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Running head: FIELD EXPERIENCES

Field Experiences

James Lacayo

National University

In partial fulfillment for the requirements for TED 626

Dr. Navarro

11/16/2016
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Field Experiences

The purpose of this paper is to describe what I have learned from performing an

observation at a school. I would observe a senior economics class at Elsinore High School a

public high school in Wildomar California. This observation would help give me ideas in

regards to classroom management. I would also interview four key players of the school staff

which in turn would help give me ideas on keeping schools safe. To understand what lessons I

learned from these activities I will go over both my observation and my interviews. Let's begin

with the classroom observation.

Classroom Observation

I observed an economic class at Elsinore High School. The reason why I observed an

economics class instead of a history class, which is what I intend to teach, is because the time

that I was able to observe a history class was not available. None the less the economics class

was taught by a good friend of mine who also teaches history and who I also look up to as a

teacher, his name is Mr. Bremer. I have observed a number of his classes and thought that I

would observe another. By the end of the observation I came up with three aspects of classroom

management that I would like to utilize in my future class and those are using student interests in

lessons, interaction with students, and managing group work.

Using student interest in lessons is something that I have always felt was a strategy that I

would use in my class. In fact I have used this strategy successfully when I was teaching in

Spain; however I have little to no experience in this at a high school level or here in California.

The focal point of the lesson that I observed was a student lead presentation about a proposed

business plan in order to get money for funding. Students could come up with any business idea

that interested them. There were many different ideas that were used by students; these ranged
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from water filtration products to apps that allowed money to be transferred with a touch of a

phone. I found that this was a perfect example of allowing students to use their interest in order

to teach a lesson, "This not only has the potential to increase students interest in the topic, but

also conveys the message that you are concerned about their interests and are making an attempt

to include those interests in your instruction" (Marzano, Marzano, & Pickering, 2003, p.52). I

could see that students were actually excited talking about the products and businesses that they

were presenting. I would for sure use this in my future class, especially because history is

subject that students sometimes feel is dry and boring.

Another thing that I noticed was done very well by Mr. Bremer was his interaction with

students including the way that he gave feedback to the students as they were presenting. There

were a number of times where some students seemed to be struggling giving their presentation.

This is where Mr. Bremer came in. If students were struggling Mr. Bremer would help guide

them along with questions or comments. There was one in particular where the product was a

water filter, roughly the size of a roll of toilet paper; the students in the group were having a

tough time explaining who would buy it. Mr. Bremer asked what kind of people were likely to

need this product in which case one of the students answered, "people who don't have clean

water." In response to that Mr. Bremer said, "Assuming these people don't have resources to buy

it how are you going to sell it? Who do you think would provide these water filters?" This is

when it seemed to click with some of the students and they started off stating things like

religious organizations or governmental agencies. Mr. Bremer did not just tell them the answer

or he didn't talk down at them for not thinking of this before the presentation. This had a

positive effect on the students who seemed to be even more interested in their presentation. As

Marzano et al. (2003) states, "Your behavior at these critical junctures goes a long way toward
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establishing a relationship that enhances or detracts from student learning" (p.55). I will

hopefully remember this interaction in the future when I am teaching so that I can use this

strategy to help my students stay engaged with the content.

I have found that group work is a perfect way to help students engage in content. There

are many benefits to this strategy including building confidence through achieving success in a

group setting and giving students the chance to observe how their classmates learn. In this

particular lesson, as stated before, students had to work in groups to come up with a business

proposal. Even though I was not in the class to observe the students working in groups, I could

tell that the groups worked well with each other and this was due to how Mr. Bremer managed

the assignment and class. I asked Mr. Bremer how this was done and he stated, "It takes awhile

but the most important thing is that students have a clear understanding of the assignment and

that each student has a role to fulfill that way no one gets lost in the shuffle." This made sense to

me and it reaffirms many of the things that I have learned in the classroom management course.

"For cooperative learning to produce these positive results, it must be set up well via the

implementation of relevant rules and procedures," as Marzano et al. (2003) states (p.23). I will

keep this in mind when I use group work in my future classes.

Who’s Who on Campus

In order to complete this assignment it was required that I interview four key players on

staff who play a role in keeping the school safe. To be honest I was a little hesitant to do this,

after all I was only interested in observing the class to see how teachers engaged with students. I

soon realized that these four key players have a wealth of information to provide. Let's look at

who I interviewed first.

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For this assignment I interviewed a nurse (Jennifer) whose role is to provide health care

in terms of mind as well as body, a janitor (Rick) whose role is to maintain the classes as well as

the campus, a campus aid (Teresa) whose role is to help monitor the students around campus as

well as assist various teachers, and a library technician (Kim) whose role is to provide aid in

developing student literacy, in terms of literature and technology, and to even advice teachers on

things like curriculum. In these various interviews I was surprised on just how much each of

these different positions added to, not only the safety of the school, but also the school itself.

Each one had so much to say that it would be almost impossible to write it all out on this paper.

From the nurse (Jennifer) describing how she has had to deal with students who were drunk,

high, or even depressed to the point of being suicidal. To the janitor (Rick), who described how

he hears and sees all kinds of stuff around campus, "I'm kind of under the radar because students

don't recognize me as a teacher, so I am able to hear how they really talk and see how they really

act." So out of all of these interviews what are the things that I leaned about keeping the school

safe?

One of the things that seemed to pop up among all the interviews was the idea that if any

problem arises it is important to address it immediately. "If you let an issue or problems go,

even the ones that seem like they are not a problem, it can fester quickly and become an even

bigger problem," states an aid (Teresa). I think this is something that in my past teaching

experience I did not do too well. I have been in situations where I think that students are joking

around with each other and it turns out to be something different. "No," says Teresa, "you have

to get to the bottom of it immediately and follow up on it too." This is something that I will keep

in mind well into my future teaching because ultimately I am responsible for my students and the

students of the school.

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Another thing that I learned from these interviews was that it is important, in terms of

school safety, that the entire school be on the same page. It seemed that all of the people that I

interviewed knew the rules and policies of the school and knew what to do in situations when

those rules and policies were broken. "It is necessary for everyone to know what to do," states

the nurse (Kim), "because we all interact with the students on a daily basis and that means

interacting with their problems. We need to be able to manage those problems and tackle them in

a way that makes the students feel safe." At this stage I have concentrated so much on what to

do as a teacher in my class I haven't thought about how to interact with other staff members or

the school on management policies. "Again, use of school wide program communicates a strong

sense of solidarity among school staff regarding management, but it requires teachers to agree on

a set of actions and strategies that all of them will use" (Marzano et al., 2003, p.115).

Conclusion

One of the most effective ways that a prospective teacher can gain valuable information

on the teaching profession, especially in regards to classroom management and school safety, is

to perform an observation and conduct interviews. That is what I did for this assignment. I

learned that utilizing student interest, how a teacher interacts with students, and how a teacher

organizes group work can go a long way in managing a classroom. In terms of school safety, I

learned that addressing the issue right away and by the school having a unified front in terms of

policy and procedure can go a long way in keeping a school safe. I plan to use this knowledge in

my future teaching career so that I can provide the best environment possible for my students so

that they can feel safe and have the opportunity to learn.
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References

Marzano, R. J., Marzano, J. S., & Pickering, D. J. (2003). Classroom management that works:

Research-based strategies for every teacher. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.