Acacia Chacon

EDUC 350
3-25-15
Setting and Context: Student and Classroom
Ms. Phalens sixth period social studies class is full of social and kind students. Ms. Phalen is
great at facilitating an inclusive environment which the students emulate. The class has students
of diverse abilities, personalities and interests. There are students who consistently keep the
class off task like DJ or Matthew and there are also students who actively participate on a regular
basis like Carissa or Elysia. Overall, the students are not engaged in the content and consistently
underperform by putting forth little effort in their work. However, the students are developing
great social skills and contribute to a positive classroom environment.
As a whole Ms. Phalens sixth period class has an inclusive, rambunctious and light-hearted
culture. The students vary in their level of interest, efforts and capabilities but each student
contributes to a positive and inclusive class atmosphere. There are the students who participate
willingly and consistently turn in quality work like Emma, who always aces her assignments, or
Chris who can goof off but always seems to be ahead of the class. There are those students who
contribute to the classs friendly environment like Carissa who always engages in conversations
with every student, or Elysia who is so kind-hearted and genuinely nice to everybody. Then there
are the select students who contribute to the rambunctious side of this group of students. DJ and
Matthew are very outspoken and tend to get the class off track. Charlie is quiet but still manages
to distract the class. It is a mystery to me how he manages to distract the entire class silently.
All of these diverse personalities culminate into a fun and inclusive classroom.
I feel that it is worth noting the role Ms. Phalen plays in facilitating such an accepting and
connected group of classmates. Ms. Phalen is an incredible example of a teacher who builds
relationships and emulates compassion. She spends the majority of class time connecting with
students and allowing them to connect with one another. While one teacher may be annoyed by a
class who is off task and talking amongst one another, Ms. Phalen embraces the distraction and
guides the off task discussion in a positive manner. She starts class by talking with the class
about their day and pays compliments to the students throughout the class period. I think the
students pick up on Ms. Phalens attitude and imitate her inclusive and positive demeanor.
As I have mentioned, the class is full of complex personalities. The range of capabilities,
interests and personalities is surprising because of how well these students seem to get along.
On one side of the spectrum, there is Noah, Charlie and Kaityn who all commonly lack
participation and interest in the lessons. Noah likes to participate but in a distracting manner. He
chimes in with complete disregard to who is speaking and his comments are off topic or
accusatory. Noah seems to be a bit socially inept but the class embraces him despite his

sometimes offensive commentary. Charlie is incredibly smart and can at times apply himself
well but on the whole Charlie cares very little for the class and goes out of his way to prove his
disinterest. One on one he is intelligent and kind but in the class he is distracting and
disrespectful. Kaitlyn refuses to participate at all. She demonstrates a high level of angst and
disinterest. It was brought to Ms. Phalens and my attention that she had been telling the girls
that she is harming herself and her home life is far from ideal. Because of this, Ms. Phalen
respects Kaitlyns refusal to openly participate in class. However, I have observed Kaitlyn
staying on task and completing her assignments independently. She will quietly ask me for
clarification without her classmates noticing which indicates to me that she does care about
doing well but seems to find comfort in staying quiet in an otherwise rambunctious class.
On the other side of the spectrum there are students who are traditionally perceived as the good
students. Theres Emma, Elysia and Ingrid. Emma is very connected with the class and the
school. She participates in many after school activities and always participate in spirit days. She
does not willingly engage in discussion but when called upon she always provides accurate
answers and insightful opinions. Her work is always thorough and up to par. She is kind to
everyone and stays on task more so than the majority of her peers. Elysia is a bubbly and silly
girl. She always has a smile on her face and talks with everyone, sometimes to a fault. She is
consistently engaged in the class discussions and often asks clarifying questions which the rest of
the class surely benefits from. Her work is below average but she never ceases to try and she
isnt afraid to ask questions. Ingrid can be perceived as popular. The other students comment
on how she is always on fleek which I think means stylish and pretty. She often talks about her
cheerleading and fashion. This is a minor distraction but when she isnt conversing with her
peers she stays quietly engaged. Like Emma she doesnt volunteer her intellect but when called
upon she never fails to provide an accurate response. She is a member of the Latino Leadership
club and takes pride in her Latina heritage which I think is a great contribution to the classroom
culture.
The learning environment in regards to the students and Ms. Phalen is an ideal set up. There are
only thirteen students in a large classroom. The students get along well and Ms. Phalen is great
in facilitating an inclusive learning environment. While the students are easily distracted and are
slow to accomplish tasks, they are eager to discuss both the content and outside ideas which is
great for an environment which relies heavily on discussion. The students contribute to a great
social atmosphere but lack the dedication to the learning environment and while there is plenty
of social growth going on, there is very little content- related learning going on in this class.
The learning environment could definitely use some improvement. Ms.Phalen has the desks set
up in a way that does facilitate discussion but the layout is also distracting. The desks all line up
against the walls in rows of two facing towards the center of the room. The back rows are
crammed and arent accessible. The students have to essentially climb to their desks. Charlie is
the only student who sits in the desks facing forward. I think this is to ostracize him because he
can be very distracting. He does however sit closest to DJ. The two of them feed off one another

and are a constant distraction. The students who are most engaged are seated nearest to the front.
I think that placing the more distracted students near the front may be more beneficial. The
layout of the desks also inhibits the students from viewing the great material posted on the walls.
The walls have some great content. On the front wall, above the Smartboard, are content related
site words. On the left wall are maps of the geographic area being studied, current events on the
area being studied and 3-5 essential questions for the unit. The back wall has a bookshelf with
both content-related and teen fiction books which the students are free to borrow. The back wall
also holds the students interactive notebooks and miscellaneous supplies for the students to
borrow. The right wall has large posters of Boltz standards, a poster on the relevance for
studying history, and samples of students excellent work. The walls have are a great visual aid
but the students desks face away from the walls so all of the content on the walls is unavailable
to the students.
Overall, the culture of Ms. Phalens sixth period social studies class is social, inclusive and kind
but distracted, disinterested and under-performing. The students get along very well and despite
having different personalities, interests and ability levels they all contribute to a delightful social
atmosphere which allows for engaged class discussion. However, the class is full of capable
students who choose not to put in effort or demonstrate their intellect. Very little gets done in the
way of learning in this class. I see that there is growth in the students social skills which is
important but the students consistently underperform and Ms. Phalen enables this level of effort
by adjusting the grading to give the students elevated grades for their work. I think that this
classroom environment is overall positive but certainly has its issues.