Lindsay Sommermeyer

April 25, 2017

TAP III

Teacher Observation Reflections

Questions Asked:
How many years have you been teaching?

Do you give rewards?

What are some of your favorite teaching strategies?

How is your classroom setup like?

Whats one big rule you have?

How do you try to interest the students in a subject/lesson they might not like?

What are the discipline strategies you use?

Early Childhood
For early childhood I observed Ms. Hicks a Kindergarten teacher. Overall Ms. Hicks has been
teaching for 5 years and graduated from Austin Peay State University. She said she puts her children in
groups for Interpersonal Learning and wants her students to develop a life-long love of learning. She
rewards students with candy and words of encouragement. While her students do very well in class when
she needs to discipline students she talks to them and makes them work alone for class or takes away
recess time. One big rule she has is to keep your hands to yourself, which she says is essential for
younger children to know. She says that she loves using Howard Gardners different learning styles in
her class it helps a lot of her students. Ms. Hicks has more learning to do but these past 5 years are
teaching her well.

Elementary
For elementary school I interviewed Ms. Murray, she is a Science and English. Ms. Murray has
been teaching for only less than a year which was very surprising for me because she teaches like she has
been in the classroom for years! She was very cool with her students, she disciplined and rewarded in
different ways, like they got Skittles/M&Ms for a reward and when they didnt turn in homework they
got disciplined and got a check which took time off of recess. Her favorite way to help students learn is to
get them up and moving around, she says she likes when the students lead and motivate for their own
learning. She puts the students in groups of 4-5 because they do a lot of group work and science labs in
the classroom. Her main rule is respect; respect others, yourself and especially your teachers. When the
students come across a lesson that they find boring or difficult Ms. Murray finds music or songs to go
along with to engage them and help them learn. She is a very good teacher and has the potential to be one
of the greatest ones, I absolutely loved observing her classroom.

Middle School
The teacher I observed at the middle school was Mrs. Lambert, she was one of the best teachers
Ive ever observed. I had asked her questions after I observed her class and I really liked the answers I
received. I asked Mrs. Lambert how long she has been teaching and she has been teaching for 21 years.
She has mastered the art of teaching in those years and I could see it in her classroom as I observed her.
She has a rewarding system and gives the students coyote cash as an incentive for good behavior. She
stated that she has many different teaching strategies and they vary with her lessons, but if her lesson is
hard for the students or they might lose interest she tries to relate it to the students or how they can use it
in their life. Her classroom setup uses a Kegan Method by numbering the students so that the person
sitting in seat one is the strongest student and so on. Her biggest rule is to do what is expected of her and
she follows the schools discipline policy and she said it never hurts to give them The Look

High School
For High School I interviewed Mrs. Elliott, she has been teaching in the classroom for 5 years but
before that she was a college professor at Austin Peay State University. She is an excellent teacher, she is
loads of fun, very excited about teaching and stern but fair. She tries to put as many simulations, labs, and
activities as possible to engage the students to learn. She likes using Kahoot! and food to motivate the
students. She stated that her room is usually set up in pairs or groups of three or four. She feels that
students need to discuss math to really understand what is going on and is a big fan of Vygotsky. One big
rule she has is Students cant sleep in class, she finds it very rude and disrespectful. Students should not
talk when someone else is talking, this also goes back to being disrespectful. She feels students need to
experience a professional environment and that begins with respect of self and of others. She has rewards
for good behavior like, extra credit, homework passes, and even candy! On the flipside she disciplines
students by using A LOT of grace and patience. First, she has a one-on-one talk with the student, then
comes detention, then comes a referral. Her favorite strategy is the EDI model, she likes including labs
and simulations as often as possible too. Mrs. Elliott will be a great teacher for years to come!

Special Education
The teacher I observed for special education was Ms. Rhodes in the high school, she is a new
teacher and has been teaching for only two years. She may be a new teacher but her strategies work. The
one strategy she uses every day is Fun she makes sure that all of her lessons are exciting and she tries to
involve as many activities as possible, she knows this is key to help her students learn. Her classroom
involves certain things you wouldnt find in a regular high school classroom like snack times, home
economics and the students each have jobs. Her main rule is to keep your hands to yourself at all times
because many of her students want to hug everyone that walks into the room and they can be overly
friendly. They are constantly working on personal space and learning that not all people want to be
hugged or touched. Her discipline strategies include taking away items or free time that she gives them
sometimes as a reward or their free time in general. She does give rewards often though and the kids love
them, she said I give rewards to specific students based on their behavior while completing their work.
For example, I have one student that follows a daily schedule specifically for him. After each academic
activity he is allowed to receive time to relax and listen to music or he may receive spicy Cheetos; he
loves them and will work towards them. Another student is rewarded by getting to walk around the when
completing his work. She makes sure they are rewarded for good behavior. Of what I have seen Ms.
Rhodes is a really awesome special education teacher!