EDUC 450

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY

OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES FORM DAY ONE

Candidate: Sierra M. Wald
Date: 1/20/2015 Content Area: Social Studies
block)

Mentor Teacher: Mayumi Bryan

Lesson Topic: Causes of WWII (1st

DOMAIN 2: INSTRUCTION
APS 4: ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING HIGH EXPECTATION FOR LEARNERS
An effective teacher establishes, clearly communicates and maintains appropriate expectations for
student learning, participation and responsibility.
A. What did the teacher expect the students to learn from the lesson? How did the teacher
convey the purpose and relevance of the lesson to the students? In what ways did the
students demonstrate that they understood what the teacher expected for them to
learn?

The teacher has the standards, essential question (EQ), homework, and daily starter on the
board for when the students come into the class. They immediately begin working on the
daily starter, and after announcements, Ms. Bryan goes over the standard, homework, and EQ
with the students. The daily agenda is written on the board as well. Ms. Bryan shows a
PowerPoint reviewing US neutrality at the beginning of WWII. The students demonstrate they
are learning by completing independent practice and asking questions that relate to the
content. Ms. Bryan also helps prepare students for what she expects by giving the students a
study guide for a test on Friday.
B. What did the teacher expect the students to do during and after the lesson? How did
the teacher convey expectations for student participation and for accomplishing related
assignments and tasks? In what ways did the students demonstrate that they
understood what the teacher expected them to do?

Ms. Bryan expects the students to take notes. She also guides the notes by telling students
how much they should write for each topic. For example, Write 4 lines about one cause of
WWII. During review, she asked students to summarize in their own words the key events of
WWII. Ms. Bryan also gave specific tasks for students to complete during the lesson. For
example, Write this question in your notebooks: Students demonstrate they understand
by writing and sharing briefly before continuing with the lesson. At the end of the lesson, Ms.
Bryan has a closure activity that acts as an exit ticket for students so that she can assess if
the students have mastered the concept.

C. How did the teacher help the students take ownership of the learning (e.g., by making
the learning relevant to the students, using scaffolding, providing opportunities for
students to engage in self-assessment and reflection, teaching compensatory strategies
when necessary)?

Ms. Bryan explained to me that for the daily starter, students must write at least eleven (11)
lines in order to get a 100% grade. She uses scaffolding in her lessons, has students define
key terms, and asks students to evaluate Adolf Hitlers defiance of the Treaty of Versailles .

EDUC 450

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY

OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES FORM DAY TWO

Candidate: Sierra M. Wald
Mentor Teacher: Mayumi Bryan
Date: 1/20/2015 Content Area: Social Studies Lesson Topic: Causes of WWII (2nd block)
APS 5: USING INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES TO FACILITATE LEARNING
An effective teacher promotes student learning through the effective use of appropriate instructional
strategies.
A. What was the content of the lesson?

The content of the lesson focused on the causes and key events of WWII.

B. What instructional strategies did the teacher use during the lesson?
Ms. Bryan used monitoring, relating events to students lives, reviewing vocabulary in order to
aid in understanding, questioning, retelling, and hand signals. After a long weekend (1/14 was
the last time they were in class), Ms. Bryan did a review of the content from the last class in
order to help students understand the new material.

C.

In what ways did the teacher vary the instructional strategies during the lesson, and
why?

Ms. Bryan allowed students to individually define certain key terms after the daily starter. A
lot of review was done in order to get students engaged in learning. The students then shared
their thoughts about specific topics.

D. What evidence suggests that the instructional strategies were or were not- effective in
terms of promoting student learning and success?

Students were not very motivated to work during the lesson. Ms. Bryan had told me before
the class started that 1st and 2nd block could be difficult, i.e. unmotivated, noisy, inattentive,

et cetera. Although Ms. Bryan tries to engage students by asking them questions and trying
to make the content relative to the students lives.
After observing later classes, Ms. Bryans instructional strategies were effective in getting the
students to do their work.

EDUC 450

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY

OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES FORM DAY THREE

Candidate: Sierra M. Wald
Date: 1/21/2015 Content Area: English
block)

Mentor Teacher: Deborah Hailey

Lesson Topic: Verbs and Their Uses (2nd

APS 6: PROVIDING CONTENT FOR LEARNERS

An effective teacher possesses a thorough knowledge and understanding of the discipline so that he or
she is able to provide the appropriate content for the learner.
A. What evidence suggests that the teacher did-or did not- have a thorough knowledge
and understanding of the content? If content errors were made, did the teacher
recognize and correct them?

Ms. Hailey showed an evident knowledge of the content by her use of examples, ability to
answer questions, and enthusiasm for the topic. With many years of English teaching
experience, I have no doubt that Ms. Hailey has proficient content knowledge. On this
observation day, she did make one content error that I would attribute to a short mental
lapse. Students were to locate verbs in sentences shown on the board. One sentence read,
The boy would have liked the song, but it had been played out. Students underlined would
have liked and had been played. Ms. Hailey said that liked was not a verb in this sentence.
When students argued that in the sentence, it was being used to show appreciation or
enjoyment, Ms. Hailey told the students that like is never a verb. This small content error
most likely happened because the information given before the exercise was on helping verbs
and passive voice. In the next class, Ms. Hailey did not make the same mistake. After talking
with Ms. Hailey about her classes, she told me that the second block class is very inquisitive
and likes to think deeper on certain topics, which accounts for the classs strong arguments.

B.

What was the content of the lesson, and how did the content relate to the learners and
their learning?

The lesson was on helping, active, and passive verbs. The content is important as a part of
the 60 Day Plan that the district has implemented in order to prepare the students for the
new test, ACT Aspire. The test has significant implications for teachers and schools in the
district.
C.

How did the teacher organize and present the content in order to make it clear and
meaningful to the students and to promote higher levels of knowledge, skills and/or
cognitive processing?

The teacher showed helping verbs on the star board in the front of the classroom. She
provided students with examples in sentences. The students copied the notes into their
notebooks, and then did a short independent practice that was timed. Dr. Williams (principal)
has asked that teachers use timers more in class, specifically during independent practice, in
order to help prepare students for ACT Aspire. The students are used to the SC PASS exam
which was not timed. The independent practice was immediately assessed so that the
teacher knows who has mastered the content. The activity helps students learn to process
information quickly, as well as helps the teacher know what material should be reviewed
before the end of the class.

EDUC 450

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY

OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES FORM DAY FOUR

Candidate: Sierra M. Wald
Mentor Teacher: Mayumi Bryan
Date: 1/22/2015 Content Area: Social Studies Lesson Topic: Summarize Key Events of
WWII
(3rd block)
APS 7: MONITORING, ASSESSING AND ENHANCING LEARNING
An effective teacher maintains a constant awareness of student performance throughout the lesson in
order to guide instruction and provide appropriate feedback.
A. What was the content of the lesson?

The remainder of WWII was covered, including the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and
the surrender of Japan. Students then reviewed the war from the beginning. Topics included
countries involved, world leaders, significant events, and US actions.

B.

How did the teacher monitor student engagement, understanding and performance
during the lesson?

Ms. Bryan engaged students by allowing them to share what they thought were the most
interesting key events in WWII. If a student strayed some from fact, Ms. Bryan redirected

them to ensure students mastered the content.

C.

What adjustments, if any, did the teacher make during the lesson, and why?

Thursdays are informational text days in social studies for all grades (6-8). Ms. Bryan
adjusted the lesson to include a text that matched the topic of the lesson. Some students had
prior knowledge of the events and end of WWII, so Ms. Bryan accommodated the lesson to go
deeper in the context of the war in order to keep students engaged.

D. What types of instructional feedback did the teacher provide to the students, and how
effective was the feedback in terms of enhancing student learning?

When the students asked questions, Ms. Bryan was quick to answer as well as allow students
to share ideas and things they had reading relating to the lesson. Students summarized the
key events of WWII, highlighting what they believed to be the most interesting. The feedback
enhanced student learning by keeping them involved and motivated throughout the lesson.

EDUC 450
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY
OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES FORM DAY FIVE
Candidate: Sierra M. Wald
Mentor Teacher: Deborah Hailey
Date: 1/23/2015 Content Area: English
Lesson Topic: Test
Strategies/Preparing for the ACT
Aspire (1st block)
DOMAIN 3: ENVIRONMENT
APS 8: MAINTAINING AN ENVIRONMENT THAT PROMOTES LEARNING
An effective teacher creates and maintains a classroom environment that encourages and supports student
learning.
A. What was the content of the lesson?

Ms. Hailey covered various test strategies students can use to help answer correctly on the
new ACT Aspire test for ELA. Also, she had students practice constructive response questions.
B.

Describe the physical environment of the classroom.

The classroom is bright. The blinds are open and the lights are on. Half of the students had
their heads down and/or eyes closed, some were sitting quietly, and others were having
conversations with classmates. The temperature of the room was comfortable. The star board
is positioned where everyone in the class can see without struggling.

C.

What type of affective climate did the teacher create for the students?

Ms. Hailey tried to create a calm, yet enthusiastic environment. The class started off with a
vocabulary quiz, so some students were disgruntled. For the better part of the class, Ms.
Hailey maintained a firm control of the class flow. She did not disrupt the sleeping students,
because it would have wasted instructional time and gotten the class off task.
D. In what ways did the teacher establish a culture of learning in the classroom (e.g., by
facilitating inquisitiveness, motivating to learn, cooperation, teamwork)?

Ms. Hailey allowed students to ask questions frequently. After the quiz, I graded the papers
and passed them back out. Students were allowed to ask questions about incorrect answers
and share sentences they had written. Ms. Hailey encouraged student to do well on the test
and remember the strategies when taking the exam.
APS 9: MANAGING THE CLASSROOM
An effective teacher maximizes instructional time by efficiently managing student behavior, instructional
routines and materials and essential non-instructional tasks.
A. What were the teachers expectations for student behavior? In what ways did the
students demonstrate that they understood the ways in which they were expected to
behave? How did the teacher address inappropriate student behaviors, if any, during
the lesson?

The teacher expects students to cooperate and learn during the lesson. The students
understand that when Ms. Hailey goes to the front of the class to teach, they are to pay
attention. While not all students cooperate (i.e., sleeping, talking), Ms. Hailey does not break
from instruction to argue with students. Her students also understand that it is their
responsibility to learn the material and not Ms. Haileys responsibility to. She must make sure
the rest of the class learns and not sacrifice instructional time to deal with students who have
chosen not to learn.
B.

In what ways did the teacher maximize-or fail to maximize- instructional time?

Ms. Hailey maximized her instructional time by teaching the lesson. Anything that could take
away from instructional time was dealt with quickly. There were very few interruptions.
C.

How did the teacher manage non-instructional routines and transitions between
activities and/or classes?

Ms. Hailey allowed students to read after class or ask questions. Because I am new o many of
the students, they asked me a few questions about myself. This time took up the two or three
minutes left after the lesson was completed. Clark Middle School has a bell-to-bell
expectation that teachers follow. Instruction begins after the tardy bell and ends at the
dismissal bell.