Bella Roumain 2/3/2024

Field Experience Write up ED 243

Step 1. (5 points)

A. Description of the Critical Incident or Practice

Choose an incident that is complex and likely to draw you into an exploration of ideas, beliefs,
and dispositions you have learned about in your teacher education classes. Completely describe
the ONE critical incident or practice that you have selected as the focus for this entry. Your entry
should include sufficient detail so that the reader can easily understand your focus. This section
should be purely descriptive. Simply explain what you saw or experienced or the way something
worked. The description should be 1-3 well developed paragraphs in length.

During the third block, I was in Ms. Grace's 6th Grade Math Class during Core + time. When I
asked Ms. Grace what I could do to help, she told me I could work with an English Language
Learner on their previous math test. Before the student arrived, I looked over the key to remind
myself of the types of problems and strategies to solve them. The content topics in the unit are:
Greatest Common Factor, Least Common Multiple, Distributive Property, and Simplifying
Equations. My knowledge of these topics started to return from my memory the longer that I
reviewed the problems. When Shantelle, ELL student, arrived, Ms. Grace said that her English
was pretty good so she should be able to communicate with me without using translators. The
first problem was: 12 - a, a=3. We worked through problems that involved solving for the
variable. She was fully capable to solve addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
problems.

B. Feelings In this section, briefly describe your feelings in relation to the event. Your feelings
are emotional responses whereas your thoughts are cognitive responses. Therefore, do not mix
your thoughts and feelings (such as happiness, anger, frustration, etc.) For example don’t write,
“I felt that I should have been more concerned.” This sentence describes a thought not a feeling.
Your feelings should be written in short sentences or bullets. Do your best to stick with these
four words (or their many close synonyms) to describe your feelings: mad, glad, sad, scared.

While working with her, I felt nervous and excited. I felt nervous because I haven't worked on
6th grade math since I was a sixth grader. I needed to think on my feet to think of the best ways
to teach without telling her how to solve problems. However, I felt excited because I have never
directly worked with an ELL on math problems.

C. Thoughts. In this section, describe your initial thoughts and opinions in relation to the
description and feelings you provided in Sections A and B. Essentially, you are trying to convey
what you were thinking at the point in time in which the event occurred. Think of it as if
someone was listening in on your inner dialogue as you experienced the event.

Looking over her test, she didn't show a lot of work, so I wasn't sure what to expect in regard to
her understanding of the problems. The first problem was: 12 - a, a=3. I began by explaining
what the problem was asking and that she needed to plug 3 in for a. She showed me a look of
understanding. She rewrote the problem as 12 - 3 and solved to get 9. My confidence in her
ability grew because I realized that she was successful with verbal instruction. We worked
through the rest of the problems in this section. I asked guiding questions to lead her thinking.

D. Now make connections to your thinking....

What went well?
What didn’t go so well?
What do I want to do the same next time?
What do I want to do differently next time?

Something that went well was verbally explaining the instructions and pointing from instructions
to the numbers and variables in the problems. Something that didn't go so well was that if she
didn't understand my initial guiding question, I felt stuck because I don't know many 6th grade
math strategies. Next time, I want to continue verbal instruction. It seems like she comprehends
better verbally compared to written instruction. I want to get to know her more next time.

Step 2: (1 Point)

Make at least one connection to personal experience, other texts you’ve read, and/or what you
know about schools.

In ED 398 and ED 498, I've learned the importance of integrating ELL students into the
classroom. Isolation makes them feel singled out and can draw unnecessary attention to them.
Ms. Grace used Core + time to bring students who needed individualized help. The other
students in the class were occupied working on other assignments, so they weren't paying
attention to the students that were getting extra help.

Step 3: (5 Points)

Expand on five High Leverage Practices or more you chose to use in your write up by telling
which one, how you used it and what your thinking was in choosing this for your
student/students.

Ms. Grace used HLP #7: Establish a Consistent, Organized, and Respectful Learning
Environment as she optimized instructional time. She took advantage of the Butler student's
abilities to help as many students as possible.

After working with Shantelle, I utilized HLPs #8 and #22: Provide Positive & Constructive
Feedback to Guide Students' Learn because I offered respectful and positive feedback to the
student. I wanted her to know that I was invested in her learning even though I wasn't there for
long. When it was time for me to leave, I told her that she did great work and I was very proud of
her.

I considered HLP #12: Systematically Designed Instruction, "support students in organizing new
knowledge by providing scaffolds and structures for learning." (5:30). I chose to start at the top
of the test with the simplest problem. I wanted her to be successful right away to build her
confidence for the more difficult problems. Additionally, with each problem, I pushed her to be
more independent while solving.

I applied HLP #16: Explicit Instruction, "language used within an explicit lesson is crystal clear."
I tried my best to use the least amount of words possible because I didn't want to confuse her
with over-complicated questions.

I utilized HLP #15: Scaffolding Support, "providing lots of opportunities to respond to various
prompts paired with feedback." After each question, Shantelle had the opportunity to think about
it and do the next step to the problem. I also practiced wait time.
Step 4: (5 points)

Field Experience -PROFESSIONAL NEXT STEPS- Please pick three of the questions below
and expand on them with your field experience write up with five or more sentences. You should
look for pieces that succinctly enhance your understanding of your possible / potential life as an
education professional. (HINT: Think about how this step connects to your future as a
professional and your next steps in your learning.)

· How was the classroom environment (routines, procedures, student behavior, physical space,
etc.) impact student learning?

In Ms. Grace's classroom, it was clear that the students understood the behavior and work
expectations. They were working independently or in pairs on different assignments. If the
volume got too loud, Ms. Grace reminded them of the noise level expectation.

· Do kids like being in the classroom?

While I was in Mr. Anderson's Social Studies Classroom during the second Block, I noticed that
students felt comfortable talking to each other and to the teacher. It was clear that Mr. Anderson
built a strong classroom community.

· How did the teacher/you handle his or her relationship with the student/students?

Mr. Anderson is respectful and positive while talking to his students. The students enjoy
bantering with him and he responds in both appropriate and funny manner.