Observation
Student Observation
Classroom: F3 Mrs. Chapman
Grade: 5th Grade
Curriculum Area: Science
What I notice
o Topic: Unicellular vs. Multicellular
Organisms
o Teacher started off lesson with a
question about the anticipated
difference
o Tied reading with prefixes
(uni- vs. multi-)
o Teacher explicitly tells students
examples about what organisms fall
under each category. A few students
were confused about Fungi.
o Students are given limited time to
copy the notes down into notebook
a lot of questions about what is
important to write down
o Behavior management consists of If
you can hear me clap one, if you can
hear me clap twice.
o Had to repeat words and phrases
often
o Students a 5-subject notebook that
is specifically dedicated to science.
Students are instructed not to write
on the back the sheets of paper.
Teacher had them glue in graphic
organizer.
o Teacher played two videos
o Teacher answered most of students
questions with another question.
She pulled from a concept that they
know and understand to answer
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Observer: Tierra Davis
Date: March 20th, 2017
Time: 9:30am
Thoughts, Questions, Connections to
Methods Classes
- Lesson was like a hybrid mixture of a
5E lesson and a traditional direct
lesson.
- Extend was omitted from the lesson
- Teacher shows students lesson plan,
and uses terms like Teacher Input,
Guided Practice, and Independent
Practice when speak to students.
- Are certain management techniques
grade-specific?
- Are note taking strategies taught?
Do we leave it to students to either
write what is important or write
down everything?
- I LOVED the 5-subject notebook
idea, my cooperating teacher uses
the same notebook every year to
model to her students what the
notebook should look like
- This is a great way to have them
look back on not just their notes but
also the activity that they completed
to go along with the notes
- Great tactic to answer a question
with a question! She used the
question to assess what knowledge
they have and guide them to the
answer to their question.
- Should you always have students
repeat the objective at the end of
the lesson if they read it at the
beginning of it?
 their questions.

Do you think the teacher you observed established and communicated learning
goals, tracked student progress throughout the lesson, and celebrated
success? Explain.

I think one of the biggest strengths of my CTs lesson was that she communicated the
learning goals and expectations. I noted that she had students read the student objective
before she started the engage. She reminded students that they are always working
towards a common goal, and the importance of knowing the specific goal for each lesson
so that they know what they should be taking away from it. The method I observed her
using to track students progress throughout the lesson was asking questions to the
students on a concept that she previously explain and jotting down notes. I looked at the
notes after the lesson, she was tracking the students who really seemed like they
understood and students who seemed to be struggling. A suggestion that I have for my
cooperating teacher to work out is celebrating success more often. When the student
answered a question correctly, my CT moved on without recognizing the students
success. It would be best to throw in a correct! or wonderful answer when the
students are successful in the lesson.

Do you think the teacher was effective at managing the classroom during
science instruction? Explain.

My CT has excellence classroom management skills. I could tell that her management
methods are effective because she never had to redirect the same students or had the
same issue occur more than once within the day. I also attributed the lack of behavior
issues and need for redirection to how much the students love science. The students
were really engaged in this lesson!

Do you think the teacher helped students effectively interact with new science
concepts and/or processes? If so, how? If not, why do you think that? Do you
think the teacher helped students deepen their understanding of new science
concepts and/or processes? Explain.

I combined these questions together because I believe my teacher achieved both helping
students effectively interact with new science concepts and deepened their
understanding of new science concepts by using one method. Their curious minds
showed through when they would raise their hands and share their questions and
comments with the class. None of the questions that we ask we about any information
that the teacher had just given which was great. All of the questions seemed to rise when
the students were trying to apply the concepts to real-word situations. For example, the
question was not like Teacher, can you tell me again the difference between unicellular
and multicellular organisms? The questions were more like I know we have discussed
some examples of unicellular/multicellular organisms. What category does (insert an
organism) fall under? As previously, stated the teacher would not give a direct answer.
She either opened the question up for discussion or she answered the question with a
question about the characteristics of unicellular/multicellular organisms, and had the
student try to answer their own question. This method helped student interact with new
concepts because it showed them that when investigating (learning about) a new science
concept it is vital to draw from information that you already have. I believe this makes

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students more confident in their knowledge because they trust that it is possible for them
to find answers on their own and then if they are still struggle to ask for help. This
deepened their understanding of new science concepts because the method truly speaks
to the nature of science concept we learned in class.

Do you think the teacher effectively engaged the students? Explain.

I do not think the engage was effective in engaging students into this lesson. The
students struggle with reading in this class, and I have learned that it is not because the
students cannot do the work. They are not engaged in reading because they do not enjoy
the content area of reading. I enjoyed the engage of this lesson because of how literacy
was integrated into the lesson, it was a great way to review prefixes and suffixes,
especially with testing approaching and it being a tool to use in order to figure out word
meaning. If I could make a suggestion for improvement during the engage it would be to
tie in another science and/or mathematics concept that the students know and
understand. This may be challenging but it seems like it would be beneficial to tie in a
content area that the students enjoy to effectively engage them into the lesson. On the
other hand, teaching is not all about doing activities that the students enjoy. I understand
that there comes a time when the content needs to be taught and there is a focus on
what aligns with the standards and what the students will be assess on.

Do you think the lesson you observed was an inquiry lesson? Explain.

The lesson that I observed was an inquiry lesson. However, as mentioned in observation
notes this lesson was primarily an inquiry lesson but I did notice that there were some
portions that seemed like the traditional direct instruction lesson. The only E that was not
included in the lesson was the Extent phase, students did not apply what they had
learned to real-word examples through experience. My CT made sure to apply the
knowledge to real-word examples but it was done through the students questions not
experience.

What aspects of the lesson that you observed would you change? Keep?
Explain.

An aspect that I would definitely change would be to praises students for their success
throughout the lesson. This is so important when building students confidence in their
knowledge and their confidence within themselves. I would keep all of the questioning
that the CT asked throughout the lesson. I enjoyed seeing the light bulbs turn on above
students head when they accessed their prior knowledge and was able to use it to
answer the new science concept questions. Overall, I enjoyed the lesson and loved the
integration of literacy into the lesson, but I would play up on the class strength and
integrate a content area that they enjoy and will be engaged in.