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.

The incident was observations within the first-grade classroom and working on their
bunny stories with the students. Each student had a peep marshmallow that they got to
pick the color for and name; these peeps were not to be eaten and kept in a ziplock bag
with the student's name on it. The students then received a worksheet where they
completed the prompts that was directed about their bunny. It had their bunnies name
on it, what they like to do and how they feel. The students worked together and talked
about their bunnies with their table mates after the worksheet was completed.

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.

In this moment I was feeling happy.

- Excited
- Glad
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.

In this moment I was very nervous to enter into this sort of space. Being a
middle/secondary education student, being with younger age elementary students
always throws me out of my comfort zone. I love students of all ages and believe that
we can learn a lot from them no matter their age level. I sat down with three girls and
talked to them about their bunnies and the stories into which they were working on. It
was exciting to see their joy and learning as they talked about their bunnies and worked
on their worksheets. We also talked about their weekend plans as they were excited to
ride their bikes around during the weekend and watch tv.

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

What went well?

- What went well was seeing culturally responsive teaching within the classroom
setting. Easter is a religious holiday and so I always wondered how teachers
incorporate these types of things into their lessons while not making it seem or
feel exclusive. The bunnies brought joy to the kids faces while being able to
connect to different subjects and different types of learning. They did science
with the marshmallows as well as english and spelling.

What didn’t go so well?

- The students seemed very disorganized and it was hard to follow along on what
they were doing.

What do I want to do the same next time?

I would love to learn more from the elementary students in the classroom because they
are the building blocks for the middle/secondary students learning.
What do I want to do differently next time?
I would try to stay longer and see what the full lessons are.

● Choose the person who most strongly

impacted you, or impressed you during this visit. Please share why and how
they connected to your learning.
A person that impacted me was one of the students that I was working with during this
1st grade observation time. She was very mature for her age and seemed to be a
leader within the classroom. She was academically at the same level as the other
students but as a person seemed older then she was. It is interesting because even
though academically she was on the same level, mentally she was older. This
sometimes leads teachers to treat them like they are older then they are or that they are
growing up too quickly and missing out on developmental steps because of these
assumptions. I will have students like this and learning how to navigate these types of
students is difficult but reminds us that they are children even if they seem older.

___ / 1 The Digital write up is completed PROFESSIONALLY (e.g. no Typos, Clear

Language
Usage, etc.,) AND is submitted ON TIME and in the CORRECT PLACE.

___ / 1 ONE (1) PERSONAL connection to one of our books/readings in class

One personal connection is the usage of one topic or idea that connects across multiple
layers. If students are interested in something and you can connect that to multiple
subjects or lessons it creates engagement within the classroom and within the students.
They feel that they have control or autonomy over what they are learning which makes
them want to learn which makes learning easier to happen for a lot of students.
___/1 One Highly Leverage Practice you saw or would use yourself in a setting you
experienced today. Explain.
HLP 18- Student engagement. The teacher made sure that the students were engaged
using material and content that was interesting to the students. She carried this topic to
cover multiple lessons and standards so that the students had fun while learning. I can
carry this into my teaching by taking something that the students are interested in and
carrying lessons that are based around the interest of the students.
___ / 1 PROFESSIONAL NEXT STEPS: The write up succinctly and clearly states the
way(s) this site / field visit enhanced your understanding of your possible / potential life
as
a professional. (HINT: Think about how this visit connects to your future as a
professional. I
would expect at least three of the below to be addressed):
How did the classroom environment(routines, procedures, student behavior, physical
space, etc.)
impact student learning?
Speak about the clutter and organization of the classroom
The organization of the classroom was organized to the students but to someone
outside of the classroom it seemed very overwhelming.It was clean but there was a lot
going on in the environment and seemed a little bit too much. However the students
knew where everything was and made sure to put everything back into the correct and
designated place.
Do kids like being in the classroom?
What is the classroom environment playing into the kids learning or does it make a
difference?
The environment is very important to students. If they do not feel comfortable and safe
within the classroom, learning will not happen. The students in this classroom definitely
felt safe and comfortable to be there.
We talk at Butler about the environment being the third teacher. Do you agree and do
you see any
pieces of this?
What kind of rules/procedures does your student/class have difficulty in meeting?
What “nuisance behaviors” did you encounter?
There was a lot of walking around to other tables and distracting chatter that was
happening when they were supposed to be at their own designated spaces. There was
also a lot of stuff going on in the day though and it was close to spring break so I think
that they just had a lot of excitement and energy.
What specific externalizing behavior did you see from your target student, how would
you address it,
what triggered it and what was the reaction by the peers and teacher?
Had did the teacher handle his or her relationship with the student/students?
Describe the room arrangement of the classroom?
Does the teacher have fun with kids and is she or he peaceful in how they interact with
kids?
List three specific strategies that the teacher used to manage the classroom.
Are opportunities provided for practice in: Good health habits, sharing with others,
waiting turns,
making rules, emotional control, taking care of their own property, cleaning up after
work, accepting
responsibility, overcoming difficulties, being leaders, being helpful, enjoying books,
hearing music,
meeting friends, and anything else you wanted to note from your setting.
Do you see differentiation based on student interest, student readiness,
Do you see any assistive tech. with any of the students?
Do you see mutual respect?
Well established routines?
Learning objectives posted?
Clear rules?
Clear expectations?
How was instruction delivered? Small group, co teaching, groups, stations, cooperative
learning
Student led discussions/activities/lessons
Modifications of IEP
Do you see any lessons designed in multiple levels?
Do you see materials? Describe them with students.
Do you see any paraeducators?
If you did a lesson with students...
What extent were the students productively engaged in activities?
What do you want students to learn?
What are the outcomes of this lesson?
What instructional strategies do you plan to use to engage students cognitively?
What peer/students/teacher feedback am I taking to heart and received?
What difficulties or misconceptions did you anticipate students having? How did you
address the
difficulties or misconceptions?
What adjustments did I make during the lesson? How? Why?
Did you see or use differentiation in this lesson?
Describe and changes of performance and classroom dynamics that could impact
learning.