CLASSROOM OBSERVATION 1

Observing a 12th grade English classroom with students who are included seemed like a

positive and helpful exercise to watch other teachers and get tips and tricks that will be helpful

for my own classroom in the future. Watching a veteran teacher like Mrs. Kahawai in her

English class was insightful and encouraging that it is possible to include many different

cultures, learning styles, and student with special needs in inclusive settings.

Pre-Observation Data

Name: Lauren DeCaprio

Setting given: 9-12 general education classroom with students who are included
Date : Tueday, August 4th, 2015
Time in and out: 8am 4pm (Class observed for observation from 8:50am-9:55am)
Name of school: Costa Mesa High School
Name of teacher: Mrs. Dana Kahawai
Type of classroom/grade level: English, Grade 12
Number of general education students (non-exceptional): 18
Number of students with exceptionalities: 7
Number of students who are English learners: 10
Types of exceptionalities: English Language Learner, Gifted, Visually Impaired, ADHD
Multicultural diversity/cultures represented: In the class I observed there were approximately
60% Latino/Hispanic, 30% Caucasian, 5% African American, and 5% Pacific Islander/other.

Classroom Observation

Costa Mesa High School sits in the heart of Orange County, one mile from the Pacific

Ocean. Costa Mesa is a diverse and vibrant city that places a very high value on the quality of the

public school system. Community support for our school is evident in the long history of

funding through tax measures, a very successful Costa Mesa High School Foundation and the

significant involvement of volunteers at our school (Costa Mesa High School Profile, 2015).
CLASSROOM OBSERVATION 2

Costa Mesa has a middle school attached to its high school therefore they teach grades 6-12.

Many different races are represented in the high school culture, including African American,

Asian, Caucasian, Filipino, Hispanic, Pacific Islander cultures. The mission of Costa Mesa High

School is to graduate students who have acquired the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary

to achieve significant career, educational, civic, and personal goals, which will enrich our society

( http://cmhs.nmusd.us/).

Method

Mrs. Kahawai is a very organized teacher and it is clear she has made many

accommodations for her students who have exceptionalities. Upon entering the class, I noticed

the students desks were aligned in neat, organized rows with careful planning and concern for

where the students would face and how they would interact with one another. One desk was

moved much closer to the front of the room than the others and I later found out the desk was for

Edson, a student who is visually impaired. The class assignment that I witnessed on Tuesday,

August 4th, around 8:50am was an assignment where the students were examining and discussing

the first four pages of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. The Common Core State Standard this

assignment achieves is RL.11-12.1, which reads: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to

support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text,

including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. It also satisfies standard RI.11-

12.5 which reads: Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his

or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing,

and engaging..

The students who were gifted (4) were dispersed normally without much attention to

location in the classroom and the others were strategically placed to properly work amongst the
CLASSROOM OBSERVATION 3

dynamic group. I did notice Mrs. Kahawai calling on the gifted students more frequently and

asking them more detailed and difficult questions to keep them engaged. At one point she had

those students continue a discussion amongst themselves and continued to talk to the rest of the

group. They were able to carry on a more philosophical conversation while the others discussed

more basic levels of the reading. The student (Edson) who struggled with his vision was able to

sit closer to the board where Mrs. Kahawai was writing and she often got closer to him when she

called on him. Mrs. Kahawai seemed to speak more slowly to those who had a difficult time with

English and asked them much simpler questions than the others and gave them more time to

answer. She seemed to do this so naturally and without being obvious that it was happening. The

students who had ADHD (she later told me their diagnosis, it wasnt immediately obvious aside

from gazing outside frequently) were continually engaged by the conversation and it was clear

the teacher knew to keep the conversations moving. Mrs. Kahawai and myself were the only

adults in the classroom and no other teachers, aids, or personnel were present during my

observation time.

One thing that seemed very obvious is that Mrs. Kahawai knew her students well. She

seemed to understand their strengths and weaknesses and without much effort flawlessly

engaged properly, asking the right questions, and keeping the momentum moving forward. The

students were offering feedback, answers, and continually engaged throughout the lesson and if

they seemed to get off-track, the teacher quickly called on them to keep momentum going. On

her whiteboard there was a class rules list that read:

1. Work as a team
2. Be responsible
3. Listen to others
4. Be respectful to everyone
5. Be kind and helpful
6. Do your best
CLASSROOM OBSERVATION 4

7.
What I found neat about this rules list was that all of her students signed it individually to

acknowledge these rules. I thought that was a great way to hold each student accountable for each

of these behaviors.

Results

At the end of the day, Mrs. Kahawai had a prep period where we were able to sit and

discuss the day and her classroom. I was able ask Mrs. Kahawai how she was able to so

flawlessly engage with her students even though she had English Language Learners, students

with ADHD, a student who is visually impaired and a good amount of diversity. She verified that

she studied her class roster prior to school starting as soon as she receives it to understand any

IEPs, special circumstances, or any additional information that will help her in the following

year. She mentioned that she speaks with the students prior English teachers to understand

anything she should be aware of or anything that is noteworthy. Because it isnt a large school

overall, she seems to know most students as they are coming to her and has a good idea of their

activities, hobbies, and areas in which they excel. It was clear Mrs. Kahawai has practiced her

patience with the ADHD students and understands each of them very well by the way she

interacted. The literature tells us that when teachers carefully organize and structure instruction,

these students benefit (Smith, 2012, p. 262).

Reflection

I very much enjoyed my time in this classroom. Mrs. Kahawai seemed to know her

students well and they seemed to really respect her. She was able to engage with each student

individually and as a whole to work within the exceptionalities the students had. Having a more

specific goal when observing feels so much more valuable than just watching what happens.
CLASSROOM OBSERVATION 5

Looking for exceptionalities and being able to think how you might handle those situations is

very helpful.

3-5 Challenges to be Addressed &

3-5 Strengths Noted improved by teacher

Tenured Teacher Students getting off topic

Organized Classroom More time needed for ESL students

Respectful Students Some students forgot reading materials

Interesting Assignment Edson needed extra help with reading

Ran out of time

One thing that I noticed that might be more helpful is to move the students with ADHD

away from the windows. 2 of the students seem to get sidetracked quickly from turning around

often to see what was happening outside. Mrs. Kahawai seemed to make excellent arrangements

for the students who are English Language Learners and simplified questions for those students.

The environment seemed open to discussion (as all English classes should be) with a radial

seating arrangements that fanned out from Mrs. Kahawais projector and white board. The way I

would improve the instruction is by closing the blinds on the window, making sure all students

had their reading materials the day before the lesson was being planned, and leaving more time

at the end of class for final questions or comments.

I did not find anything confusing or have any questions that didnt get answered during

my time in Mrs. Kahawais classroom or on campus as a whole. It was a valuable day to be able

to look more closely at the classroom dynamic as it relates to students with special needs.

I learned many things in my day in Mrs. Kahwais 12th grade English class. I learned that

students need different types of instruction and it is up to me, as their teacher, to know that,
CLASSROOM OBSERVATION 6

understand that, and figure out the best way to teach each individual student based on their

needs. I recognize that this takes time, patience, and the willingness to ask questions, meet with

the students counselors/parents, and work together for the students benefit. I plan to take Mrs.

Kahawais advice and plan out my classroom with exceptionalities in mind and continue to

adjust the seating assignment and lessons as needed to provide the best possible learning

environment for the students.

References
CLASSROOM OBSERVATION 7

Costa Mesa High School: Home Page. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2015.

Costa Mesa High School Profile (2015, April 20). Retrieved from http://cmhs.schoolloop.com/

English Language Arts Standards, Writing Grade 11-12. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2015

Smith, T. (2012). Teaching students with special needs in inclusive settings (6th ed.). Upper
Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson.

Observation Rubric
(4) Integrating/Innovative - The candidate provides clear, consistent, and convincing evidence demonstrating the competency or competencies. Candidates practices demonstrate a preponderance of appropriate, relevant, accurate,
and clear or detailed evidence. The evidence is purposefully connected and reinforced across this TPE Domain.
(3) Applying - The candidate provides clear evidence demonstrating the competency or competencies. Candidates practices demonstrate a preponderance of appropriate, relevant, or accurate evidence. Evidence is connected across
this TPE Domain
(2) Emerging - The candidate provides partial evidence demonstrating the competency or competencies. Candidates practices demonstrate a preponderance of minimal, limited, cursory, inconsistent, and/or ambiguous evidence.
Evidence is weakly connected across this TPE Domain and may be inconsistent.
CLASSROOM OBSERVATION
(1) Beginning - The candidate provides little or no evidence demonstrating the competency or competencies. Candidates practices demonstrate a preponderance of inappropriate, irrelevant, inaccurate, or missing evidence. Evidence
is unconnected across the TPE Domain.
(0) Unacceptable The candidate did not meet the assignment requirements.
CRITERIA &
SCORING
Observed class that was
assigned, or got
permission to change the
class during week 1.
Observation met all
instruction requirements.
Pre-observation Data
(x1)
= information.
Observation
(X 3)
= guidelines.
Post-Observation
Reflection
(X 2)
= and challenges.
Organization
Mechanics and Grammar
(X 1)
= Flawless spelling, punctuation and
Total Score: ______/28 Divided by 2 =
Integrating/
Innovative
X 4 Points
= 4 Points
Comprehensive and clear
description of pre-observation
Highlighted with different color
font the date, time in, time out so I
could easily find it.
= 12 Points
Comprehensive, clear, and
objective description all
instructional areas listed in the
Highlighted with different color-
font the topic of the lesson, so I
could easily find it.
= 8 Points
Comprehensive and clear reflection
of observation.
Detailed description of strengths
Highlighted with different color-
font recommendations for
improving the environment and
improving instruction to make
them easy to find, as required in the
instructions.
Did not copy from the example.
Submitted report correctly to
BOTH 1) grade center & 2)
Observation sharing -submit your
reports here in Discussion Board
the first time the report was
submitted, and correctly labeled
report in Discussion Board with
type of class that was observed, the
first time it was posted
Specific recommendations for
improving the learning
environment.
Specific recommendations for
improving instruction.
= 4 Points
Very well organized, good
development of ideas, strong
sentences and varied transitions.
capitalization.
Highlighted all the required parts.
Did not copy from the example.
Submitted report correctly to both
instructor & Observation sharing-
submit your reports here in
Discussion Board the first time the
report was submitted, and correctly
labeled report in Discussion Board
with specific type of class that was
observed, the first time it was
posted.
_______/14 Rubric Score
Applying
X 3 Points
= 3 Points
Clear description of pre-
observation information.
Did not highlight with color font
date, time in, time out, so I could
easily find it.
Please see my comments in your
paper.
= 9 Points
Clear and objective description of 4
or 5 instructional areas listed in the
guidelines.
Did not highlight or color-font the
lesson topic so I could easily find
it.
Please see my comments in your
paper.
= 6 Points
Clear reflection of observation.
Description of strengths and
challenges.
General recommendations for
improving the learning
environment. General
recommendations for improving
instruction.
Did not highlight with different
color-font recommendations for
improving the environment and
improving instruction as was
required, which made reviewing
the report more difficult.
Please see my comments in your
paper.
= 3 Points
Logical paragraph order, clear and
functional transitions, good
development of ideas.
Few (1-3) writing errors that
detracted from your content (e.g.
spelling, grammar, punctuation).
Did not highlight the required
parts.
Did not submit report correctly to
both grade center & Observation
sharing- submit your reports here
in Discussion Board the first time
the report was submitted, and/or
did not correctly label report in
Discussion Board with type of
class that was observed, the first
time it was posted.
Emerging
X 2 Points
= 2 Points
Description of pre-observation
information.
= 6 Points
Description of 3 instructional areas
listed in the guidelines.
= 4 Points
Limited reflection of observation.
Limited description of strengths
and challenges. Limited
recommendations for improving
the learning environment.
Limited recommendations for
improving instruction.
= 2 Points
Topics and ideas discussed
somewhat randomly. Writing lacks
clearly defined organization,
Ineffective paragraph orders.
Some (4-6) writing errors that
detracted from your content (e.g.
spelling, grammar, punctuation). A
few, though not necessarily all, of
your writing errors have been
highlighted, so you can see the
types of errors you are making.
Please see the week 1
announcement re: Professional
Writing Expectations.
Beginning
X 1 Point
= 1 Point
Minimal description of pre-
observation information.
= 3 Points
Description of 2 instructional areas
listed in the guidelines.
= 2 Points
Minimal reflection of observation.
Minimal description of strengths
and challenges.
Minimal recommendations for
improving the learning
environment.
Minimal recommendations for
improving instruction.
= 1 Point
Writing is un-structured.
Inconsistent paragraph order.
Sentence fragments and/or run-on
sentences.
Many (7-10) writing errors that
detracted from your content (e.g.
spelling, grammar, punctuation).
A few, though not necessarily all,
of your writing errors have been
highlighted, so you can see the
types of errors you are making.
Please see the week 1
announcement re: Professional
Writing Expectations.
8
Unacceptable
X 0 Point
Did not observe the class that was
assigned, or get permission to change
the class during week 1.
Observation did not meet instruction
requirements.
= 0 Point
No description of pre-observation
information.
= 0 Point
No description of lesson instruction.
No instruction was observed.
= 0 Point
No reflection. No description of
strengths and challenges.
No recommendations for improving the
learning environment, as required in
the instructions.
No recommendations for improving
instruction, as was required in the
instructions.
= 0 Point
Not acceptable organization or writing.
More than 10 writing errors that
detracted from your content (e.g.
spelling, grammar, punctuation). A
few, though not necessarily all, of your
writing errors have been highlighted, so
you can see the types of errors you are
making. Please see the week 1
announcement re: Professional Writing
Expectations.
Copied from the example.