ED 300

1st Teacher= Bridgett, Ott

1st Observation:
1. Do you work with other teachers to develop lesson and unit plans? Why or why
not?
2. Do you work with other teachers to review test scores?

3. Do you involve parents and others in student learning?

4. Do you think that working with parents is beneficial?

Mrs. Ott says that she like to work with teachers when doing a lesson plan.
She usually works with the teacher across the hall from her. She tends to
work on the same lesson as the teacher across from her. Mainly because if a
student is taken out of her class and moved into Mr. Fricks class across the
hall. The student will be able to study the same history and not be behind in
his or her studies. Mrs. Ott usually goes over the test scores herself simply
because she has a better idea of her students that any other teacher. She
does not involve parents in student learning. She tells me that she might
bring in another teacher to maybe help a student get a better grasp on an
item, but she feels very confident in her teaching ability. Mrs. Ott also
believes in getting a parent involved so that she can get a better
understanding of his or her home life. This will allow her to better adjust
herself to the student.

2nd Observation:
1. How did the teacher use different ways of teaching to teach the lesson?
2. How did the teacher ask questions that led the students to think or figure
out concepts on their own?
3. How did the teacher use the students' prior knowledge/ understanding to
help students understand the lesson being taught?
4. Were the students allowed to demonstrate their understanding of the
lesson material? If so, in what ways did they demonstrate their
understanding?

5. Did the teacher use assessment information to design the lesson?

Mrs. Ott used many different methods of teaching. She used powerpoint
and went through many different slides. She also would question the class
while going through the slides. She uses many different examples of lessons
taught in the past classes to help the students better understand the lesson
being taught. She is very active with her students. The students were
allowed to ask questions on certain points, and the teacher was able to give
understandable answers. Mr. Ott seems to know the material she is teaching
very well. She clarifies certain events in history that the students were
confused on. Mrs. Ott even passes around different graphs and pictures to let
the students get a better visual of what items were used in the colonial
period. She uses past test grades to change her method of teaching for
certain students to help them understand the subject easier.

: 3rd Observation
1. What types of formative and summative assessments do you use to gauge
learning?
2. How important is it to make sure assessments are not bias to some
students?
3. How quickly do you return assessments results to the student?
4. Have you had to make accommodations for disabilities or English
language learners?

Mrs. Ott has at least one exam per chapter and two if the chapter is really
big. She makes the quizes short and sweet. She reads the questions aloud to
the class to make the students feel more comfortable. She makes sure that
all the students have complete equality. She tries her best to get tests back
to her students with two days. She has had to make accommodations for
english learners. She has bilingual students surrounding the english learners
so that the english can do better in her class.

4th Observation:

1. During the lesson, did the teacher adapt the lesson based on the learners
understanding the lesson material?
2. If there were English learners in the class, did the teacher try to assist
them to understand in ways that would help their English speaking skills.
3. Did the teacher include a global perspective of the lesson material?
4. Did every student receive an opportunity to contribute to the class?
5, Did the teacher use effective verbal and nonverbal communication that
demonstrated respect for each student?

Mrs. Ott started off the class testing the students on what they already
knew on the different pieces of legislature. There were not any english
learners in this class. After going over the material with them she tested
them vocally. After the test, she went over the test questions and answered
any questions the students had. Soon after going over the test Mrs. Ott had
the students come up in front of the classroom and recite quotes that the
students were suppose to pick out. Then she pulled up a video on the world
wide view of Boston during the American Revolution. The students had to
give their own opinion on their view of the American Revolution. She shows
respect for each student, and each student seems to respect her as well. She
did not talk down to any of her students and did not show any sign of
frustration towards them as well. The class then started to work on another
assignment. This assignment made the students list the advantages and
disadvantages of the thirteen colonies. The class was eager to participate in
this assignment because Mrs. Ott always made her lessons enjoyable.

5th Observation:

1. Do you participate in professional development? How and why?

2. Do you find that reviewing test scores, project evaluations helps you improve on
teaching? Explain.
3. What types of safeguards do you have in place to make sure students are using
technology safely?

Yes, she participates in professional development. She goes to different things

that help her in her ability to teach history. Mrs. Ott believes that if 80% of the

classroom fails a test she takes the tests back and goes over it with her students. If
only a handful of students fail the test then she understands that it was the
students fault for not studying unless they have a legitimate excuse. The County
blocks most of the bad sites that students could get their hands on, but when her
class does have laptops out. She tends to stay at the back of the room so that she
can keep an eye on every students screen to make sure that they are doing the
assignment.

6th Observation:

1. Does the teacher present the lesson material in more than one way?
2. Does the teacher encourage students to "figure things out?"
3. Does the teacher help students relate concepts they understand to new concepts
being taught?
4. Does the teacher appear to use different resources to make sure the material is
comprehensive and accurate, or does she teach from the textbook?
5. Does the teacher require students to read and comprehend material on their
own?

Mrs. Ott presents the lesson material in many different ways. The first way
involved a game that tested their current knowledge on the subject. The game
involved all of the students moving to the front of the room . After they moved to
the front of the room they were asked a question and if the student got the question
right. The student would choose someone to either sit down or pick another student
to receive a question. This encouraged everyone in the class to try and answer the
question. Mrs. Ott then passed their chapter 3 tests. She does not teach from a
textbook. She also made everything very easy to grasp even for her english
learners. She continues to roam the classroom during the test to make sure that no
one is cheating and to answer any question they may have. She does not require
students to read and understand material on their because that is why she is there.
Mrs. Ott is there to help any student that may be having trouble.