SCHOOL OBSERVATION II

Student: Kreg Wingham

Date: 4/18/2013

School: Ivy Tech

Note: Respond to the following questions in short essay format. Retype the question and
number of the question when responding to a particular numbered item that follows.
Remember to check for accuracy in spelling, punctuation and grammar. Points will be
deducted for errors in mechanics as well as for lateness in completing this field
observation assignment.
1. Use the HM 3.1 handout to observe the characteristics of effective schools. Look for
at least four of the characteristics listed on the sheet. In several paragraphs answer the
questions under at least four of the characteristics of effective schools contained on the
handout. (10 pts.)
The characteristics related to high student achievement were both highly visible
and yet subtle in there execution so that they were not disruptive to any one facet of the
classrooms that I observed. Strong leadership, High expectations, Emphasis on basic
skills, Orderly school environment, and Frequent systematic evaluation of student
learning among others are all present within the classrooms that I visited.
Strong leadership is needed for any venture with more than one person. You can
find it in the bulletins, posters, and memos and other items scattered around the
classroom. It also shows up in letters to parents regarding parent teacher conferences.
The largest form of strong leadership that the school has are faculty meetings. These
meetings decide everything from how the curriculum will be taught to more day to day
needs.

Expectations have risen quite a lot in recent years due to No Child Left Behind act
as well as other education reforms. However, to get the best out of any student both the
teacher and the parent have to have high expectations for the child in question for the
right reasons.
Basic skills in math, reading, and writing are always needed, especially today due
to certain government mandates. Math figures and charts are scattered around the rooms,
while reading and writing are included into all areas of instruction. While these basic
skills are needed, the teachers make strides to include other areas of learning such as
science and social studies into the curriculum as well.
Another way to ensure success of there students is through an orderly school
environment. The building that was observed was clean and organized without feeling
antiseptic. The classrooms had a homey yet well organized feel and the students would
go about the campus in lines to lessen chaos with other classes.
One of the last characteristic that I observed and asked about was the frequency of
systematic evaluation of students. A students progress is noted both around the classroom
on different graphs and projects for lesser assignments, and in the grade book for larger
assignments and tests.
Overall the school I visited had all of the characteristics of effective schools
outlined in the hand out. The differing teachers had various ways they went about
fallowing these ideas, but they all fallowed them in there own way.
2. Use the tables distributed in class that allowed you to compare five philosophies of
education and three psychological orientations to teaching that underlie teaching and
learning as explained in Chapter 4. After observing your classroom for two days, decide
what type(s) of philosophies of education and/or psychological orientations best describe

the situation in the classroom you observed. Construct a rationale for your choice by
citing examples that demonstrate the particular orientation(s). (10 pts.)
The types of modern philosophical orientations that were present within the
classrooms that I observed are varied. However, the ones that stood out the most was a
combination of essentialism with several other styles thrown into the the teaching method
to make it less stifling for a grade school student.
While the main goal of the classes that I observed was to deliver a standard
curriculum in math, reading, and writing. The teachers would go out of there way to
work with a students interests and mesh that with what they had to teach. Certain aspects
of progressivism were used as well, such as active learning and participation.
Each teacher had there own ideas on how to convey a set demand that they had to
meet. The way that they went about this task showed how much variety and how fluid
the five modern philosophical orientations of teaching can be.
3. Map one of the classrooms of your second placement using the guidelines on handout
HM 10.1. Explain the strengths and weakness of the room arrangement. Determine
whether or not this room arrangement is optimal for learning and if not what would need
to be changed to be more conducive to learning. Turn in the map of the room with your
typed responses. (10 pts.)
The rooms visited during the last observation were set up for far younger students
than the first school that was visited. The classrooms in this situation were not organized
in a grid like most junior high and high school rooms, but in small four to five desk
groups.
This small groupings allowed for a better teacher to student ratio, since it allowed
the teacher and any aids to move around the classroom and interact with students much

more effectively. Due to the teaching style seen this organization works very
tremendously well and leaves certain parts of the classrooms open for larger work areas.
While this type of organization works well for this style of teaching, a more
traditional form of instruction would struggle with this setup.
4. How is the school organized to accommodate exceptional students? Does the
classroom represent diversity? Provide examples to support your answer. (10 pts.)
The school is accommodating exceptional students differently than it would in the
past. Where as before a student might be skipped a grade for continual and consistent
achievement. More recently a student would no longer be afforded that chance unless
numerous points were met.
The emotional side of development is gaining more and more attention in the
surrounding school systems, and the school that was observed is an early adopter of this
mode of thinking. A student that is exceptional would instead be allowed to undertake
more advanced or additional material to gain experience.
This form of accommodation allows a exceptional student to achieve all that they
can without limiting them in emotional ways. It also makes sure that they have all bases
truly covered.
5. Arrange to interview one of your cooperating teachers. You may use the following
questions to guide your interview. You may also add some other questions that you
would like your teacher to answer. (10 pts.)
The last part of this grouping of essays was dealing with interviewing one of the
instructors that you would meet. However, I ended up interviewing all three of the

teachers and was surprised when they answered with generally the same answers to all
questions.
When asked why they chose to teach this specific age group the answer was
always that they enjoyed interacting with this age group. Another reason for teaching
these grades was the amount of enjoyment along with the challenge there in of teaching.
The least favorite part of teaching these grades was the pressure over the state and federal
mandated tests.
Planing is both a more and less complicated system than I first thought. Each
teacher is given a series of goals and items they are responsible for meeting. On the other
hand, how they go about meeting said goals is completely up to them. Due to how the
government is pushing reading, writing, and math while letting science and social studies
sit by the wayside, the teachers have taken it upon themselves to integrate these extra
lessons into mainly the reading and writing sections.
From talking with the different instructors that I was given access to I am
confident that teaching will be an interesting and worthwhile carrier.