ASSIGNMENT 7 (Summary): Thoroughly summarize and reflect upon your entire 10

hour Field Observation Placement.

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For my field observation hours, I went to Eileen Conners Elementary School and

observed a Pre-K teacher. The Pre-K teacher was a teacher in a SPED Program classroom where

students were starting school for the first time. I went to observe this classroom and grade to be

able to get an idea and knowledge of what I want to teach in my future classroom. I was able to

attend the class most Tuesdays, Wednesday, and Friday. During those days, I was there for only

a few hours. The class was very interesting to observe because the teacher had put the students in

groups and some students wanted to learn and do other things that other student was doing. I

would like to go into depth about the experience I had with the class.

Upon my arrival at the school, I had to go to the front office to check in and inform the

school of the reason for my visit. Once I got to the classroom, the teacher arrived with the pupils

and gave me a warm welcome to the class. She first attended to all the pupils by taking them to

the restroom and helping them change into clean diapers as the pupils were from ages 3 and up.

After the teacher finished assisting the students with the restroom, she proceeded to start putting

the students in groups. The class has a total of 12 students and on the first day of my observation,

only 10 students attended class.

The following Tuesday was my second day there at school. On this day, I was able to get

hands-on with the children and help around the classroom. As I approached the classroom, all 12

students attended class that day, and as normal, the teacher that I was observing, Ms. Pacl, took

the kids to the restroom and changed them one by one. While Ms. Pacl was taking the student to

the restroom, the rest of the pupils were keeping themselves occupied in the play area, as well as

some students were with Ms. Pacl’s aid, Ms. M. During this time, Ms. M was handing the
students pictures to hand back to her to signify what they would like to get as a snack, for

instance, Ms. M would take out the picture with snacks on there with the word “snack”, as well

as a picture of a juice box with the word “juice” on the picture. When Ms. M asked the pupils

what they would like, the pupils would hand her the picture and she would put the picture on a

soft folder next to the words “I want” and she would help the pupils learn how to say what they

would like to have during eating time. Meanwhile, I was able to help assist the pupils in the play

area.

Later that day, Ms. Pacl would place the pupils into 3 groups. 4 students with Ms. M, 5

students at the play area, and 3 students will be with Ms. Pacl. Sometimes, Ms. Pacl would work

with 1 student on some days, and on other days Ms. M would assist 1 student. During my hands-

on with the pupils, I was able to learn some new things during my visit. Ms. Pacl was very

informational and gave me knowledge on the pupils and how to help assist each one. Although

her classroom did not have rules to abide by, she did state that since it is a Pre-K SPED Program,

each pupil has different rules based on them.

On my next visit to the classroom, I was able to get a deeper hands-on with helping the

pupils with the class activities. In the morning, Ms. Pacl would split the pupils into groups, 1

student with Ms. M, 5 students with me, and 6 students with Ms. Pacl. As I was assisting the 5

students at the play area, Ms. Pacl would inform me which student would need more help, and

when the time was up, it was time to rotate, Ms. Pacl called me over to show me what she would

do to help students would need more assist in learning. As I approached the table, she had taken

one of the students who needed more assistance in learning and had the student mimic her. For

example, the student that I was watching her assist was distracted by little bugs such as

grasshoppers, ants, and bees, and when she took the bugs away, he would try to reach for them
again. The teacher then proceeded to get the bugs and for him to get the bugs back, he would

have to mimic the teacher by clapping his hands, and the student would then proceed to clap his

hands and she gave the bugs back to him. She would do this a few times until the timer was up

and she would then pull another student to assist them. For this next student, the teacher stated

that he would not pass the program and would be put into a special education class after pre-k,

but Ms. Pacl would still assist him to her full potential. She would take out truck pieces so he

would try to match them and would also have the student try to mimic her by clapping his hands.

Although he was slow in his response, he was still able to clap his hands with a little help from

the teacher touching his elbows. Ms. Pacl and I would cheer both students after they were able to

mimic the teacher.

On the last day of my field observation, I was able to continue to help Ms. Pacl, and Ms.

M with what they need assistance with. I was able to be there for the whole 2 hours, and 15

minutes and I was able to enjoy all the pupils one last time. I was able to assist the students with

the iPad, helping them learn and play games on the iPad. I was able to assist other pupils in the

class that has learning differences. The smiles, excitement, and passion that these kids have

every day coming to school to learn is such a beautiful moment to witness. Overall, being able to

observe, get hands-on, and have more in-depth knowledge of special education has encouraged

me to continue my passion for education. In conclusion, my field observation was very enjoyable

and interesting. With so much smile, excitement, motivation, passion, and positivity in learning

that these pupils express makes me love seeing them on every visit. This field observation made

me love it and would love to be able to go back and experience it again.