Hannah Floyd

Dr. Henderson
EDUC 101
November 12, 2014
Teacher Observation #2
1.

I visited a kindergarten class at Aurora Elementary. For the characteristics of

effective schools I chose Strong Leadership, High Expectations, Orderly School

Environment, and Frequent, Systematic Evaluation of Student Learning. For Strong
Leadership this classroom had many decorations around the room. They had posters with
the weather, fall, and Thanksgiving posters, counting and what number of school they are
in, the days of the week and shapes, songs to keep them moving and to get their attention,
a white board with the activities for the day, letters around the room, and character traits.
A school pledge is said every morning. Many members of the school walk around and say
good morning and are very friendly. The principal has things in the office that show what
a good school it is. People in the office greet you right when you walk in. They have a
promise pledge that they say after the regular pledge every morning that promises they
will do their best even when no one is looking.
For High Expectations, the teacher uses catchy phrases in order to get their
attention, gives prizes when they do good things and moves their names if they do badly.
If they plan on doing a fun activity and they are not presenting good behavior, she
threatens them with taking the fun activity away. Students respond back to the catchy
phrases and when she asks for quiet, they know what she expects of them. There are

numbers and letters and decorations that show what they are expected of. She shows
them what they need to do before each activity so they know.
For Orderly School Environment, when entering the building everything was very
nice and the people at the front office showed me where to go. There are many
decorations and things that make the building look nice. The students eat breakfast and go
to the restroom before class. They have teachers around the halls to make sure the kids
get to class on time. They all know where to be before the bell rings, some of them walk
around the hallway with others, but they know where they need to be. Teachers go with
students if they go to another class or go to lunch. They go for bathroom breaks and make
sure they are doing what they are supposed to.
For Frequent, Systematic Evaluation of Student Learning, students work at their
desks, computers, and around the room. She makes sure they are on task by going around
and checking their progress. Some things she lets them come up and do on the white
board. She corrects them if they do not do it right and makes sure they understand why. If
they finish a coloring page or an activity they are doing, she will hang it outside of the
classroom. They have themed bulletin boards outside the classroom where she can hang
their work.

2.

The branch of philosophy that this classroom would fall under is Axiology. The

teacher was interested in why the students knew answers to particular questions. She
went into depth with them. She was not just worried about how much they were learning

but what they would benefit from it later on. The philosophical orientation of teaching is
Social Reconstructionism. The teacher was always having them do things with one
another and hands on things. She taught her students about history even though they are
only in kindergarten because she knows that either way it is important for them.
3.

Strengths: There are a lot of decorations and pictures around the room. There is

also a lot of room to do other activities such as partner work, group work, and other
accommodations. Weakness: Some papers are scattered around the room and the students
sometimes have a hard time listening to the teachers aide.
The room is very good for learning; there are many places to do activities and a
lot of fun things to do. The desks are not too close together and they are good for
learning. The room is well arranged for lectures, the white board is up front for all of
them to see. The teacher is able to see everything going on from her going on from her
desk. Everything around the classroom is very good for accommodating the students as
well as the teacher.
4.

There are many different students in the classroom and all of the kids are treated

equally. If there are students that do not get along with the others very well they sit in
their own individual desk. Students with special needs go to a special ed classroom
during the day.
5.

Me: What factors contributed to you teaching this subject (at this grade level)?

Mrs. Conner: I worked with an aide at a kindergarten level, which helped me a lot to get
the experience. I also worked in a daycare.
Me: What do you enjoy most about teaching this curriculum?

Mrs. Conner: The creativity that comes with it. I get to think of interesting and fun things
to do with the kids.
Me: What do enjoy the least?
Mrs. Conner: The testing and all of the bookwork and paperwork that I have to do and
write down.
Me: How do you select the content and skills to teach?
Mrs. Conner: I go by the standards and base them off of the skill levels of my students
Me: When do you plan yearly, monthly, weekly, daily?
Mrs. Conner: Its a daily thing. I meet with other teachers as well and discuss with them
Me: Do you integrate other subjects into your program?
Mrs. Conner: Yes. I do a lot of themes. Its a lot of year long planning.
Me: Can you make your own decisions as to what to teach or is it already determined?
Mrs. Conner: Its a mixture really. It just depends.