ED FORM 708

0210 ED

Copyright 2010. Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All rights reserved under U.S., International
and Universal Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in part or whole by any method is prohibited by law.

ALVERNO COLLEGE
SUPERVISORS OBSERVATION
OF ED 215-R Field Student

Candidate: Stephanie Falksen Check One:
1
st
Observation __X

2
nd
Observation __


Assessor: Robin Gleason Date: 11/16/11

Cooperating Teacher: Teresa Borrelli Number of Students: 19

School: Canterbury - Greendale Grade: 1 Subject(s): Reading Workshop
Planning and Preparation (AEA: Conceptualization, Diagnosis
WTS: 1,2,3,4,5,7 DISP: Respect)
Evidence (Candidate)
Plans instruction appropriate to students stages of development and
learning styles.
Plan includes a motivating opening.
Activities and materials are well chosen.
Plan reflects use of an effective theoretical model, such as Holdaway,
Cambourne, Vygotsky, etc.
Plan encourages student progress and engagement.
Plan includes adaptations for students with specific needs and learning
styles.
Questions are planned in advance.
A meaningful closure concludes planning process.
You planned an interactive read aloud lesson using Owen, to
focus on teaching children to make text-self connections, an
objective very appropriate for this time in first grade. The lesson
was a continuation of learning about how to make text-self for
the children. The plan reflected a theoretical model by including
demonstration, participation, practice, and performance. You
also included a strong introduction and closure. The whole plan
kept the focus on the learning objective. You planned an
introduction in which you were going to state the lesson
objective and connect it to prior learning. You also planned to
state why making text-self connections is important for the
children to be able to do. You planned to include information
about the author and a brief statement of the theme of the book.
In your plan, you scripted out what you were going to say,
particularly in the demonstration part of the lesson. This is so
extremely helpful for you to rehearse the language you are
going to use when you actually teach the lesson. You included
specific page numbers for where you planned to stop to
participate the children in their learning. You planned to have a
majority of the time spent on the children actually
reading/practicing making connections followed by performance
and closure/recap. Your plan included a list appropriate
strategies for meeting the varying needs of the children in your
classroom.
____Inadequate ____Emerging __X__Proficient ____Distinctive





ED FORM 708
0210 ED

Copyright 2010. Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All rights reserved under U.S., International
and Universal Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in part or whole by any method is prohibited by law.
Classroom Environment (AEA: Coordination, Integrative Interaction WTS: 1,2,3,4,5,6
DISP: Respect, Responsibility, Collaboration, Communication)
Evidence (Candidate and Student)
Offers explicit praise to students.
Teachers and students connect to one another by smiling, sharing and
helping.
Respects each child as an individual.
Supports students as they work independently and collaboratively.
Manages transitions efficiently.
Effectively uses resources and curriculum materials to develop the ideas
being taught.
Manages student attention by engaging them productively in learning
experiences.
Clearly communicates expectations and procedures for behavior and
assignments.
You interacted easily with the students and called on them by name. You
used a variety of both verbal and non-verbal cues to maintain focus and
to transition the children from one aspect of the lesson to the next. You
used the pair/share strategy to engage all of the children in the
participation part of your lesson. You even established the pairs right at
the start of your lesson. You also made sure that the children practiced
making connections on books at their own developmental reading levels
another great strategy for maintaining a productive and engaging
classroom learning environment. You circulated around the room to
confer with the children as they were reading independently. In each
case, you got down to the childs level to listen to and/or prompt their
thinking. You used music effectively to transition the children back to the
rug for the performance and closure parts of your lesson.
Just a few tips:
You clearly set the expectations for behavior for the practice part of the
lesson. This group of children seems to need these types of reminders
on a regular basis. Clearly establishing expectations for behavior at the
start of lessons may help to set the tone. Making sure to follow-up when
you say, eyes up here, or listening ears, or flat bottoms is important.
Wait until you see that all of the children actually do have their eyes and
ears on you before you continue on. The children certainly responded
well to you. Dont be afraid to use some of that teacher voice or to
reposition certain children to maintain student focus throughout. In
addition, make sure that when you are circulating and conferring with the
children to position yourself so that you are always able to look out at the
entire class. Before starting to confer, its important to scan the room as
a whole to make sure that everyone is on task. When finished with one
conference, take one second to scan the whole class before moving on
to the next child. Make sure to frequently circulate among all of the
children in between conferences.
____Inadequate ____Emerging __X__Proficient ____Distinctive
ED FORM 708
0210 ED

Copyright 2010. Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All rights reserved under U.S., International
and Universal Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in part or whole by any method is prohibited by law.
Instruction (AEA: Communication, Coordination, Diagnosis,
Integrative Interaction WTS: 1,2,4,5,6,7,10
DISP: Respect, Communication)
Evidence (Candidate and Student)
Demonstrates knowledge of content throughout delivery.
Presents content in developmentally appropriate ways.
Consistently demonstrates enthusiasm.
Models and supports active listening, discussion and thoughtful
responses in reading, writing & speaking.
Challenges and supports student thinking by using:
o different types of explanations
o various levels of questioning and discussion techniques-Blooms
Taxonomy
o techniques that repeat and/or extend student responses
o a variety of modalities (visual, auditory, kinesthetic)
Focuses student attention on lesson objectives.
Actively engages students in meaningful learning and keeps them on
task.
Adapts plans as needed.
Varies role in instructional process (instructor, facilitator, coach,
audience) in relation to content, purposes of instruction and needs of
learners. (Holdaway Model, etc.)
Is respectful of cultural and gender differences.
Relates learning to students previous learning and/or to students
personal experiences.
You got the children into partners and told them you were going to read
Owen by Kevin Henkes. You gave some background knowledge about
the author and made a connection to other stories the children have
heard by him. You gave a clear statement of the lesson objective and
made another connection to prior learning. You also used some visuals
(a paper chain and finger motions) to further illustrate/define a text-self
connection. After you stated the theme of the book, you provided a think
aloud demonstration of your own text-self connection. You then invited
the children to participate by sharing their own text-self connections with
their partner. You read the text clearly and with the appropriate volume,
tone and expression, holding the book so that all the children could see
the illustrations. You effectively incorporated the use of actual vinegar to
illustrate that particular vocabulary concept The children were, for the
most part, quietly listening to the story. You stopped a few times while
reading and used generic questions to prompt the children to make text-
self connections with their partner. After reading, you demonstrated how
to use post-its to mark your connections in your book. You easily
accepted the childrens responses during the reading. You then set the
expectations for the children to practice during their independent reading
time. During the practice time, you varied your role and became the
coach to the children as they shared their text-self connections with you.
You prompted them, as necessary. You were able to confer with a
majority of the children during this practice time. However, during this
time, there was varying engagement of the children in the actual
reading. You played some music to call the children back to the rug for
the closure of your lesson. For the closure, you asked a few pre-selected
children to share their connections and you praised them for the great
job they did. This was great as you selected children who really
demonstrated their use of the strategy. Then, you stated again why it is
important for children to be able to make text-self connections.
Your lesson was focused, Stephanie. However, I noticed that you
referred to your lesson plan at times while you were teaching. This
interrupted the flow of your lesson. As you gain experience and
confidence, you will lesson your reliance on your written plan. You also
confused fiction with non-fiction in your explanation to the children. (This
point was a last minute addition to your plan.) The confusion resulted, in
seems, in some children making connections to their non-fiction books in
their book bins more tricky and less meaningful text-self connections.
____Inadequate ____Emerging __X__Proficient ____Distinctive






ED FORM 708
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Copyright 2010. Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All rights reserved under U.S., International
and Universal Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in part or whole by any method is prohibited by law.


Assessment (AEA: Diagnosis, Integrative Interaction WTS: 1,2,3,7,8,9
DISP: Reflection)
Evidence (Candidate and Student)
Provides feedback to learners (oral and/or written).
Focuses the students attention on the process of learning rather than
just getting the correct answer or finishing an activity.
Assessment relates directly to objectives.
Students self assess (oral and/or written).
Assessment was well chosen for lesson content.
Uses information from lesson and assessment in planning of future
lessons.
Reflects on own performance in relation to student learning and WI
teacher standards.
You provided positive verbal feedback to the students. You used a
checklist on a clipboard (all ready to go) to record student behaviors during
your one-on-one conferences with them. This was a very appropriate
assessment for this particular lesson. Think about how you will use the
data gathered from this assessment to plan for future lessons. You also
incorporated the beginnings of some student self-assessment during the
performance/closure part of your lesson, by asking them, How they think
they did. (Indicated by thumbs up, etc.)
Another aspect of assessment is in relation to feedback. Its important to
provide specific feedback to the children. This involves stating clearly what
they did well in relation to the lesson objective and then stating what they
need to do to improve even more. (A powerful praise and a teaching
point.) You did some of this as the individual children were sharing their
connections during the performance part of the lesson. This is really
where the role of the teacher shifts to being a coach.
You thoroughly analyze your lessons in relation to the WTS and the AEA.

____Inadequate ____Emerging __X__Proficient ____Distinctive
ED FORM 708
0210 ED

Copyright 2010. Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All rights reserved under U.S., International
and Universal Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in part or whole by any method is prohibited by law.
Professional Responsibilities (AEA: Communication, Integrative Interaction WTS:
1,2,6,7,9,10 DISP: Respect, Responsibility, Reflection, Collaboration, Communication)
Evidence (Candidate)
Demonstrates professionalism through timely completion of work for Classroom ____
Seminar ____
Demonstrates professionalism through regular attendance, arriving on time. School
____ Seminar ____
Relates professionally and effectively with students, cooperating teacher____,
staff____, and supervisor ____ (including initiating conversation, and problem solving).
(Social Interaction at Level 4)
Completes self -assessments, reflecting on planning and implementing of lessons.
Is willing to give and receive help.
Demonstrates Effective Citizenship by attending a school/parent event and completing
an accompanying log.
Actively participates in seminar by offering ideas, sharing materials and supporting
peers. (Social Interaction at Level 4)

You are professional in your interactions with your CT, your
students, your colleagues in seminar, and with your supervising
teacher. You demonstrate responsibility in completing your
assignments on time, although your recent outside obligations
affected the timely completion of coursework of late. Up until the
third lesson, you did a great job of submitting your lesson plans
early to obtain feedback and then incorporating that feedback into
your plan. (Again, outside obligations interfered here.) You easily
share your ideas and experiences with your colleagues in seminar.
____Inadequate ____Emerging __X__Proficient ____Distinctive

Additional Comments: Stephanie, you are taking full advantage of this field placement. It is clear that you are learning so
much from your CT and your field experience about effective literacy teaching. Your lesson was well prepared and well
executed, given your tight schedule. Your thorough analysis clearly tied your lesson to the theory and identified areas for
future growth. Your cooperating teacher certainly is impressed with your level of development at this point in your program.
Nice work!

















ED FORM 708
0210 ED

Copyright 2010. Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All rights reserved under U.S., International
and Universal Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in part or whole by any method is prohibited by law.
Overall Performance: ____Inadequate ____Emerging __X__Proficient ____Distinctive