology into your classroom?
I think it is easier now, especially since most kids already know how to use computers/tech. It allows teachers to
collaborate with other teachers both in and out of their school. It helps save on paper waste, gives students the
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ability to work at their pace (when allowed in the curriculum), and gives teachers and parents/guardians easier
access to communication (which can be both good and bad.)

Task 4. Diversity
Question 1 – How diverse was your class(es) you observed?
I would say it is somewhat diverse; both race/ethnicity wise and academic abilities wise. There are
approximately 8 – 10 students who are of Latinx decent, there is one student whose family immigrated from
Sweden, and there are two students who identify as Black in the classroom. There are also students of all
learning abilities in the classroom. Stephanie has a student in her classroom who spends about 95% of his day in
a resource room and comes into the classroom sometimes during math instruction (this is dependent on staff
availability) and joins the class during specials. There are also students who have an IEP or 504 Plan.

Question 2 – What did your mentor/teacher do (or not do) to create a diverse classroom? 
She has discussions and reads books about different people throughout history and about different cultures (i.e.
Martin Luther King Jr., National Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month, Indigenous Peoples, etc.)
One thing I noticed that was not as diverse as it could be was many of the signs/pictures around the room. They
depicted students who were primarily Caucasian. I also think that there are several opportunities to implement
integrated curriculum that would incorporate lessons on diversity and different cultures. I know that in today’s
climate, the topic of diversity (especially in elementary school) is being mislabeled as controversial and
indoctrinating so I can objectively understand why some teachers may be hesitant to incorporate it in lesson
plans but in my opinion I think that creating age appropriate lessons on diversity, cultural differences, race, and
civil rights is vital in helping overcome the political attack on our schools.