Emily Murray

Diversity Project

Introduction:

General School Information:

I had the opportunity to observe at the Family Resource Center/USD #250 to complete
my diversity project. The center is located in Pittsburg, Kansas. The cooperating teachers in the
dolphin room include the lead teacher and three para educators. The lead teacher is Julie Akins.
The paras include Mrs. Stephanie, Mrs. Alicia, and Mr. Dalton. The center measures the schools
socioeconomic status by the amount paid for lunches. The center includes 36% of students who
receive free lunches, 16% who receive reduced lunches, and 48% pay for their lunches. The
centers ethnicity percentages include: 1% Pacific Islander, 3% Asian, 5% Black, 9% Hispanic,
and 82% Caucasian.
Target Student Information:

The target student I observed is a four year old white male. He is the third child in his
family. His interests include tractors and monster trucks. According to his IEP he is considered
developmentally delayed. He is delayed in fine motor, cognitive, social, and language. He has
been diagnosed by the doctor with Sensory Processing Disorder. The services he receives include
occupational therapy as well as speech and language therapy. This is done both inside and
outside of the classroom.
Observation hours:
10/18/12, 1:30-3:00
10/23/12, 1:30-3:00
11/01/12, 1:30-3:00
11/08/12, 1:30-3:00
11/15/12, 1:30-3:00
11/27/12, 1:30-3:00
11/29/12, 1:00-2:00

Body:
Journal 1: (10/18/12, 1:30-3:00)

At circle time the teacher read a book to the class and went over the letter J. Student sat
quietly through the book but at times talked out of turn. Once student was redirected he remained
attentive. Another peer was receiving candy as a reward for good behavior and student appeared
to want some too. Due to this he moved over to the para who was giving out candy. He was told
by the teacher to move back to where he was and he refused. She told him one more time and he
went back to his original spot. The teacher gave out prizes to the students who had behaved well
on certain occasions that week. When another peer received a prize student gave him a
compliment. Student waited patiently for the prizes to be passed out, eager to get one of his own.
Once the teacher reached the end student asked if he got one and he had not. Student seemed
disappointed but was given a smaller prize instead. I had the opportunity to watch a presentation
over fire safety with student. At the beginning of the presentation student seemed to be getting
distracted by other peers. Once the other peer was removed from the room student stayed
focused on the presentation. The class was taken outside to look at the fire truck. While outside
student wandered from the group and was interruptive when the firefighter was talking. He also
told another student that he hated him. Student was pulled aside by the teacher and she made him
aware that his comment was not appropriate. I had the opportunity to help student with simple
tasks today such as zipping his jacket and putting on his shoes correctly.
Journal 2: (10/23/12, 1:30-3:00)
When I arrived today student was in the middle of center time. After centers the students
went to circle for music time. They were each given two sticks to use during the song for rhythm.
Student hit another student on the head with one of his sticks. The student who got hit told on
him and his sticks were taken away. Student started to cry and he lay down on the rug. The
teacher told him to get up and he refused to. Student was told one more time and this time he sat
up and joined in with the others. Another student was trying to read a book and student kept
pulling it away from him. I had student read another book with me so he would not try taking
books from others. During circle time the students are supposed to sit on a certain letter on the
rug. Student was sitting on a letter and decided he wanted to move and come sit closer to me.
When student attempted to move the para told him to stay where he was at. Student said that he
did not want to and he wanted to sit by me. The para told him he needed to sit where he was. I
also encouraged him to sit where he was sitting since that is what the para told him to do. Student
stayed in place so the para had to physically move him to where he was sitting. Student appeared
aggravated by this and told the para that he didnt like her. During the rest of the lesson student
seem distracted by how he wasnt looking at the teacher and would not stay still. The teacher had
the students practice recognizing their name by showing them their name to go line up. When the
teacher showed students name he recognized it with no problems.
Journal 3: (11/01/12, 1:30-3:00)
When I first came into the classroom I noticed that student was not playing in the centers
along with the other students. He was in a chair by himself close to where the teacher was sitting.
He informed me that he was in trouble when he saw me. I told him that he needed to be quiet so
he wouldnt get in more trouble. I am unsure why exactly he was in trouble since I was not there
when it happened. After a few minutes student was told that he could join the others. He said that
he would not get in trouble anymore. Today the students had a visit from the nutritionist. She
gave a lesson over vegetables and how they grow. During her discussion student had a difficult
time focusing. He was getting distracted and had to be redirected several times by the teacher.
The nutritionist would ask the students questions as she went along but student did not offer any
answers. Student appeared to not be paying attention to what the nutritionist was saying. After
the lesson I asked student a question over what was taught and he could not answer it. Student
seems to do well recalling certain information due to the fact that he calls me by name after
being there for only a few weeks. None of the other students have been able to remember my
name yet. The teacher even pointed out the fact that student already knew my name. It only took
him a couple visits to know it. During circle time student seemed to struggle with respecting
others personal space. He kept touching other students and me when he was supposed to be
focusing on the teacher.
Journal 4: (11/08/12, 1:30-3:00)
When I entered the room student appeared excited that I was there along with other
practicum students. Student seems to enjoy socializing with people. When it was time to clean up
after centers student did well following directions by helping pick up the toys. During circle time
several students wanted to sit next to me. The student ran over to sit next to me but the two spots
beside me were taken. Student attempted to sit on my lap but I knew that was not allowed so I
directed him to another spot. Student remained sitting on my lap and had to be removed by a
para. This upset student so he lay down on the rug and started to cry. He would not participate in
music time due to this. The teacher told him to participate or he would have to leave the circle.
Student controlled his emotions and involved himself in music time. Today the teacher gave out
prizes for those that had been caught being good and their name were in the fish bowl. Student
was allowed to get a prize for his name being in the bowl. He got the prize for sharing with
another peer. Student seemed proud of himself for doing well by showing his prize off to others.
While out at recess student was running after another peer and grabbed him and pulled him
down. The student hit his head on the cement and started to cry. The teacher told him that he
needed to go sit on a bench and that he would not be allowed to play for a while.
Journal 5: (11/15/12, 1:30-3:00)
Today the nutritionist came to talk with the class about the grains food group. She read a
book to them and asked them questions about the food groups she talked about in her previous
visits. Student did not share any answers and was interruptive when she was reading the book.
Student kept talking out to other peers and adults in the room. They got to see popcorn popped in
a machine and student seemed to enjoy this activity by getting very excited. He said he had never
seen it popped in a machine before. I read a book with student and as we read I involved him by
asking him questions about the pictures on the pages. I pointed out certain letters and asked what
they were and what sounds they made. For the lesson the teacher had them use letters to make up
the word turkey. She wrote the word turkey on her dry erase board so the students would have
something to refer to. In the middle of the lesson student got up and erased the word off the
board with his hand. The teacher redirected him by telling him that he had made a red choice. A
red choice is an inappropriate behavior. Student reacted by putting his head down and crying.
During the lesson student informed the class that tractor starts with t. While out at recess student
pointed out several letters that were on the play equipment. I asked him what sounds they made
and he answered correctly. Student received a fish in the caught being good fish bowl for
helping another student with his numbers.
Journal 6: (11/27/12, 1:30-3:00)
During center time the students were given a warning that they were only going to have
three more minutes and then they would need to clean up. As soon as student heard this he went
into the block area and dumped out all the toys. When it was time to clean up the teacher had
him pick up all the toys he had dumped out. Student willingly cooperated with the teachers
instructions. When it was time to eat snack student needed help unwrapping his granola bar.
Instead of asking the teacher for help he just pushed it towards her. She asked him what he
wanted her to do with it. He told her that he wanted her to open it. She gave him the words to use
by telling him to ask, will you please open this? This gave him an opportunity to improve his
language by giving him practice on how to use it. During circle time the teacher read the class a
book over Earth. Student did not seem to be focused and kept talking while she was reading. He
was warned several times to be quiet or he would have to leave the circle. After that he continued
to talk so he was told to leave the circle. The teacher told him that he could return whenever he
felt like he could be quiet. When student returned to the circle he was quiet unless he was giving
an answer to a question. The questions the teacher was asking was over the book she had
previously read. Student attempted to answer the questions but most answers were just repeats of
what the other students were saying. This showed that student was not focusing on the book
when it was read.
Journal 7: (11/29/12, 1:00-2:00)
During center time student would not play in a center. Instead he just kept running around
the room with another student. Student was told by a para to find a center but he did not
cooperate with her directions. When center time was over and they were told to clean up student
continued running around the room and yelling with several other students. Another student hit
student on the back. Student started to cry and the teacher asked him what was wrong. He just
kept crying so she told him to use his words to let him know he didnt like what he did. Instead
student just told the other student that he didnt like him. When it was time for circle student
struggled with remaining quiet. He was interruptive by making noises and hitting his hands on
the floor repeatedly. This was disruptive to the other students because they copied his
inappropriate behavior. The teacher let him know that she was going to read to the class so he
needed to be quiet. Another student in the class started crying so student started to fake cry as
well. There was no apparent reason for student to be crying so it appeared as if he was doing it
for attention. He was not given any attention so student stopped crying. The teacher gave out
prizes for those who had gotten their names in the caught being good fish bowl. Students name
was not put in the bowl at all this time. When the others were picking out their prizes from the
box student tried to get one as well. The teacher let him know that he could not get one since his
name was not in the bowl. Student seemed a little disappointed but was able to accept the fact he
would not get a prize today.
Final Reflection:
Through my experience at the Resource Center I have gained new insight on how I will
teach in the future. There are several strategies that I have observed that I think would be
beneficial to use in my own classroom. One strategy used in the center that I found effective was
the use of visual prompts. For example, by the door there is a picture strip that shows how to
behave while in line. There are also pictures on the placemats for snack, such as the sign for
more. The students are able to refer to these pictures to convey what they need or want. This is
very helpful for the students that have significant language delays. The visual prompts have
advantages for all of the students in the classroom. I also liked the discipline system used in her
classroom. For example, the teachers refer to behavior as red or green choices. Red means that
the behavior is inappropriate and needs to stop. A green choice means that the behavior is
appropriate and should continue. I think this is a more positive way of redirecting the students
instead of just yelling or telling them no all the time. The teacher also had a fish bowl that is
labeled with caught being good. If a student is making a green choice the teacher or a para will
write their behavior on a fish and put it in the bowl. If they make it in the fish bowl they are
allowed to pick from the prize box.
I think this experience has enhanced my confidence in being a teacher. It has provided me
with new strategies and given me a hands-on experience. It has showed me methods for dealing
with certain behaviors that I will most likely be seeing in my own classroom. It has allowed me
to work with a diverse population and learn that everyone is different. It has shown me that not
all strategies will work for everyone and you just have to try them out to see. If they do not work
you have to go back and revise them to make it fit the student more appropriately. I have learned
a variety of ways to present lessons in a more interactive way. Being able to get to know the
students and work with them through my observation has made me even more inspired to work
with children in the future.