Emily Bradley

Classroom Observation
LAI 474
In the Buffalo Public School District I observed a 6:1:1 Dual Language
classroom. There were 5 students present with diagnosed learning disabilities, one special
education teacher, and one bilingual aid to assist with the students with Spanish as a first
language. All students had Spanish as a first language. Interaction amongst students was
predominantly in Spanish with some English use. Because of the schools phase-out
initiative, students from the 9th grade are no longer enrolled and the only students at 9th
grade level are those who were forced to repeat it. Because of this, the class contains
students at the 9th - 12th grade age level, but their academic performance is much below
that and some have repeated the grade.
After talking with Mrs. Cansino I learned that the students range from having a
learning disability, severe emotional disorders, and two were referred to as MR or
mentally retarded. The teacher informed me that one student in particular was only a
point away from being considered MR. This is difficult for the teacher because the IEP
has to line up with the diagnosis and in her professional opinion, the students behaviors
align with the MR diagnosis. This shows the role that proper diagnosis plays, and how
sensitive the distinctions between learning disabilities can be and how this influences IEP
development. One major problem Mrs. Cansino informed me was the students frequent
outbursts and use of curse words in both Spanish and English. In an attempt to change
this, the teachers have posted alternative curse words on the board in Spanish for
students to use in substitution of the actual language.

In the beginning of class the students are given ample time to make themselves
breakfast in the morning. The teachers provide them with bread and coffee to make for
themselves. Because of their interactions with one another and one instance of an
outburst, this took the students about a half hour to finally get settled. The class then ran
into ELA where the students are writing essays about the book Night of the Living
Dead. Because of the nature of the Dual Language program, Spanish is used in
conjunction with English. One instructional strategy used was codeswitching, or the
switching between one language and the other. These switches can be used to indicate a
change of mood, to stress a certain idea, or in the case of this class, to effectively
communicate while still teaching English. For example, English was used to explain or
describe academic content such as reading textual passages, but Spanish was used for
basic communication such as directions and clarification.
Another instructional strategy I observed was the use of behavioral charts that
students have to carry with them throughout the entire school day. Each student is given a
chart where each column represents a class period. If the student curses during that class
they receive a strike for that class. For each day they receive perfect marks they are given
a check mark for that day of the week, but if they receive a strike they arent given a
check mark. If each student receives check marks for that week the teacher gives them a
reward such as a special lunch. According to Mrs. Cansino this is a rare occurrence.
The objective for the class was listed as, Students will take turn reading passages
aloud and explain what they read. As students took turns reading parts of a passage
aloud in Spanish, they would help explain the story to one another. For the most part, the
students were in the center of their lesson where they talked freely and the Mrs. Cansino

was there to mediate further explanations or make clarifications. Students would

frequently talk to one another during instruction but overall they showed respect to the
teacher when she demanded attention.
When meeting with Mrs. Cansino, she showed me some examples of the students
IEPs. These mostly include testing accommodations to not only assist with their
disabilities but to fulfill the language difference as well. The teacher expressed her
concern that in Dual Language programs, many teacher focus too much on the Spanish
language and not enough on English. Skills such as writing and reading should foster the
English language because when students will be tested in the English language. As part of
the accommodations some students will be given tests printed in Spanish.
Based on this observation I think the consistent codeswitching between English
and Spanish is a productive way to combine language learning and content instruction.
This ensures that the students are receiving comprehensible input while fostering the
English language. Both teachers interact with the students on a personal level but also
show authority when necessary. The classroom overall felt like a very close-knit group of
students and conducive to learning.
One alternative strategy I would recommend is to have a more strict routine with
the students. From what I observed, its necessary to give students free time in the
morning and afternoon to get settled and not feel overwhelmed with classroom
instruction. However I think by having more clear and concise routines the students
wouldnt take so long to begin class and would move around less frequently.
Overall this would help with making class time more productive.

Prior to observing this lesson I expected to see more instances of accommodations

being made such as assistive technology or modified assignments for each student. While
the assignments were the same throughout the classroom I see how the pace at which
instruction is held along with the length of time devoted to classroom instruction is one
example of how instruction can be modified to fit the students needs. By pacing out
instruction as it was, students didnt feel rushed or overwhelmed with content and could
therefore be more focused when tasks were given. This shows that consideration of
student needs in a special education classroom doesnt always consist of tactile resources
but overall instructional techniques to make the environment more conducive to learning.