Wyland Oyama

9/21/2015
Field Self Report

Strengths:

At the beginning of class I went over some of the expectations that I have for how I
would like students to behave while I teach. I believe this sets students up for successful

relationships with me as their teacher while I establish myself as the leader

During the jeopardy game, I had a good mentality of wait times before I had the students

answer the question and after the students had answered.

I continued to adjust the jeopardy game but adding the chance to gain points if a team did
not guess the correct answer

Weaknesses:
1. Tough a portion of this involved the expectations of the students to do study work
beforehand, many of the questions in the game were too hard for the students.
2. I didnt clarify with Ms. Boggs what all they had gone over in terms of prior knowledge
for what they learned at the beginning of the year
Constructive Suggestions:
1. There could have been hints made into the game for the individual questions. This would
give the students some benefit of the doubt when answering questions for the game.
2. I could have worked with Ms. Boggs on the game, or let her see the questions first to help
build the prior knowledge into the jeopardy questions.
Wyland Oyama

9/22/2015
Field Self Report

Strengths:

I did a lite review before the test to help prepare students for some of the more complex
test questions. This also allowed the students to get in the right frame of mind before

being assessed on the test

Much of the classroom management was well thought out before the class had started.
When the students were finished with their test the were to work on a cell worksheet in
the back of the room so that there could be a quite space for the students still working on
the test.

Weaknesses:
1. I didnt have the students remove things from their desk before I had them start on the
test
2. I didnt fully explain the parts of the cell worksheet and had to answer a lot of questions
while they were completing the activity.
Constructive Suggestions:
1. If I started out with a bell-work slide, I can put this kind of information on it so it reminds
me to tell the students of my expectations
2. There could either be clearer instructions right on the worksheet or I could put it in slide
form like with weakness #1
Wyland Oyama
9/23/2015

Field Self Report

Strengths:

I used a lot of different media in the lecture to help get my point across like a ted-ed
video, worksheet and a lot of pictures to help transition some of the information from

inferential to manifest.
I made sure to do a retention check at the end of class to help put some of the information
into the students long term memory. I also did this as a fairly impromptu act which
allowed me to better use the information they had and take more opportunities that
presented themselves as teachable moments.

Weaknesses:
1. I noticed during the lecture that there were some students who were either not listening or
putting their head down while I was talking.
2. I didnt know the names of the students so it made it difficult to call on them for
questions or call them out for misconduct.
Constructive Suggestions:
1. In these types of situations, I feel like the best preventative strategy is to jump on the bad
behavior before it becomes inferred that acting like this is acceptable or inconsequential.
2. Using strategies like foldable name tags for the desks or the popsicle stick method can
help to learn the students names faster.
Wyland Oyama
9/28/2015
Field Self Report

Strengths:

The classroom management has been pretty good up to this point, and the kids are very

receptive in adopting my views of how I would like to run my class.

As some students entered the class late, I didnt call them out or shame them in front of
the class. Instead I gave the entire group a few extra minutes so the late students had time

to catch up on some of the work.

I asked the students to compare an organelle to a family member, and took some time to
hear an answer from everyone so that I can show some care for their personal lives.

Weaknesses:
1. I felt very ill prepared for some of the work that I had planned to do for the class, which
made me feel like I had to fill up the time.
2. I let a lot of students out to get their books from their lockers; which apparently is not an
acceptable practice for the school.
Constructive Suggestions:
1. Try to aim for adding an extra activity if necessary, so that you complete everything you
want to complete while having a backup plan for extra time.
2. Take home one of the schools rule books to make sure I am up to date with the expected
policies and procedures.
Wyland Oyama
9/29/2015
Field Self Report

Strengths:

This was the start of the microscope lab, so I made sure to give extra time and extra
instruction on safety and proper behavior around the expensive microscopes and

equipment that we were using.

I made sure to have the students reiterate the instructions to me for validation of the

expectations. This acted as a retention check.

The students worked in pairs which added the benefit of the social component to
education.

Weaknesses:
1. I found myself giving answer through long worded explanations rather than allowing the
students to experiment and find out for themselves.
2. Though there was a microscope diagram at the front, a lot of the students didnt know
how to really operate a microscope.
Constructive Suggestions:
1. Asking higher order questions and allowing the students to discover the information
through probing will help them work out the questions themselves.
2. Put a slide on the board or show a video that will explain how to use the slides so that I
can be free to continue to walk around and help individual groups.
Wyland Oyama
9/30/2015
Field Self Report

Strengths:

I made sure to devote some time at the beginning of class to clear up some
misconceptions from yesterday about how to properly use microscopes and how to prep a

slide.
Today I was much more affective in using the students names, showing that I am

compassionate and that I care about their education.

I allowed the students time to work in their groups on the organelle activity that would be
due tomorrow (after they were done with the lab)

Weaknesses:
1. Not having bell-work or a unifying activity for the class caused the group to be a little
disjointed.
2. The time at the end of the class was used by some students as free time to slack off and
chat with their friends.
Constructive Suggestions:
1. Adding bell work alongside the time to improve lab safety and preparation can get the
whole class on the same page.
2. If I assigned specific sections of the classroom to the groups the students may have been
less likely to travel to their friends to waste time.
Wyland Oyama
10/1/2015
Field Self Report

Strengths:

Even though just about every group had started working on the organelle activity in the
10 minutes I gave them at the beginning of class, I still held the students accountable for

the activity.
I gave every student a grading rubric for the activity so that each member of the class had

some weight in the students grade.

I helped the students improve their grade and feel like things werent hopeless by
providing a few extra credit points for the groups who volunteered to go first.

Weaknesses:
1. Many kids in the groups were talking during other presentations about how they were
going to execute the activity
2. I had to play the class by ear because the groups didnt effectively convey information
about their organelles.
Constructive Suggestions:
1. If I gave the students more time and provided constant reminders, the groups may have
been more prepared without feeling the need to talk during presentations.
2. While I did well using the misinformation as a teachable moment, I could do a midtimeline check for what the groups had planned on presenting.
Wyland Oyama
10/2/2015
Field Self Report

Strengths:

I made sure to include a quote with a life lesson into the bell-work this morning. It was a
good way of connecting to the students through my own life experiences and fulfilling a

certain personal expectation in my teaching

I used a Bill Nye video to go back over the cell and its organelles. I didnt allow the

misinformation in the organelle activity to hinder learning.

I used an interactive group activity to help get students involved hands-on with cell
membrane curriculum.

Weaknesses:
1. Students didnt actually complete the Bill Nye video worksheet while the movie was
going on.
2. There wasnt enough discussion and retention of the proteins and structures in the cell
membrane activity
Constructive Suggestions:
1. If I had clarified that the worksheet would be turned in after the video, the students may

have been more engaged in the activity.

2. I could definitely have a printed sheet of paper that included procedures for the activity as

well as a discussion question set to check for retention afterwards.