Jessica Barron

Professor Smith
ELED 3111
Clinical Observation
My clinical assignment was completed at Lebanon Road Elementary School located in
Charlotte, North Carolina. Lebanon Road is a Title 1 school within the Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Public School System. I was assigned a third grade classroom to observe, as well tutor for math.
There were approximately about twenty-two students within the classroom and I was able to
observe both reading and math lessons during my visits.
Lesson Planning & Implementation
Although I did not have the opportunity to view an actual lesson plan, I was able to sit
with my clinical teacher, Mrs. Dazzo, and discuss lesson planning and how it is implemented not
only in the classroom but throughout the entire third grade. At Lebanon Road Elementary lesson
planning was completed as a team effort with input from all of the third grade teachers, and then
from there each teacher is able to make any necessary changes to accommodate their own group
of students. Mrs. Dazzo was able to show me how student assessments were evaluated, which
helped determine future lessons and small group instructions.
Many of the lessons that I observed in the classroom were direct instruction. Since there
was such a large group of diverse learners in her classroom, Mrs. Dazzo was very hands-on and
involved in her lessons in order to better accommodate all of her students. For both math and
reading instruction there was a large focus on learning strategies to help during standardized
testing. There was an equal blend of formative and summative assessments givens after lessons

were completed. For example, Mrs. Dazzo often checked for understanding during her lessons by
asking probing questions to get the students analyze their thinking and work.
Technology Integration
Technology was integrated daily into the lesson and daily activities of the classroom. The
teacher and students had access to a SMARTboard, iPads, and laptops to use at their discretion.
Technology was used for assessment, implementation of lessons, as well as individual class
work. For example, Mrs. Dazzo often used the iPad to complete running record assessments of
each of her students and the iPad automatically calculated the students score, saving her time and
energy. She also was able to input students test scores into a database by simply using a laptop
web-camera to scan a document and grade it automatically. The score would then be put into a
database which created charts and other summaries that were able to be quickly reviewed as well
as taken back to the other third grade teachers to compare how all the third grade students were
doing overall. Students also completed standardized test such as the MAP Test online using
laptops. The proctor was able to simply begin the test and view their progress on her own
computer as the students were testing. This allowed for her to better manage the testing
enviroment such as reminding students to take their time if they were rushing through the test.
Once the students completed the MAP Test, their scores were quickly generated and available to
the teacher by the beginning of the next day.
I also had the opportunity to observe how technology was integrated into the daily
lessons. Mrs. Dazzo often used her SMART Board to introduce lessons to the students. The
SMART Board allowed for collaborative and interactive learning between the students. They
watched videos, answered questions, as well as played review games on the board. The students

also worked in small groups using iPads and laptops. They visited websites such as DreamBox
and Discovery Education to further their learning.
Differentiation for Diverse Learners
Each lesson taught had a plan for differences. Many of the diverse learners received
additional help in the form of small group instruction and read aloud with the teacher. All of the
students within the classroom received the exact same classwork and test, however Mrs. Dazzo
often pulled a group of three to five students to assist them with their classwork as well as read
the questions to them as needed. For example, before the teacher begins her math lesson she
gives the students an opportunity to complete their Math Do Now which is a cumulative
review of objectives that were previously taught in class, and during this time the small group
were often called to receive additional help. This was also the time I was able to tutor my
student, who also required differentiation because he was a diverse learner. There were also
students who received differentiation during assessments. For example, although all of the
students received the same test there were about three students who had their test read aloud to
them for additional assistance. Or they were able to wear headphone during electronic test and
the test was read to them through the computer. During one particular test, I was able to read the
test to these students. However, they routinely had someone other than myself who came and
read to them on a regular basis. There was also a reading specialist and resource teacher who
visited the class daily to pull a few students to the side for additional assistance.
Student Tutoring
I had the pleasure of tutoring one boy in Mrs. Dazzos class. During our tutoring sessions
we primarily concentrated on reviewing concepts already introduced to the classroom. When I
first began tutoring I also focused on getting to know the student a little more in order to

understand his thinking process and how I could best help him. The student I worked with has a
learning disability, therefore I wanted to be prepared as possible in order to help him. We focused
on concepts such as rounding, word problems, telling time, measurement, and multiplication. I
quickly learned that this particular student did extremely well when he learned specific strategies
to complete his work. Therefore, we spent a lot of time remembering strategies he learned in
class in order to help him with his independent work.
One of our biggest challenges were word problems. My student understood the strategy
to break down a word problem but he was not a strong reader so he still struggled with his
understanding. I knew that my short visits with his did not make a huge impact on his reading
skills, however I felt confident that he with all of the assistance he was receiving with the school
that he would show growth. As time passed I was able to see that growth in his problem solving
and reading skills, although he still needs ongoing reading support. With reading and
comprehension help, he was able to correctly answer all of his math word problems correctly
using the strategies that he learned in class and practiced with me during his tutoring sessions.
Tutoring this student was also a learning experience for me. Since I was a student in
elementary school a lot of things have changed. Therefore, I was learning as I was tutoring. I had
to make sure I took the time out to learn the strategies that Mrs. Dazzo taught in order to fully
assist my student. Overall, this was a great experience and I am appreciative that I had the
opportunity to be in Mrs. Dazzos class, when speaking with other teachers Ive heard nothing
but great things. I learned a lot about the logistics and planning that goes into teaching as well as
my own personal teaching style in her classroom and look forward to more opportunities to be
involved in different classrooms.