Site Visit Notes

Student Name: Evelyn Montoya-Campos

Date/Site Visit Number: 07/05/16 #1

School: Glenbard South High School

Grade Level/Subject:

9th 12th / Speech

Using the space provided below, briefly summarize todays classroom experience.
Identify the Illinois
Professional Teaching
Standard(s) targeted in
todays experience.

1A) understands the spectrum of student diversity (e.g., race and

ethnicity, socioeconomic status, special education, gifted, English
language learners (ELL), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity)
and the assets that each student brings to learning across the
curriculum;
1B) understands how each student constructs knowledge, acquires
skills, and develops effective and efficient critical thinking and
problem-solving capabilities;
1I) stimulates prior knowledge and links new ideas to already
familiar ideas and experiences;
1L) uses information about students individual experiences,
families, cultures, and communities to create meaningful learning
opportunities and enrich instruction for all students.
2K) engages students in the processes of critical thinking and inquiry
and addresses standards of evidence of the disciplines;
3H) establishes high expectations for each students learning and
behavior;
4C) understands how to help students work cooperatively and
productively in groups;
6P) teaches students to develop written text appropriate to the
content areas that utilizes organization (e.g., compare/contrast,
problem/solution), focus, elaboration, word choice, and standard
conventions (e.g., punctuation, grammar);

Identify the activities that

occurred today, which
addressed the teaching
standards identified above.
Then describe what you
learned.

1A) In introducing myself to the students and asking about

speeches I noticed that many of the speeches were geared at topics
that either affected or were influenced by the students culture,
beliefs and their community.
1B) The teachers were really good in asking questions that required
answers from the students revealing if they really actually

understood what they were talking about and if they had actually
done their research.
1I) One of the requirements of this speech was that each student
had to have a personal connection to the topic matter.
1L) An example of this was a speech by one of the girls who spoke
of an organization that assists children and their parents in
Guatemala with education, language, personal hygiene, and health.
She herself is going to Guatemala after summer school, looking to
volunteer with this organization while she attends her mothers
wedding.
2K) One of the speech requirements was for students is to convince
the listener to donate to their charity or cause of choice. Each
student had to think about how to do this and come up with research
proven ideas.
3H) The teachers established clear guidelines for the students to
follow in their curriculum as well as what they expect from them in
their classroom environment.
4C) The students were from different grades (9-12) and from
different schools (Glenbard West and Glenbard South) yet the
teachers were able to match them together in a way that allowed the
students to work well together and find common ground.
6P) The syllabus and course work guidelines were clear and concise
and directed the students to complete their work first in writing and
have it reviewed so that the teachers could re-direct or counsel if
needed before the performed their speeches.

Describe the impact of the

performance activities on
student learning.

Describe any additional

activities of significance that
occurred today.

The speech preparation of research and working in groups helps the

students develop the skills to work cohesively and learn how to use
technology. Public speaking is helping them gain confidence.

One thing that I found interesting is that there was one group of kids
that did poorly in their presentations and when others were sitting
down and preparing their next presentation these kids were goofing
off and actually causing so much noise and activity that it was
impeding others. I asked the teachers what do they do when this
happens and they both smiled and said those were their chronic
trouble kids. They told me they pick their battles and at the
beginning of the session they tried to work with the parents. At the

end of it all the kids will probably not pass and it will be because
they only did the minimum work required. Ultimately like anything
in our lives, we only get what we are willing to put into it.

General comments and

observations including at
least one emerging question.

All-in-all my first day was enjoyable and the teachers and students
made it easy for me to feel comfortable. I feel I was able to relate to
the students and one of the students said, You seem like a cool
teacher. That was pretty cool. My only question is how do they
do it?! The teachers each had a group of students that they were
grading on their speeches. If we had not been there the students
would have been unsupervised. There seems to be more students
and more work that even two very capable teachers could handle yet
they seem to make it look easy, which I know it is not. These
teachers were amazing!