Greetings Future Educator,

One of the most rewarding aspects of EDU 202 is the opportunity you have to observe students
at an secondary school. These CSN courses require all students to complete a 10 hour "Field
Observation" in an secondary classroom. When you receive you field placement, you will
contact the school and meet with your cooperating teacher. With your cooperating teacher,
you will design schedule of days and time for you to complete the 10 required contact hours.
Within this packet, you will find the required assignments and experiences you must fulfill in
order to pass this class.

Your Name: ____Adriana Reyes__________Professor: Connie Christensen_______________

School: ____Bonanza_____________ Cooperating Teacher:___Mr. Twomey______________

ASSIGNMENT ONE (Observation):

1. What are our first impressions of the classroom environment? Warm? Friendly?
Organized etc?
My first impressions of the classroom environment were that the walls and decorations
are a little bland until I saw the stuffed animal on the teachers desk, and the Star Wars
wall stickers that were place on the back wall. There were not many personal
decorations, other than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers bandana that was next the white
board. The classroom was very organized. Everything had a place to be, and the
locations were labeled for easy identification.

2. Describe the physical environment of the classroom in detail.

Although the teacher described the room to me over the phone before, it surprised me
that the room was so small. The room is one-third of a larger hall. This room was made
for the purpose of housing the growing student body of the school.

The center of the classroom holds forty-one student desks. There are extra chairs that
are in the room for group discussions and visiting co-teachers for IEP. The student desks
were set up in a sort of grid. From left to right, there was one row of three desks, three
rows of eight desks, and last two rows of seven desks. The reason for this strategic
placement is to make room for the many bookshelves that are in the room, as well as
access to the teacher at his desk.

At the front of the classroom, there are two white boards on either side of a projection
board. The projection board and the projector are center focal point of the room, and is
used for all lectures. The board is a smart board; it acts as a touch screen and an
electronic white board. I find this new technology amazing. There is an alternate
projection screen that can be brought down over the left white board if needed. Right
below the screen, on the white board, are information sheets for the teachers use:
calendar, phone numbers, day schedule, and syllabus. All of this is located behind the
teachers desk. The desk has the potential to face both the wall and the students. The
desk contains what looks like normal business items (computer, in-box, stapler, etc), but
it also has lesson plans, paperwork on students, worksheets, and a stuffed Easter bunny
rabbit. An emergency evacuation kit was also hung behind the teachers desk.

There is a separated work desk that is located on the left wall. This is used for students
that need separation for learning or focus purposes, or visitors. There are also two
bookshelves on this wall. The first bookshelf has only math textbooks that are for the
subjects of Core Math, Algebra 1, and Geometry. Atop there are respective locations for
Algebra 1 and Geometry students to turn in their homework and collect assignment
worksheets. The worksheets are kept organized in plastic filing boxes. The second
bookshelf contains returned homework for the different classes and subjects on the
shelves, and notebooks and a pencil sharpener on top.
In the right of the room, there is a filing cabinet and a locked supply cabinet. There are
student desks that line the wall. In the rear of the classroom, there is a white board that
has a grid of the month with detail of what will be going on during the weeks to come.
The class rules are posted above this board. It seems simple with only five rules to abide
by. There is also a clock and speaker combination that is mounted on the wall.

I like that the room was filled with posters. Some of the posters are the required
posters that are mandated to be posted. They are informational posters for both the
teacher and the students. Homework Hotline, school rules on various topics, actions
that lead to expulsion, and anti-bullying are just a few of the posters that are on the
walls. Other posters are helpful math related posters. Many of these posters are general
math reminders like what the math symbols mean or often used formulas such as the
Quadratic Formula. There are also posters of non-educational material. The students
enjoy space posters, information about gold production, and Star Wars wall stickers.

3. Describe the student make-up of the class including gender, ethnicity, ELL, physical
challenges and other apparent attributes that are important to note.
There were many classes that I observed, and in all the classrooms there were a diverse
group of students in each. There is also diverse personal style that the students
demonstration. There is a different arrangement of dispositions of the students as well.
There were some students that were somewhat anti-social and couldnt wait to get out
of the classroom. There were other students that craved the attention of both peers and
teacher. There are a few of the students in the different classes that are integrated
special education students. Some of these students had co-teachers that would help
them during class or remove them to be in a quiet area for the students benefit. If there
are students that are English learning, they are also integrated. I did see that there were
many students that were wearing glasses, almost twelve percent.

4. What are the posted class rules in the room? (Exactly written.)
The class rules are posted as follow:
1) Respect yourself and others.
2) Class time is for class activities. Pay attention and dont talk while the teacher is
talking.
3) Come in quietly and be ready to work in your seat before the bell rings.
4) No personal grooming, electronics, food or drinks (except water) in class.
5) Follow all school and district rules.

5. Does the teacher enforce the rules? What rewards or consequences are used?
Yes, the teacher enforces the rules; both class rules and CCSD given rules. Cell phones
are automatically taken away. The teacher will quietly talk to the student about the
issue, or make a blanket statement to the class if there is more than one student not
following the rules. If that garners no results, the teacher will repeat. If the student then
complies, the teacher will take the student out of the classroom for a private talk when
class time permits. If the student/s do not comply, then the teacher will give a stern
warning with a repeat of what actions are preferred. The last result would be to send
the student/s out of the room. Ultimate consequences for small infractions is dismissal
from classroom. For major infractions, a visit to the Vice Principals Office is in order.
There the persons involved and faculty will decide what happened and the appropriate
punishment. The ultimate school punishment resulting in expulsion. As I have seen from
the first day of observation, my participating teacher had to excuse one student from
class, collect a cell phone, and have a private conversation with a student. It was
explained to me that the freshman/sophomore classes that he teaches are challenging
because of the new entry and the acclimation period of the students to a new school
and process of learning.
ASSIGNMENT TWO (Instruction)

1. What is the posted daily/weekly schedule?

There is a daily schedule that consists of the times for each period and lunches. There is also a
weekly schedule that is posted.
 2. Is instruction delivered in small groups, centers, whole groups, individually?
The instruction is delivered in whole group style with the opportunity of individual attention at
the teachers desk or the desk that is located in front of the teachers desk. Many of the classes
have lecture time that is directed to the whole class. The teacher tries to include the students in
the teaching process with question and answer. There is also allocated time for group work and
discussion. Some students have co-teachers that help instruct students. There are times when
these teachers remove students from the class. The separation is for different purposes that
range from test taking to in depth instruction.
3. Describe the cooperating teachers teaching style.
The teacher is very direct when giving instruction. He is very understanding and encourages
questions about both the subject and personal. He is willing to answer appropriate personal
questions from the student. This helps with the teacher-student relationship and
understanding. He allows for students to ask questions while he is lecturing. Curiosity is
encouraged as long as the student raises his hand. He also gives one-on-one opportunity to the
students that have questions. They may approach his desk or the desk that is located in front of
his desk. He then will help the student with the issues that the student has. He wants the
students to understand the processes of math as well as why the processes are done in that
fashion. He treats all students with respect and expects the reciprocal.

4. Does the teacher incorporate the sensory modalities (auditory, visual, kinesthetic)?
Give examples.
The teacher incorporates auditory and visual modalities in his teaching. He gives
lectures, but also allows students to ask and answer inquisitive questions. Within his
lectures he tries to make sure that he is not monotone and sounds genuinely excited
about the lesson. The projector is one of the main tools that the teacher uses. The
teacher hands out worksheets to the students, the worksheets are identical to what is
projected on the front board. Not only are the students seeing what is on the board
When starting the class, he announces the topic and what exactly he is going to teach
the students that day.

5. Do the students seem engaged in the lesson(s) presented?

Although there are vocal students that answer the prompted questions, there are a
minute amount of students that are not paying attention at all. Two of the students
finished the worksheet and became bored. Instead of paying attention to what the
teacher is saying, the two students decided to doodle on their worksheets. The others
that get lost in the lecture are on their cell phones. Eventually these students get caught
and have their cell phones taken away. The majority of the class is reacting to what the
teacher is saying and involved in answering the problems at hand.

6. Explain how the teacher handles transitions from subject to subject or activity to
activity. Are the transitions effective?
When the teacher starts to talk about a subject, he reviews all the information that had
been taught that correlates to the new lesson or activity. He completes his speech and
allows for students to ask questions. The teacher encourages the students to ask
questions. When the teacher ends an activity or subject he asks the students questions
about comprehension of the subject and if the students need more time to understand
what is going on. He tries to seamlessly transition to other activities; most of the time
successful. Once the questioning is over, the teacher uses the momentum and the
attention of the students to move to the next order of business. The only time that the
transitions were not effective was when there was a student that wanted to disrupt the
class for more personal attention.

7. List ways the teacher uses attention getting commands: light flicker, signals etc.
Raised voice. Standing at the front of the classroom. Using students names in direction.

The teacher used raised voice more often than any other tactic of getting the classes
attention. He would call all the students either young man or young woman. He would
always use some way of making the student want to listen to him. The only time that he
would use a students direct name was when the student was causing a ruckus during
group time.

8. What specific behavior issues does the teacher have to deal with?
There are the one or two students in every class that crave the attention of everyone in
the room. These students attain the attention by acting out. The students will speak in a
loud manner so that his or her peers can easily hear. This is normally done to get the
class to laugh. Once the teacher responds, the student may continue with similar
comments or include physical action. There was one student that would wear his hoodie
backwards with the hood over the bottom of his face. He was asked to wear his garment
the correct way for the test that was to take place. The situation escalated with result of
the removal of the student. Many of the students that the teacher is responsible for are
compliant. They may talk, sometimes a little too much, but the students are acquiescent
to the teachers directions.
ASSIGNMENT THREE (Classroom Layout):
1. Describe the work flow of the room. Is the space used efficiently?
The flow of the classroom allows the students to focus on the lesson at hand. The class focus is
directed away from the door so that there is minimal outside distraction. When the students
enter the classroom, there is
2. Using the sheet of graph paper, create a labeled drawing of the classroom.
This will follow the assignment at the end.
ASSIGNMENT FOUR (School/Classroom Culture):
Using the questions below to carefully evaluate the culture of the school you are observing

A. Physical Characteristics: Look at the physical areas of the school to determine

atmosphere, comfort, and the educational setting.
1. Consider the school building, grounds, fencing, equipment, landscaping, trees,
parking lot, crosswalks, gates, signs and symbols.
The main building is made of brick and the attached buildings are bound by a
brick wall. I like that it looks secure and that the brick wall makes the school feel
less of a prison. I loved that here were so many new technologies that are being
utilized in the classroom. Books have almost become obsolete. The teacher told
me that there are books, but the students mostly use the handouts and
worksheets.
2. Next study the interior of the school: halls, flooring, lighting, doors, windows,
hall color and decorations, entrance security.
The school looks like one that they would use in a movie. There are tiled floors,
large hallways, and directions to different communal locations. Lining the
hallways are pictures, awards, and plaques of accomplishments. There are also
posters that advertise different clubs, activities, and events. I know that there
are little to no people that are allowed in the school without checking in at the
front office. I had to get a new badge every day that I came to the school.

B. Culture of the School.

Identify the schools mission statement, motto and mascot.
1. Look for signs of community pride: school awards, activities, traditions, clubs,
trophies etc.
The mascot for the school is Bangles. There are pictures of bangles
everywhere. There is a pride in the mascot. There were posters that
advertised a soccer events that were happening.
3. Analyze staff and visitor interactions in the main office. Note student and
faculty interactions in other parts of the school.
There was two students that were always helping in the main office. They taught
me how to check in. I was able to check in by myself after that. The two students
were very nice, and they were very knowledgeable. There was an official
secretary that oversaw the whole operation. She instructed the students when
they didnt know how to handle a situation.
4. Observe student-to-student interaction inside and outside of the classroom.
Where do students gather to socialize lunchroom, halls, common areas etc.?
There are clusters of students everywhere. It seems like there are many
different, but open cliques that are in the school. During the morning, many of
the students hang out in the hallway and classes of their favorite teacher. Many,
if not all, of the students had cell phone. The cell phones were out almost the
whole time the students were not in class.
 5. Explain how the school is organized office, library, halls/classrooms labeled.
The school is organized. When you walk in there is the main office to the left and
there are clusters of classes that are designated to grade and subject. All classes
had a number on it and the teachers are allowed to decorate the door as they
saw fit to.

C. Culture of the Classroom: Each classroom has its own culture and way of life.
1. Look at teacher expectations for learning and success.
The teacher want ever student to understand what is necessary for the student
to pass the class, but to retain the information. The teacher wanted to be the
person that helped all these different people succeed.
2. Evaluate the level of student participation in class. Who participates? Who
does not?
There are only one to two student in each class that did not want to participate.
The teacher was very good at making the student, eventually, participate and
understand the information.
3. Evaluate the interactions between teacher and students, rapport,
cohesiveness, respect, distribution of power, tone, rule enforcements.
The students and the teacher are respectful in conversation and physical boundaries.
The students know that even though the teacher is nice, he knows how to take control
of the class and enforce the rules with a soft firm hand.
ASSIGNMENT FIVE (Cooperating Teacher Interview): Arrange for a convenient time to
interview your cooperating teacher. Ask the questions below. Include documents,
handouts etc. the teacher provides you.

1. What was the primary reason you became a teacher?

I used to be a teacher in college, and I realized that by the time the students got to
college it was too late to help them. I decided to go down to the secondary level to try
and effect students lives earlier. I wanted to make a difference at the secondary level. I
started as a substitute teacher to see what was going on at the secondary level, the
school board decided that they liked me and this is my first year teaching.
2. What is the main challenge you face as a teacher?
The hardest thing to deal with, in regards to students, is their low skills. Low skills are
their main factor in their inability to learn new materials. It is a challenge to teach the
students the basics skills that they need to learn the new skills that they have to have in
order to progress. Many of the children are coming to use not getting a grade beyond an
F. They are being passed along to secondary education without an understanding of the
primary information. We are having to review before each lesson so that we know that
the students are going to understand the information that we are bringing forward to
them. At the beginning of the year, there was a big review on what the students are
supposed to know. There was a test to gauge where the students stood. The problem is
there are so many students that are so behind that it is difficult to teach the new
materials. There is a lot of backtracking and repeating the information.
3. What is the best part of being a teacher?
The best parts of being a teacher is the kids and seeing their progression. Seeing them
learn and seeing them understanding the information. It is the Aha moment where
they finally understand the information, and they get a big smile on their face. After
that, they can do their work and be happy again. That is the biggest reward.
4. How do you determine where students sit in the class?
Mainly behavior dictates where the students sit. There is assigned seating. I work
around behavior, interaction between students, and the position that students need to
learn and be assisted.
5. How do you select the members of flexible grouping?
The teacher did not understand what flexible grouping meant. I did email about the
definition and send it to the teacher. I received no response to the question.
6. How often do you interact in person with parents? What are the main
reasons for the interactions with parents?
In person interactions with the parent are not frequent. I will contact the parent if the
student is struggling more than I think they should. If the parent wanted to conference
with me, we would sit down, and discuss what is going on and how to work on the
issues at home and in the classroom.
7. How much grading do you complete daily and weekly? When and where do
you do most of the grading?
 All grading is done before I go home. I try not to take work home. Having a math
class there are many papers to grade. There is a new assignment to grade nearly
every day. On average there are 130-150 papers a day.
8. How long does it take to prepare lessons for the day/week?
It depends on the lesson. Some lessons take two hours, and other lessons take two
weeks. For a lesson that is to be instructed in one day, it takes three hours. It is hard to
determine how long it will take the students to understand the information. There can
be a lesson that I thought would take three days and it takes the students one day to
learn. There are other lessons that I think will be grasped in one day and it will take two
or three days.
9. What behavior consequences seem most effective with this age group?
Generally, if I apply a consequence to the whole class, after a while and even if there is
only one student causing trouble, the students will police themselves so that there is no
more consequences. I try not to use negative reinforcement because it tends to lead to
aggressive behavior. I try to use the self-policing with class wide consequences. Keeping
with all the rules and enforcing the rules help with student behavior. I will take a cell
phone away for the whole class. It is not a punishment, but it is a consequence.
10. How often are you evaluated and what measurement tool(s) are used by
administration for determining your performance?
There are performance standards that we have to complete. The NEPF is something that
they use to evaluate each teacher. I have been evaluated three times already. A new
teacher is evaluated three times a year, and four times if they feel like there is
something that the teacher needs to work on. They look at a matrix of performance
standards that need to be met; structure of the classroom, classroom management,
interaction with students, how many students are paying attention while you are
teaching, are there any students that are falling behind more than others, and method
that you use to teach the students. Testing and performance is part of the evaluations
as well.
11. What surprised you the most about teaching and the teaching profession?
How tiring teaching is. There is so much time that goes into teaching. It is not the
physical aspect of the job. The mental and emotional aspects take a toll on a teacher.
You are constantly bombarded with emotional, psychological, and physical problems
that the student brings to school. Teachers have the responsibility to always be on.
Teaching is a performance and teachers are on stage from the time they get to school
and ends when they get home. It can be more than ten hours a day. I think the burn out
rate for new teachers is three to five years. These teachers either quit or change to
substitute teaching.
ASSIGNMENT SIX (Observing a student): Discretely observe one student in your assigned
classroom during direct instruction. Summarize what the student did during this observation.
Make sure to record all behavior. Briefly summarize the lesson given, and the students
response to the lesson. Evaluate what you have discovered about the students learning styles,
involvement in the class and his/her learning.

The first day that I observed the students, they were all taking tests. The class was quiet most of
the time. When everyone completed their test the teacher allowed for them to converse. I
decided to take that time to choose what student to observe. Unfortunately, by the time I
chose the student the class was over with the ring of the bell.

The students are all required to walk into the classroom and be seated by the time the bell
rings. The student that I observed has had an issue getting to class on time. The second day that
I observed him, the student jumped into the classroom as the last tone of the bell rang. He
looked as if he jumped out to say, I made it. Unfortunately, he was sent to get a note for
being late to class. Since the student had to get a note, he missed some of the new topic the
teacher was explaining to the class. He had missed coverage of square roots and how to
determine how to solve them. As he returned to class with his tardy note, he was trying to
explain why there was an issue with the timing of his arrival. The teacher dismissed his excuses
and sent the student to his assigned seat. The student, while having the attention of the class,
decided to say, Oh well, it doesnt matter anyway. The class reaction was a low giggle. The
student took his seat.

By the time the student got back to class, the teacher was instructing the students cubed roots
and how to solve them. As the student gazed over the worksheet that was on his desk, he
started to get a confused look. He then started to pay attention to what the teacher was
converting to the class: solving imperfect squares. The student didnt understand why the
teacher would continue to simplify 8 and not 6. The teacher then articulated to the student
that the material that he is questioning is the material that was covered while he was getting
the late slip. The teacher then tried to explain the difference between the two radicles. The 8
could still be factored to find a perfect square, and there was no factor left for 6 that were
perfect squares. Unfortunately, the student still had issue understanding. He then asked the
teacher, Could you make a different example on the white board? The teacher agreed since
most of the students had the same question. The teacher drew a radicle sign on the board and
asked the students to give a number to use. The student that I was observing said 64. The
teacher asked again for a number, but expanded the parameters to numbers that are not
perfect squares. The teacher then decided upon himself to use the number 500. The teacher
then asked the student to factor 500. The student chose the factors 10 and 50. The teacher
then asked the student, Are either of these numbers a perfect square? The student replied
no. The teacher prompted the students on what to do next, and asked the class what other
factor there are. The students ended up with 25225. The teacher asked if there are any
pairs of factors under the radicle. The class answered that there are two number twos. The
teacher wrote the new equation 2525 . The student then asked if that was all they had to
do. The teacher then asked the class if there was anything else that they could do to simplify
the equation. Another student answered no; the 25 is a perfect square. The new equation went
on the board and the student asked why is it 5 and not 25 that is coming out on the radicle. The
teacher asked the student what 52 is, and the student replied 25. He then asked the teacher if
taking the numbers out from under the radicle, then they use the number from the square? The
teacher said yes; to get rid of the 25 under the radicle we take the square root of it and the
answer gets placed in front of the radicle. The student that I was observing looked like he
understood, but also looked like he didnt understand. He seemed hesitant to ask another
question about the same problem. He did raise his had to ask where the 10 came from. The
teacher explained to the student that the two was already out of the radicle when the five was
pulled out, and if there are more than one number that is taken from the radicle then they are
multiplied together. The teacher said that the result of 500 simplified is 105. The student
asked why does the five stay there. The teachers replay was to ask the student what the
factors of five are. The student said that the factors of five are one and five. The teacher then
asked if either of those are perfect squares. The student said no, and the teacher explain that
was the reason for the number five to stay under the radicle. The teacher went on to the next
question that was on the worksheet. The student sat quietly watching with an inquisitive facial
expression. After a while, the student said, this is too hard. The teacher then allowed the
students to work in groups to finish the rest of the of the worksheet. The student seemed
relieved. He spent the rest of the period socializing.
ASSIGNMENT SEVEN: Reflect on and then summarize your entire 10 hour Field Observation.
What did you observe, learn, realize about teachers, students, the school environment? How
has this observation better prepared you to understand the teaching profession? How does the
observation relate to text information and class activities? What specific ideas on teaching will
you remember to include in your classroom?

In my observation classroom, I saw that there is considerable amount of thought that goes into
every aspect of teaching. The goal is to teach common core curriculum to the students, but how
to get there is the question. Everything that teacher does, says, and presents to the students
impacts them. I think that it takes more than patience to teach students. I have seen that it
takes more time to plan a class than actually hold the class. Lesson plans and activities are just
the beginning of what planning for class. I have learned that there are hours of prep and after-
work that goes into being a great teacher. The teacher that I had to observed stayed for hours
after all his classes were finished to finish grades and plan for the next day. He did say that he
would not take work home. The reasoning behind that decision was to keep work from taking
over home life.

I thought that if I starting teaching freshman and sophomore, it would be easier. I have now
learned that students at that age are possibly more difficult to work with. According to the
teacher, they can be beasts and monsters some times. In fact, he told me that is the nickname
for the freshman among the teachers. I think that with the employees that I work with, I might
be able to handle some of the issues that come from the students. There are many different
types of people that I have worked with and supervised. I know that there is a difference
between working with an associate and teaching a student. I just hope that I can be prepared
for the many different attitudes of people and temperaments. I think that I may take some
direction from the teacher and use a respectful manner of approaching students with
behavioral issues. I also think that I would use a rhythmic style of clapping to keep attention of
the students.

I think there are many things that are different from the texts and the observation. The teacher
isnt traditionally trained. There are things that are similar. The teacher uses teaching tactics
that allows for different learning styles to understand the information. I think that actual work
in the field is better than what any text can inform us about. I like that the teacher allowed me
to help some of the students that had questions during group time. I liked the hand-on
experience. I saw first-hand how different the students understood the same information. I will
bring this to my classroom.