Running head: OBSERVATION 2 PLANNING 1

Observation Two

Jeremia Vergara

Raritan Valley Community College

Professor Kimberly Schirner

March 3, 2019
PLANNING 2

Education 230 Field Experience

I. Observation #2
Planning

II. Grade Level and Subject Area

Special Education Pre-kindergarten

III. Setting
Facility of the classroom is in an urban town. The school is public and specializes
specifically in early childhood care and education. This classroom has a main teacher,
two to four assistant teachers and seven students.

IV. Pre-observation
Each child in this special education class has a different classification in
disabilities. However, this does not mean that they are less than intelligent. Recently, we
had two new students join the class. Three of the children are vocal, while the remaining
four are non-vocal. The newest student that I have seen had a hard time adjusting to the
new environment, as most children would. The child kept thrashing on the floor and
crying. If anyone had tried to help, he would’ve cried louder. For a short time, we let him
have his moment on the floor. Eventually, when it was time to go to the gym to play with
the other children, the child was smiling and running around as if nothing had happened.
I have yet to meet the new child that just came in earlier this week. After play time in the
gym, the children walk back to the classroom. Here, the lead teacher breaks them off into
their programs. Programs are what is designed for each individual child to learn based on
their skills. For instance, if a child knows what certain actions are, such as taking a bath,
then one of the assistant teachers will show him/her a picture and ask the child what’s
happening in the picture. Two, sometimes three of the children can get difficult at times
to teach. The new child has a program but does not have the tolerance to be taught. Since
each child has their own specific plan and that they’re unpredictable every day, it’s hard
to pinpoint how things will go and to really get a target on how they’re doing. At the end
of each program, which are about forty-five minutes each, the teachers that were assigned
to them tally up their scores and put the results in a big binder with the child’s name.

V. Data:
 Children are given breakfast every morning.
 There are special spaces where each child does their program.
 Some days are speech days, so the kids don’t play in the gym. They stay in the
classroom with a specialized teacher.
PLANNING 3

 The child with down syndrome has a special chair that supports his body. Since
he’s non-vocal, he’s given a special binder that allows him to point out what he
wants to do.
 Children are not yet potty-trained.
 There are no female students yet.
 The children really love fruit.
 Some children have the, “out of sight, out of mind” mindset. Works well when
it’s station time and they’re distracted by toys.
 The children love dancing.
 Results recorded at the end of the programs get put on a graph that shows the
child’s progress throughout the year. Some days are better than others.
 The child must always be stimulated or else they will not focus in his work.
 Teacher does not have a set or boxed curriculum, but they have objectives instead.
 Program time is very repetitive. You’d hear phrases like, “Finish the song.” or
“[Child’s name], do this!”.

VI. Analysis
For the most part, it’s tough to manage the kids. However, this doesn’t make it
impossible to teach the child. Two children need to always be stimulated to learn and
focus. When they play around for a little bit after coming from outdoors, they are allowed
a couple toys that the teacher will award them time to play for, provided they do their
work. This may backfire sometimes. One of the two children need both a treat and a toy
in order to learn. In their programs, the two children are given tokens. When they get five
tokens, they are given a small amount of time to play so that they don’t lose their heads.
The kids are given simple commands, such as saying what their name is or going to get
their jacket. One of the professional special education teachers came in while I was
observing one day. She had told a child to walk to their jacket, but the child decided to
run. She picked him up and put him back to square one, repetitively saying, “Walk!”.
After doing this about three times, the child finally listened. One thing she did not like
were the desks being used. The desk is a bulky plastic chair that has a desk attachment.
The child would sit on the chair and the teacher would put the desk part on. She claimed
this was teaching the child that it was okay to restrain them. My teacher refuted by saying
many other teachers had told her different things. She also said there wasn’t much else to
use. The desks were too high, and they can’t be adjusted appropriately. From what I
asked my teacher regarding planning, she explained that since the kids don’t learn at a
normal function a normal child would, it’s hard to set up a curriculum around it. Instead,
the kids are given goals to reach by the end of the year. Goals can range from motions to
forming simple sentences. Each program is set up based on the ability of each child.
Some programs are lighter than others. This means some kids are more advanced than
another child in the class. I wasn’t allowed to attend a meeting on account of scheduling
conflicts. Program progress is reported to the higher-ups at the end of every couple of
weeks. Of course, the children are involved in the planning process as well. The lessons
PLANNING 4

all revolve around their skills. Teaching techniques include the teacher and the assistants
having small bins with what to use for the child’s program. A sentence or phrase is
repeated with hopes of the child responding. A correct response results in a plus, a wrong
response would result in a negative. Sometimes the children get impatient, so they’re
allowed to play for a short time so they wouldn’t start crying their heads off.
VII. Recommendations:
If I were to make any recommendations, the first one would be to try to find a
way to adjust the desks. I can see the kids struggling with the height differences from the
low chair and the high table. “The ideal desk height for a child is best determined when
there's a chair that's ideal for her size, since the desk and chair go together. Her feet
should rest comfortably on the ground when seated with her back against the chair back.
The angle of the knees should be approximately 90 degrees for a properly sized chair”
(Adams, n.d.). The same idea can go towards the desk, where the, “…elbow and the
desk's edge should be within a couple of inches of one another, heightwise. In other
words, [their] arms should also be able to rest comfortably on the desk” (Adams, n.d.).
Using this, the children might have a better time for their programs. The bigger chairs
being used by the teachers are much too large for them. Another recommendation I
would make is to try combine the areas where the children do their programs. One
program area is near the door, and the children are fond of escaping as they think it’s
funny. I would say that the child should move with the child who has a program area near
the back of the room. It’s covered by two portable walls. The children wouldn’t have
program time at the same time, but at least this prevents the child trying to go out in the
hallway.
VIII. Post-observation
All in all, I would say that planning for these children would be a bit of a
challenge. It’s hard to predict how each child’s day will be, as it is for most. However,
with adjustments, we can make it easier for the child by fixing their work environment. I
believe that these children are very smart, even if they have a disability. They just need a
little more help for some everyday activities.
IX. Citations

Adams, Kathy. (n.d.). The Proper Height for a Kid's Desk. Home Guides | SF Gate.

Retrieved from http://homeguides.sfgate.com/proper-height-kids-desk-83382.html