EDUC 450

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY

OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES FORM DAY ONE

Candidate: _Jordan Canty
_
Anthony
Date: __8/31/15__ Content Area: ____Math
Value______________

Cooperating Teacher: _Mrs. Chedra

_ Lesson Topic: ______Place

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?

During this lesson the teacher taught the students how to write a six-digit number in
expanded form. She introduced this lesson by explaining to the class that everything is
made up from smaller things; So just as a house is made up of smaller portions of wood,
cement, glass, and bricks; a big number is made up of a cluster of smaller numbers. The
students showed Mrs. Anthony that they understood the lesson by answering questions
related to the topic correctly, as well as doing well on their independent practice
worksheet.

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?

During Mrs. Anthonys lesson students were expected to be attentive, quiet unless a
question was asked, and sitting crisscross on the floor or at their desk. After the lesson
students were expected to work diligently and quietly on their independent practice
worksheet at their desk. Prior to instruction Mrs. Anthony reminded the class of what
type of behavior she expected and the type that would not be tolerated, like walking
around without permission, or talking while shes teaching. She also asked plenty of
questions related to the topic, to see whether her students retained the information.
Seeing how the majority of the class followed Mrs. Anthonys instruction during her
teaching, it showed that they understood what she expected from them and they made
sure they followed through.

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 selfassessment and reflection, teaching compensatory strategies when necessary)?

Mrs. Anthony makes sure that the students first understand why theyre learning what
theyre learning. This way students can relate the information being taught to real life
experiences. Once they realize that whats being taught can be related to other
occurrences they tend to pay more attention. But before she tells them why the lessons
important or relevant, she allows them to say why they think the lesson is relevant to
real life.

EDUC 450

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY

OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES FORM DAY TWO

Candidate: ___Jordan Canty________ Cooperating Teacher: ___ Mrs. Chedra Anthony _
Date: _8/31/15_____ Content Area: __ELA____ Lesson Topic: ___What is the theme?
______
*Mrs. Anthony was absent on 9/1/15.
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?

Today Mrs. Anthony taught an ELA reading comprehension lesson on determining the
theme in a story. The first thing she did was ask the students if they knew the definition
of theme, or if theyve heard that word before. This way she could access their prior
knowledge. Then she expanded on what they already knew.

B. What instructional strategies did the teacher use during the lesson?
Mrs. Anthony used a plethora of instructional strategies during her teaching. Since part
of the lesson included reading a story she had them do choral reading as a class. This
promoted student engagement, as well as ensuring her that the students were paying
attention. Another instructional strategy Mrs. Anthony practice, was inquiry-guided
learning by asking open-ended questions, promoting deeper thinking.

C.

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

It is typical in any classroom for the educator to lecture to his or her students. In Mrs.
Anthonys lesson she makes sure that she encourages student engagement and

interaction by varying her instructional strategies. Her instructional strategies varied

from her having the students read aloud together, to chanting, modeling, and prior
knowledge activation. The reason why she varied her instructional strategies is simply
because not every child learns the same way. She must differentiate her style of
teaching in order to reach auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners.

D.

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

Her instructional strategies were overall extremely successful. The overall success of a
teachers instructional strategies directly correlates with student engagement. If a
visitor were to have walked in during Mrs. Anthonys lesson they would come to the
conclusion that she knows what shes doing. Its because of how attentive and accurate
they were when answering questions.

EDUC 450

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY

OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES FORM DAY THREE

Candidate: ___Jordan Canty
_____
Cooperating Teacher: ____ Mrs. Chedra
Anthony__________
Date: ___9/2/15___ Content Area: __Social Studies __ Lesson Topic: __SC regions
______
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?

From my observation of Mrs. Anthonys lesson on the South Carolina regions, I couldnt
find an instance in which she did not know what she was talking about. Mrs. Anthony
has taught for 19 years and it shows in her teaching and her knowledge for the content.
When she was informing the students of the six regions and their characteristics she
wasnt referring to a textbook or notes, because she knew the content by heart. She was
also able to thoroughly answer any questions posed to her.

B.

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

learning?

This lesson was a Social Studies lesson on the geography of South Carolina, specifically
the six regions. Considering that all of the students are currently living in South Carolina
it is important that they knows the geography of their state. Mrs. Anthony also made
sure that they understand why each region is named what theyre named, as well as the
characteristics. She gave every student a South Carolina map for them to label with the
regions and main cities so that they can be more familiar with using a map and
recognizing the cities. By showing students the importance of relating the taught
content to real life situations, students are more willing to pay attention to the lesson.

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?

Mrs. Anthony always expressed the importance of preparation and order to me in

previous conversations. The first thing Mrs. Anthony did was display a large size map of
South Carolina. She then labeled the six regions on the map and wrote characteristics of
each region on the whiteboard in which the students copied her notes. Afterward she
handed them a smaller version of South Carolina and had them label accordingly. The
overall presentation of her lesson was smooth and simple. She already had all materials
out and was able to access them effortlessly. She even took her lesson farther by giving
the students various locations (ex. Beach, mountains, swamps, forest) and having them
guess the appropriate region by accessing a deeper level of thinking, and previously
taught information.

EDUC 450

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY

OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES FORM DAY FOUR

Candidate: __ Jordan Canty _____
Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Chedra Anthony______
Date: __9/3/15___ Content Area: ___Science____ Lesson Topic: ___Types of Rocks
______
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?

Mrs. Anthony did her science lesson on the three main types of rocks: sedimentary,
metamorphic, and igneous rocks. Her lesson correlates with standard 3.E.4: The student

will demonstrate an understanding of the composition of Earth and the processes that
shape features of Earths surface. So by learning the basics like the different types of
rocks and their characteristics, Mrs. Anthony is setting a strong foundation so that she
can expand on it later in the year.
B.

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

Mrs. Anthony monitored student engagement by adjusting her teaching methods to fit
the needs of her students. For example when the students seemed burned out or
uninterested in the information being taught she would ask a question to spark their
interest or tell them something fascinating to motivate them to get back on track. By
asking interesting, topic related questions, Mrs. Anthony was able to see how they were
thinking as well as get them refocused on the lesson.

C.

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

Mrs. Anthony made a few adjustments during her lesson due to lack of involvement and
engagement. At one point her students became easily distracted and became diverted
from the instruction. Science is a subject that the class struggles with the most, so it
was vital that Mrs. Anthony had some form of physical interaction with the lesson. Since
the topic was on rocks it was only necessary for her to bring in a rock that fits into one of
her categories. By allowing the students to see and interact with the rock they got back
on track and became more 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?

Mrs. Anthony did ask for the students to rate their familiarity with the different types of
rocks on a scale from 1-10 based off of the lesson. A majority of the students rated in the
7-10 range. She then asked if she were to give a test on the different types of rocks who
believes that they would pass a majority of the students said yes but there were a few
who said that they wouldnt be comfortable enough to be assessed on the information
quite yet. Even though Mrs. Anthony had no intention of giving out a test, she still asked
the question to get feedback on where the students are on the topic.

EDUC 450

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY

OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES FORM DAY FIVE

Candidate: __Jordan Canty

___

Cooperating Teacher: _Mrs. Chedra Anthony______

Date: __9/4/15__ Content Area: ____Math

(Place Value) ____

___ Lesson Topic: __Largest/Smallest

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?

Today Mrs. Anthony taught a math place value lesson on how to create the largest and
smallest number out of a given set of numbers. She did this by giving them a set of
numbers and having them create a larger number using the given digits as well as a
small number. After that she went over their numbers and found the largest and
smallest number that the class came up with and compared it to the smallest/largest
number that could be created from the digits she gave.
B.

Describe the physical environment of the classroom.

Mrs. Anthony has a pretty well-kept classroom. She enforces rules that keeps the
students from cluttering their area and the classroom. They understand that a
classroom can be a safety hazard if not taken care of properly. The room is very
spacious and open so there is room for various activities and classroom interactions.

C.

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

Mrs. Anthony has done a great job creating an open, warm classroom environment.
Regardless of what went on at home before school, students come into Mrs. Anthonys
classroom smiling and eager to interact with one another and Mrs. Anthony. Mrs.
Anthony has a good balance of being both amicable and firm. Students know that if they
dont understand something that theyre always able to ask Mrs. Anthony for
clarification; but they also know that she has no trouble enforcing the rules so they tread
lightly.

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)?

Mrs. Anthony promotes learning by encouraging inquisitiveness. She wants her students
to think profoundly and ask questions that prose more questions. Asking questions
benefits both Mrs. Anthony and the students. It helps her because shes able to see
what they dont understand, and it helps the students because it shows them that it is ok
to ask questions.

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?

Students were told of the type of behavior that would be tolerated in the first week of
school in Mrs. Anthonys class. Students know to be quiet unless spoken to, raise hands
for permission to get out of their seats, have all of the needed material for the lesson,
and dont have their materials laying all over the place. During all of Mrs. Anthonys
lessons the majority of her students were engaged and following the rules. Students
raised their hands when they needed to use the restroom or if they had a question, they
were silent unless told otherwise, and made sure they had the needed materials for the
lesson out on their desk. There were a few times in which Mrs. Anthony had to
appropriately address a disruptive student either by sending them back to their seats or
take away certain privileges.
B.

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

Mrs. Anthony used every second of the given time for instruction. She made sure that
she was able to cover all aspects of a lesson some of which were the anticipatory set,
the guided practice, independent practice, and the closure. The fact that she took time
out to prep for her lessons were evident because of how smooth her lessons proceeded.
She did not take a lot of time out to address minor issues, instead she did it quickly and
continued with her lesson.
C.

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

Just as Mrs. Anthony established classroom rules, she also discussed the classroom
routines that the class will go by for the year. Some of the routines are associated with
early morning warm up, lunch preparation, and the overall flow of traffic in the
classroom. She did such a good job establishing the routines that she doesnt even have
to remind the students what to do in certain situations, they already know what to do so
they just follow what theyve been taught.