Running head: OBSERVATION 5: TEACHER-TAUGHT LESSON 1

Observation 5

Jeremia Vergara

Raritan Valley Community College

Professor Kimberly Schirner

March 25, 2019

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Education 230 Field Experience

I. Observation #5
Teacher-taught lesson (Programs)

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
Children in special education learn in ways that differ from the mainstream
classroom. My cooperating teacher doesn’t have a set curriculum, but rather programs
that attend to the child’s skills. When I first started observing, I didn’t know what to
expect when I entered that classroom. I gave myself the impression that there’d perhaps
be separate desks with a name tag for each child. This was not the case. Lessons are
based off the skills of each child, such as speech, reading, writing, and so on. These
lessons are called programs. Each child has a different disability. For instance, I have a
student with down syndrome. His program involves him doing certain movements with
his body, such as spinning and stomping. I assume this shows how well his listening and
motor skills are.
V. Data
 Program time is from 9:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
 Children are assigned different teachers each day.
 Programs have the child do something about 20 times each.
 Children tend to get impatient easily.
 Children are allowed breaks for a couple minutes. They like playing with the
timers. Teachers let them turn off timer as a form of positive reinforcement.
 Children are put in special chairs with an attachable desk.
 Programs include puzzles, matching, picture cards, etc., whatever the child
knows how to do.
 Snacks and toys are used for positive reinforcement.
 Another specialized teacher sometimes comes in to help with the more
problematic children.
 Children like bubbles and paint a lot as a reinforcement.
 Children are easily distracted.
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 Children highly enjoy the train and train track toys along with the toy cars.

VI. Analysis
The environment of the child is crucial to how he/she learns. I have
learned a lot from watching how these children learn. My cooperating teacher had
me try a program with one of the children who were higher functioning. She
simply told me to point on certain objects in whatever pattern and then have the
child follow it. This was to be repeated twenty times. Every time the child did
something correct, it would be marked with a check. Any time something was
done incorrectly, there would be a minus sign. Some programs finish faster than
others. At the end of each one, the assigned teacher goes to a binder that has the
child’s name on it. They are to count how many times the child succeeded and see
if it met the goal for the day. After, it would be put on a graph. The progression
can be seen on the graphs being made. On some days, the programs wouldn’t be
finished. It all depends on the mood of the child or if another teacher came in to
help. Two of the children like having snacks as a reinforcement. Sometimes I’d
hear one of the assistants go, “I want raisins!” and the child would immediately
echo it because of his love for raisins. The teacher would then say, “We work
first!”. The child focuses then for about three minutes before having his mind
wander away again. Sometimes programs would include the child walking to a
specific area. Most days it’s either to go line up near the door or to go get their
jackets.
VII. Recommendations
With the room being so open, it’s easy for the children to get distracted. I
have seen the boys look over at the play carpet many times while they were in the
middle of his program. Sometimes you’d see the frustrated face of the assigned
teacher. One thing I would suggest would be redecorating the room a little bit.
“One theory states that teacher mobility should be the top objective for classroom
arrangement. The seating arrangement should provide easy discipline and focus
the student’s attention toward the teacher. Students likely won’t see the seating
arrangement as a classroom management tool, but distractions will be minimized”
(How to Prevent and Address Classroom Disruptions, 2017). Like mentioned in
my setting observation, blocking off sight of the play area could heighten the
focus of the child during their programs. He would not be able to see any other
students playing or creating anything using the toys.
The attention span of children is not long at all. Sometimes they’ll hear a
fly buzzing by, and it’ll be the only thing on their mind while you’re trying to talk
to them. Limiting distractions is crucial in a special education classroom.
Depending on the child’s disability, this could be hard, but it’s not impossible.
Allowing the child to take a break during programs proves to be effective. “It is
helpful for students who have problems with inconsistent alertness and mental
effort to be provided with opportunities to move around. For example, at school,
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teachers could ask the student to erase the board, collect papers or take a message
to the office…Each time the location is changed, the student may experience a
burst of mental energy. Additionally, students may need to be doing something
with their hands while seated. They may doodle, roll a piece of clay or perform
some other manual tasks that enhance their alertness and arousal” (15 Strategies
for Managing Attention Problems, 2017). My cooperating teacher sometimes
takes a walk with a child in the hallways if he gets too antsy in the classroom. On
nice days she may even take him outside. The child always comes back in happy
and read to learn once again.
VIII. Post-observations
All children deserve the opportunity to learn. These opportunities provide
them the chance to succeed in life in whatever they do. Students in special
education are no exception to this. They are more than capable of learning if
teachers are willing to work with them. These children are unique in their skills
and can use it to bring so much joy in the room. Our roles as their teacher is to
make sure they are given the chance to learn and be educated by the best there is.

IX. Citations

15 Strategies for Managing Attention Problems. (2017, November 15).

Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/15-strategies-managing-

attention-problems

How to Prevent and Address Classroom Disruptions.

(2017, November 08). Retrieved from https://education.cu-

portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/how-to-prevent-and-address-

classroom-disruptions/

X. Appendix