Ivana Salazar

Professor Connie Christensen

Edu 201
March 29, 2016
Field Observation

Observation
1. My first impression of the classroom environment was that it was very organized and
comfortable. For example, when I entered everything was in order and clean. The kids knew
where everything was at.
2. The physical environment of the classroom is very colorful and creative. Everything was at the
height for the kids so everything was reachable for them. It also had a space for the kids to lay
down and read.
3. The student make-up of the class is on the first day there was ten girls and seven boys. Four
were white, three were African American, nine were Hispanic, and one was Asian. On the second
day there was twelve girls and eight boys. There was four White kids, four African Americans,
eleven Hispanics, and one Asian. None of the kids had any physical challenges.
4. The posted class rules were:
Rule #1 Follow directions
Rule #2 Raise your hand for permission to speak
Rule #3 Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat
Rule #4 Make your dear teacher happy
Rule #5 Listen to the speaker
5. The teacher (Ms. Ayala) does enforce the rules. There are rewards and consequences when the
students follow or don’t follow the rules. For example, when they follow direction and finish
what they are suppose to do they get money. Once they have 35 cents they can pick something
from the treasure box. But she also takes away money when they misbehave. No money means
no recess.
Instruction
1. On the daily/weekly schedule (for the first day I went) she wrote:
1. Circus Writing
2. Tracing I and J
3. Owl book
4. Past, Present,Future
On the second day I went to observe she had wrote:
1. Write your numbers to 200
2. Counting Money
3. Crossword puzzle
4. Classwork folders
2. She delivers her instructions mostly in small groups. In each group there are four students and
each group name are based off of colors. (Ex. Blue, green, red, yellow, and purple). By
instructioning them in small groups things are done faster. For example, the red group will be
getting their books while the blue group are putting their stuff away in their backpacks. There are
times when she gives instruction as a whole group. For example, when she wants all of her
students to turn to a certain page and read a certain section. Individual instruction is not really
used in her class. She will only give individual instruction for those that have a job in the class
room. (Ex. Door holder, pencil sharpener, lunchboxes holder, passes out paper, etc.)
3. Ms. Ayala teaching style is she is the authority figure of the classroom and that they are there
to learn. That is the impression she gave me. She has a schedule in which the students should be
done with the program, should be able to name the coins name and their value, and add them at
the end of the month or week depending on the schedule.
4. The teacher does incorporate the sensory modalities. For auditory she would explain what a
timeline is. For visual she drew it on the whiteboard and showed them step by step on how to fill
it out. (Ex. the year they were born, the year they started first grade, they year they will start
college, etc.) For kinesthetic she would let her students fill it out by themselves.
5. The students do seem engaged in the lesson she presents. She knows how to grab their
attention and it seems like they know they have to finish the assignment or it becomes
homework.
6. The teacher handles transitions from subject to subject very well. I believe they are effective.
For example, if the students are working on the assignment she’ll tell them to put it away and to
take out the next assignment they are going to do. She will then explain to them what they will
be focusing on next.
7. Ms. Ayala uses four “attention getting commands”. One of them is during breakfast (when it is
time to go and throw their trash away) she just wiggles her fingers and turns her hands side by
side. Once she does that the students get up right away, throw their trash away and line up. The
second one is she rings a little bell which means it is time to move to a different section. The
third she uses when they are taking a bathroom break. She’ll say salute and the students will
salute, quiet down and wait for instructions. The fourth one is she’ll say waterfall and all the
students will say shhh which will create the sound of a waterfall.
8. A specific behavior issue Ms. Ayala has to deal with is when all the kids are too hyped up to
calm down. She says since they know that spring break is coming they all get really excited and
rowdy.
Classroom Layout
1. The workflow of the classroom is very good. The space is used efficiently. For example, in the
beginning the kids know to take out their homework folder and put hang up their backpacks. She
also five sections where the students will switch when the time is up. The sections are computers
section, ipads section, the activity section, the audio section, and one on one with the teacher
section. They use all the space they have.
2. On the graph below is a overhead view of the classroom. Everything is labeled because with
my artistic skill you wouldn’t be able to tell what is what.

School/Classroom Culture
A. Physical Characteristics
1. The physical areas of the school building seems like a protective school. In front of the school
there is a crosswalk and the principal will have a stop sign and will walk in the middle of the
crosswalk so students can cross. There is fencing all around the school and they will close the
fence once school starts. There are trees but students can’t climb on them. On the playground
they have this rubber floor so when kids fall it breaks their fall and won’t get injured as much as
concrete.
2. The interior of the school is very out in the open. Almost everything is a nice blue. There are
windows in every classroom and the hallways are outdoor.The door color is a darker shade of
blue. The entrance security is pretty tight. For example, parents can drop of their kids but cannot
go in unless they sign in first.
B. Culture of the school
1. Signs of community pride at Mountain View Elementary School is school awards and club
activities they have. For example, they always have a students(s) of the month. They also have
club activities which are: After School Tutoring, Art Club, Cheer Club, Chess Club ,Lego Club,
Mileage Club Walking Tuesday, Sign language Club, Student Council, and Yearbook.
2. Staff and visitor interactions in the main office is very good. For example, when I went to give
them the Principal Staff letter and talk to the teacher I was going to observe right away they
asked what they can help me with and right away they sent me to the Office Manager. I saw how
when students need to turn in their absent note or to pay for something they are comfortable to
talk with the staff. Also in the hallway the faculty staff will say good morning or hello to the
students and they will say it back.
3. Student-to-student interaction inside the classroom is comfortable. Since they have assigned
seats they know their partners well enough to feel comfortable. Outside the classroom is where
they go to the friends they don’t seat next to. Their interaction then is playing Lemonade
Crunchy Ice but in a different version than that. Where the students gather to socialize is in the
lunchroom, bathroom break, and at their dot.
4. The school is organized especially the office. In the office they have a computer where visitor
sign in and out. On the computer they also have this tardy section where students go to if they are
late. They also have a tardy basket in the office and a hole puncher next to it. Once they put their
absent note in the basket the front desk staff hole punches. Each hallway has a street name. The
names I saw were Wildcats, Wolf pack and Longhorns. Each classroom has a number and a
mailbox right next to there door.
C. Culture of the classroom
1. The teacher (Ms. Ayala) expectation for learning and success is that by the end of the year they
will have the knowledge on coins work, how to add and subtract to get a certain amount, reading
level will go up, and finish the program they are doing.
2. The level of students that participate in class is good. Many of her students do participate
especially the outgoing ones. There are a few that don’t participate and I’ve notice it’s the ones
that don’t really talk or interact with other classmates.
3. The interaction between teacher and students is respect. All of Ms. Ayala listen to her because
of the rules she has.
Cooperating Teacher Interview
1. The primary reason why Ms. Ayala became a teacher is she wants to make a change she wants
to see in our society.
2. The main challenge she faces as a teacher is the lack of parents involvement.
3. For her the best part of being a teacher is the satisfaction of seeing them grow and learn. For
example, when they first started first grade there were certain things they didn’t like writing
certain letters. And now they know how to write is correctly.
4. How she determines where the students sit in class is by the Kagan model. High, high-
medium, medium-low, and low will seat next to each other as a group.
5. How she selects the members of flexible grouping is also with the Kagan model. She also said
that low and high most never sit next to each other because it will unbalance them,
6. Ms. Ayala interacts with parents in person depends in what is needed. The main reasons for the
interactions with the parents is for forms, misconduct, excelling, paperwork, homework, and
progress report (which are sent out every three weeks.)
7. Ms. Ayala completes grading weekly. One letter per subject she grades. Where she does most
of her grading is when it’s prep time or lunch or after school or at home.
8. To prepare lessons she does it a week ahead.
9. Behavior consequences that seem most effective for this age group is taking away their recess,
jobs, or any other object that is hers. For example, taking away their chair and having them stand
or kneeling.
10. Ms. Ayala is evaluated three times for the whole school year and they’re up to 40-50 minutes
long. The tool the administration uses to determine her performance is the Teacher Observation
Tool.
11. What surprised Ms. Ayala the most about teaching and the teaching profession where the
parents of the students. For example, parents will not fill out the forms she needs. Sometimes she
needs to confront them that she needs them.
Observing a student
The student I chose to observe was a boy who sat in the back. When the teacher was giving
instruction he would listen. The lesson was about how it was time to go to the sections. I believe
his group color was purple. They would go to the audio section first while the other groups will
go to different sections. If his classmate (who sits right next to him) was not listening he would
help her by telling her where they were going to go first. At the audio section he would put on
the headphones but would not be looking at the book. He would be playing with his classmate.
When the teacher caught him she told him to follow along and he started to. He interacts with
other kids well but not so much with adults. For example, when they arrived to the activity
section I had the opportunity to help them. All the students would be okay with talking to me and
asking for help but he stayed quiet once he got there. He would help his classmates when they
needed to find a number or coins but never directly talked to me. I believe his learning style is
hands on (kinesthetic). He doesn’t participate when Ms. Ayala wants an answer from the whole
classroom. But he does help his classmates when they need it.
Reflection/Summary
My 10 hour Field Observation was an eye opener for me. This observation made me understand
the teaching profession better than just reading it from the book. I learned that in an elementary
class you are teaching different subjects to the students. You have to cover a lot in a single day.
You have to make activities that work for all the learning styles of the students. Teachers and the
faculty were very friendly. I believe they’re were so nice and friendly because it’s an elementary
school. For example, I remember in my middle and high school not everyone was friendly or
even nice. They were also very organized and helpful. For example, the Office Manager knew
who I was and even walked me to the class I was going to observe and introduced me to the
teacher. All the teachers I passed said hello and introduced themselves. The school environment
was very clean and safe for the students. Specific ideas I remember that I would include in my
classroom is how the students turned in homework and the creative board (that what I call it). In
Ms. Ayala classroom there is a homework basket. Surrounding the homework basket there were
clothes pins that have every student's names on them. When they turn in their homework they put
their pin on top. The ones that don’t turn in their homework or were absent she would know
because there clothes pin will still be on the basket. The creative board is where they had a class
activity and made a flower from everyone's hands. It also had a beautiful quote right next to it. I
believe they did that on the first week of school.