Meghan Krekeler EDU-101-22K Dr. Karla Henderson Observation #2 1. Using the HM 3.

1 handout to observe the characteristics of effective schools. Look for at least four of the characteristics listed on the sheet. In several paragraphs answer the questions under at least four of the characteristics of effective schools contained on the handout. a. Orderly School Environment i. My impression upon first entering the building was that it was a nicely built brick building that was pretty big. Although when the students emerged it was very hectic considering they had grades six through twelve in this one school. Although they do keep the school clean and wellmaintained. The students are packed together and there is not a lot of room in the hallways for the students to put away their backpacks and meet up with their friends to walk to class.

It is so hectic in the hallways that they have two bells per class, meaning that they have a first bell which signals the eighth through twelfth grades to go to their lockers and their next class. Then the second bell rings which signals the sixth through seventh grades to go into the halls and the eighth through twelfth to be in their classes. The atmosphere is during passing periods is hectic due to all the people and loud and hurried because people

are trying to hurry to their classes and talk to their friends at the same time. b. Emphasis on Basic Skills. i. There is evidence all over the halls and in the classrooms of the students' progress in writing. It is readily available when it is asked for students in the class I was in were all pretty much tier 2 kids who needed help and they worked in small groups to get that help. These students kept binders in which they had daily projects and vocab words and other activities which showed their progress throughout the year. ii. Appropriate mediation is provided to students who have not demonstrated mastery of the skills. This school believes largely in inclusion so during the first half of my teachers school day she taught small groups of student about math, reading, writing and low level reading class which needed more help than her high reading class. These student were tested into these class which they completed accordingly to in the mornings. One student in particular had to stay in the classroom for all four classes because he needed help in all the areas. They always got those classes done with in the mornings so that they career center students could attend them and career center. iii. Then during the second half of the day the teacher I shadowed went into an inclusion classroom where the student all had the same lesson but on some days she would help a group of student and the other teacher would help another group. On other days she would invite anyone who wanted

extra help to come to her classroom where they would sit and work on it in their little group. She never just called for her students she always allows the students to decide who goes with her and who stays. Although if one student needed to go and didnt she would pull them aside and in private tell them that they needed to come with her when she asks who would like to come. This was so that no students were singled out and hung out to dry in front of the class or other students. c. Frequent, Systematic Evaluation of Student Learning i. Student learning is monitored through tests and assignments. They take ISTEP tests that record their progress yearly and give them a little taste of the exit exams so that they know what to expect. They are tested a lot and are required to pass the GQE to graduate high school. When I was observing I participated in a conversation among the teachers where they were complaining about a test that was not recorded. The IMAP test, which is a multiple choice test that the students take on the computer to give them a taste of ISTEP and doesnt really count towards anything and is in the teachers minds pointless and gives their students hopes up because it is easier than ISTEP because it is all multiple choice. ii. When students dont make adequate progress they are put into special classes in which they work at a slower pace than the regular class. This is the class my teacher that I was shadowing taught. I really like the way that this school does special education because I believe that inclusion is the best way to go when it comes to children who do not master a

particular skill because then they can work on that skill individually but not fall behind in the class. iii. When it comes to the students work being on display there wasnt a lot in the hallways or in my classroom so much as there was work displayed in the regular classrooms. d. High Expectations i. When describing students the teachers seem to have a lot of confidence in their ability to learn. They do a lot of encouraging when the students are working on assignments and they seem to be ambitious about their ability to catch- up with their other classmates. By the students comments they know exactly what is expected of them , although they dont always do what is expected of them. They know that they are expected to have their homework done and to be in their seats before the bell rings. They know they are expected to be prepared and ready to learn when they enter the classroom. 2. Use the tables distributed in class that allowed you to compare five philosophies of education and three psychological orientations to teaching that underlie teaching and learning as explained in Chapter 4. After observing your classroom for two days, decide what type(s) of philosophies of education and/or psychological orientations best describe the situation in the classroom you observed. Construct a rationale for your choice by citing examples that demonstrate the particular orientation(s). a. After observing my classroom for two days I decided that constructivism and progressivism are the best orientations to describe the classroom because my

teacher was trying to get them to be able to decode as to help them read. She wants them to develop this knowledge so that they can apply it in their everyday lives. She requires them to be active in their learning by having their homework done and doing hands- on activities where they cut out parts of a word or write prefixes and match them with suffixes that are all cut out. She has them write on the board when they are answering question so that it is more interesting and fun. b. The teacher is not only teaching them the material but they have fun with it also. fractions and how to add and subtract them. She asks a lot of questions about how the students got their answer and explains why it is right or wrong. The teacher expects her students to be able to construct meaningful knowledge from their school experiences because she tries to make it fun and interesting as well as teaching them the skill and that is very important to these kids because they are the kids that are harder to deal with and keep still because most of them have behavioral and learning disabilities. 3. Map one of the classrooms of your second placement using the guidelines on handout HM 10.1. Explain the strengths and weaknesses of the room arrangement. Determine whether or not this room arrangement is optimal for learning and if not what would need to be changed to be more conducive to learning. Turn in the map of the room with typed responses. Will turn in map on Wednesday!! a. I believe that is a good room arrangement because there is nothing blocking the teachers or students ability to see each other or the board, there are clean walls and posters around the room to encourage a positive learning environment. The seats are in lines but it is a small class so the students all get the same

opportunities to talk. I really dont see any weakness to the way the room is arranged. I think that this is the best arrangement for this class and is very conducive to learning. 4. How is the school organized to accommodate exceptional students? Does the classroom represent diversity? Provide examples to support your answer. a. The school has two classrooms in which there are mildly disabled students and mostly learning disabled students. This school does not have a moderate special education class , they send those students to Batesville or South Ripley schools. Although they do accommodate the learning disabled children well. As I stated before the students that need a lot of help with subjects such as reading, writing and math have those classes in the mornings and they also have basic skills class that they go to which is a study hall with the special education teachers. In the afternoon the special education teachers go to inclusion classrooms where they are having regular classes such as English. During these classes the special education teacher helps the students with their work alongside a regular teacher of the subject. Then when they have an assignment she takes a group either to a little area in the room or back to her room to help them with it. When avoiding singling students out who need this additional help she just sends a general message that anyone who wants to come work on this assignment with me in my classroom can, therefore students who need help can go without being embarrassed because anyone can go with her group. When walking around the school I did not see any diversity among the cultures of the students going there, they all seemed to be of the same culture, White.

5. Arrange to interview one of your cooperating teachers. You may use the following questions to guide your interview. You may also add some other questions that you would like your teacher to answer. a. What factors contribute to you teaching this subject? i. Well, after going to school for elementary education I got a job working with LD children and helping them to learn to read. Then I went and got my Masters in Special Education because I decided that I loved to help these students improve their ability to learn and mostly read. b. What do you enjoy most about teaching this curriculum? What do you enjoy least? i. I like to flexibility of my curriculum. I dont really have any set standards that I have to go over, just to help the kids improve their reading, writing or whatever else they need help with. My least favorite part of teaching this curriculum is the paperwork like IEPs, and dealing with regulations. c. How do you select the content and skills to teach? i. Well, at the beginning of the year I give all my students a test to see where they are at in their abilities to read, and write. Then after I determine a baseline of where most of them stand I start at the most basic skill they didnt accomplish and break it down further than what regular teachers would. Having a small group of students makes this easier and more effective. I get a lot of my content from the internet or my college work. d. When do you plan?

i. I mostly make weekly plans because teaching LD children and even regular ability children can vary on what you intend to get through and what you actually do get through. So at the beginning of the year I make an outline of what Id like to do throughout the year then I break it down to months and then plan out my weeks and days. So I do a little bit of planning yearly, monthly, weekly and daily. e. Do you integrate other subjects into your program? i. Yes