Classroom Observation

Assignment 4.1

By Andrew Keane

November 23, 2016

TED 606

Instructor: Dr. Foster

National University
 Abstract

In this classroom observation I examined Mr. Zink a 11th grade United States history

teacher. The diversity of Mr. Zink’s class is a good representation of the diversity of the schools

population. Zink used differentiated instruction to meet the needs of the diverse class population

and students with special needs. Differentiated instruction is a framework, which allows teachers

to adapt to the needs of students. I also observed how Zink engaged students in verbal and

textual acquisition activities. Zink was able to execute a detailed lesson plan and at the same time

have a lesson plan that could be adjusted and flexible to students needs.
 Observational learning is learning through observation and is a very important tool in

education. Educational psychologist, Albert Bandura, stresses the importance of learning by

observation because reinforcement occurs with good modeling. Students can learn behaviors and

what to do and what not to do by observing the behaviors and responses of their peers and

teachers. A good model does not have to be an example of a correct answer or a positive

behavior; a good model can come from an example of what not to do or how not to behave. As a

student I must agree with Bandura, observation is greatly beneficial for me and is completely

necessary for my educational experience.

I graduated from Palm Springs high school and now I am back substitute teaching while I

earn my teaching credential. Palm Springs high is also the site where I participate in classroom

and professional observation. It is really interesting observing teachers who where my teachers. I

never thought that after I graduated from high school that my high school teachers would still be

teaching me. What is even more interesting is that I am now watching my teachers as a critic and

not necessarily a student. My US history teacher in 11th grade was Dennis Zink and now seven

years later I am observing him as a teacher and analyzing not what he is teaching but how he is

teaching.

I observed Zink and his 11th grade United States history college prep class one hour a

day for an entire week for a total of 5 hours of observation. The student population of Mr. Zink’s

class was a good representation of the general population of the school. The chart on the next

page is Palm Springs High School SARC report card for 2011-2012 school year.
Group Percent of Total Group Percent of Total
Enrollment Enrollment
Black or African 7.60% Two or More Races 0.60%
American
American Indian or 0.90% White 30.90%
Alaska Native
Asian 2.30% Socioeconomically 67.00%
Disadvantaged
Filipino 5.90% English Learners 29.40%
Hispanic or Latino 51.70% Students with 6.30%
Disabilities
Native Hawaiian or 0.20%
Pacific Islander

The following chart is a representation of the diversity in Mr. Zink’s class. There are 38

students in Zink’s US History class and if you compare the diversity of this class to the schools

SCAR report card you can tell that the class is a good representation of the average class

diversity.

Groups Number in Class Groups Number in Class

Females 20 Hispanic or Latino 17
Males 18 Pacific Islander 0
African Americans 3 White 10
Asians 2 Two or More Races 2
American Indians 1 Socioeconomically NA
Disadvantage
Filipino 3 Students with 3
Disabilities

While observing the classroom I paid special attention to how Mr. Zink interacted with

the students and how he adapted his teaching to met the needs of all the students. Mr. Zink has a

fairly diverse class. There are also three students in his class who have learning or social

disabilities and I would have never known if he didn’t point them out to me. He incorporated

every student in the class as a whole and at the same time he was able to address every student
individually. When a student didn’t understand Zink would modify his instruction or even

assignment so that the student would benefit from success. Zink was a strong believer and good

model for differentiated instruction, he told me “it is important that when you are teaching you

are teaching for success but at the same time you need to push the students to achieve higher

academic goals.” According to (Banks, Pg. 250) usually “students who did receive a program of

differentiated curriculum or instruction, special education usually meant a separate education in

segregated classrooms and special schools isolated from the mainstream of education.” Zink was

able to use differentiated instruction to include the entire class in every assignment and provide

the opportunity for success for all levels of students. I must agree with Mr. Zink, I believe that it

is important as a teacher you never give an assignment to a student that they can’t succeed in and

if they are having trouble with success it is crucial that you modify the assignment or instruction

in order for the student to have success.

In my time observing Zink’s class I noted the different activities, which engaged students

in verbal and textual language acquisition. The first example of an activity engaged students in

verbal acquisition. In Zink’s lectures he would provide a good out line of historical concepts with

support from primary and secondary sources as well as pictures combine on a PowerPoint

presentation. As he presented the slides he would give his history lecture. Often in the middle of

his lectures he would stop and provide a lecture discussion question. He would ask the entire

class a question and then give them a minute to discus among each other or with a partner. Then

he would ask different student to discus what they concluded with the rest of the class. It was

important that during the lecture Zink gave time to the students to discus concepts of the lecture

this ensures that students are paying attention and it helps reinforce information, which increases
retention of information. Discussion question in a lecture also allow students to participate and

interact with the lesson.

The second activity is an example of textual language acquisition. Mr. Zink assigned a

few pages in the book to read which included some primary source documents. Then Zink would

assign five short answer questions. While students working Mr. Zink would walk around the

class helping students individually. If students ran into trouble during the assignment Zink was

able to personally assist them so they were able to complete the assignment. Also while Zink

walked around the class he was able to keep students on task. Before the assignment was turned

in Mr. Zink had a few students read their answers out loud to the class and held a little

discussion. The next day in the first five to seven minutes of class Zink gave the short answers

back to the students corrected and as a class they went over the correct answers. I really like the

idea of using short answer questions that combined knowledge of multiple concepts to engage

students in critical thinking. It is also important for a teacher to make themselves available

during individual text assignments so students get the help and attention they need to be

successful.

The final assignment is an example of Verbal and Textual language acquisition. Zink had

the students get into groups and read a primary source document together and then answer follow

up questions. After that Zink showed a video clip related to the source document. Then the class

discussed the video clip. Finally they answered questions individually and discussed their

answers within the group. This assignment used both verbal and textual language together to

explore historical concepts. The students reacted well to all the assignments but this assignment

was the best of both worlds. Students did not have to be asked to stay on task as much and the

groups were almost self-sufficient and ran them selves. This assignment also gave Zink the
ability to guide individual students and groups through the assignment. It was amazing to see a

well diverse student population work together to obtain common academic goals and a teacher

who gave attention to those who did not understand and needed assistance.

According to (Banks, Pg. 49) the goals of a multicultural education approach “are to

reduce prejudice and discrimination against oppressed groups, to work toward equal opportunity

and social justice for all groups, and to effect an equitable distribution of power among members

of different cultural groups.” I felt that after observing Mr. Zink that he was able to teach to all

levels of student with out cultural bias. Zink class was well diverse and he was still able to

connect to the students as a class an as individuals. He accomplished these strengths by using

differentiated instruction, which allowed him to modify lesson and instruction to the needs of his

students. He was also successful with connecting to the diverse class by organizing group

projects that put students in groups that were a mix of culture, socioeconomic status, gender, and

race. Students worked together to accomplish an academic goal and it didn’t matter who was in

your group. What mattered was accomplishing the task.

 References

Banks, James A. & Cherry A. Mcgee, (2013). Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives.

Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

The IRIS Center, Differentiated Instruction, Retrieved August 3, 2013, from Vanderbilt Peabody

College, http://www.iriscenter.com/di/chalcycle.htm