REDG 604: Adolescent Development, Learning and Assessment Clinical

Experience Double Entry Journal

Nichelle Grage
Caledonia High School
Teacher: Becky Breeser

Journal:
1) Observe:
Reflect/Apply:
2) Observe:
Reflect/Apply:
3) Observe:
Reflect/Apply:
4) Observe:
Reflect/Apply:
5) Observe:
Reflect/Apply:
6) Observe:
Reflect/Apply:
7) Observe:
Reflect/Apply:
8) Observe:
Reflect/Apply:
9) Final Reflection:

Hours:
Credit for 20 pervious hours working in the school
5/09/16: 2 hours
5/10/16: 2 hours
5/11/16: 3 hours
5/16/16: 2 hours
5/17/16: 2 hours
5/18/16: 3 hours
5/23/16: 2 hours
5/24/16: 2 hours
5/25/16: 2 hours
5/31/16: 2 hours
6/01/16: 7 hours
6/02/16: 2 hours
6/03/16: 2 hours
Total: 53 hours
5/10/2016
Advanced Geometry
1) Observe: Teacher behavior that reflects understanding of the
developmental characteristics of a focus student. Description of
student cognitive development and its variations.
As I observe Mrs. Breeser I notice that she always tries to address
every question that is asked and turn it into a learning opportunity. She
tries to pay more attention to those students that need a little more help,
and asks them directly if they are understanding the material that is being
covered. She uses names to call on them so students that clearly
understand the material cant just jump in and answer. Several students
that need the extra help are allowed a few extra days on homework, or may
get shortened assignments with specific problems circled to focus on.
Student cognitive development is focused on how they process information
and think, its the development of how they reason and think about the way
they are doing their problems. It seems that Mrs. Breeser is very aware of
the different variations of development, Ive noticed in some classes the
pace is much faster than other classes, and that they try to put students in
classes that have similar learning capabilities. Mrs. Breeser also breaks
things down into steps to work through it bit by bit instead of throwing a big
problem at them and letting them try it as a while. Understanding how your
students are thinking when it comes to a problem and seeing where they are
getting stuck helps to determine what the next days activities might be.

Reflect/Apply:
As a teacher you need to be very aware of the different levels of
cognitive development. When it comes to planning classes and the
curriculum its important to know what kind of students you have in your
class, this will help determine the pace and how much material you may be
able to get through in a year. Some students will be able to catch on to
material much faster, and some will need to spend additional time on it in
order to understand. As a teacher it can be very frustrating when it comes
to getting through material, once class may end up ahead of the other one,
and one class may need to take a few extra days to go over material. The
worst thing you can do as a teacher is go fast through material just to make
sure you cover it because then the students arent getting anything out of it.
You need to let them process the information, think about it, and be able to
ask questions. Its also important to pay attention to how your students are
thinking, and observe them working to be able to see if they are struggling.
If a student stops working and isnt answering homework problems anymore
theres a good chance they got stuck on a problem and dont want to
continue on because they dont think they will be able to do any problems
past that point. This aspect of looking at their way of thinking interests me
because you can tell a lot about where a student is at when it comes to
math. If you look at the steps on a student work and they are having a hard
time doing factoring, you certainly arent going to move them on to
completing the square. There is so much more to teaching then lecturing,
and checking the answers on tests. You need to understand your students
to the extent that your teaching method is beneficial.

2) Observe: Instructional strategies that reflect levels of student

cognitive development.
In class the teacher makes sure to always begin the day with
questions from the day before by going over homework and asking what
numbers students may have missed. She will then write down the problems
to go over as a class and review. Sometimes there isnt many questions,
then she may just pick a few problems to do to make sure they review the
content of the day before, before moving on to new information. Each
student, even though they are in the same grade, may be at different levels
of cognitive development, so she make sure to use a very broken down
process as she teaches her units. As they do problems she makes sure to
ask the class what they think she should do next, and ask the question
Why? a lot. Some students dont need to answer this question, but some
students really want to know why they are doing something in a math
equation instead of just being told, Thats just how you do it. For
example, some students get mixed up as to why the vertex of a parabola
can be pulled form a certain formula, other students want to be shown why
it works that way, and how to solve it a different way also to gain a better
understanding. The teacher will also have built in study days that allow
students who understand the material to use it as a review for the upcoming
test, and let students who may need a little more help, or remembering how
to use a formula get that assistance, without having a hard time raising their
hand and being afraid of asking a question. When it comes to math she also
makes sure to not just tell a student they are wrong when they are asked to
put a problem on the board, she will analyze it and go through step-by-step
looking to find where the student went wrong, and why they may have did
what they did. When it comes to math, there is a right and wrong end
result, but the though process of getting to that end result can vary from
student to student, and so when analyzing work its important to see how
they came up on their answer so you can explain to them where they went
wrong. Before observing and actually thinking about cognitive development
I didnt realize how much you actually think about that when you are
teaching. These students brains all think differently, and you can observe
that when you look at how the students do their problems.

Reflect/Apply:
As stated before I had never thought about how cognitive
development can really affect your classroom. All the students are
developing at different rates and are able to think in different ways, and this
effects your teaching strategy and how fast you can go through a new topic.
I really liked how Mrs. Breeser has built in study days that allow other
students to catch up and ask questions. As a teacher you wont be able to
wait several days to have all students catch up, but you can try your hardest
to get them caught up a little bit each chance you can. Math is highly
dependent upon what you learn the day before, so if students need extra
time to understand something its hard to just move on because you dont
want those students to turn off their minds because they are already having
a hard time. In math its hard to understand the way every student is
thinking, but the nice think about math is there are many ways to do
problems that you can try to teach the different methods, and then let them
pick which one makes the most sense to them. This is one way of
understanding that minds dont all think alike. For example, when it comes
to quadratics, theres four methods to learning how to solve them, factoring,
graphing, completing the square, and the quadratic formula, teaching the
whole class all 4 and letting them pick which one they prefer for the tests is
a great way to figure out how they each process information differently.
When grading tests, the end result, the solution, is usually only one point,
and they get most of their points from showing their work so the teacher can
see how they came upon their answer. Thats why in math its important to
stress that students show their work, because sometimes one little error in
their thought process will throw off the whole solution, and if a teacher can
see this, she may just have to have a discussion with the student about
adjusting their thought process a little bit to get the correct solution in the
end. At first I didnt think much about cognitive development, but I came to
find we really do think about that in the classroom, especially when we teach
the different methods to do problems, and look that the processes the
students pick when it comes to problems.
3) Observe: Student developmental characteristicschoose one
male and one female.
Male:
a. Physical
The male I observed is going through a growth spurt, Ive heard talk
about how short he was last year. Hes starting to get facial hair and
looks very scruffy. Hes also seemed to pick a style, he dresses in all
Under Armor sports clothing, he may be one of the football
players/athletes of the school.
b. Cognitive
This student doesnt seem to care about the class too much, he just
wants to know the easiest method to complete the problem and
doesnt really ever want to go through the work. He always just wants
the answer and wants to move on to the next topic. He doesnt want
things explained to him, he just wants to solution. When he completes
his work he also doesnt go by the steps, he just tries to do the final
step to get the answer instead of thinking about it as a whole.
c. Social/Emotional
This particular male seems like hes fighting to be the popular kid and
the one who wants all the attention. He speaks out a lot and tries to
make jokes whenever he can. If he is having a bad day it seems like
he tries to make up with it by making people laugh. To him one of the
most important things isnt his grades, but being the class clown and
liked by everyone.
d. Moral
This student pushes the limits each day and tries to get on the
teachers nerves. He doesnt seem to care if the teacher tells him to
stop, he still tries to get a few more words in. Hes potentially failing
the class but doesnt seem to see how that will affect his future. He
doesnt think he will ever use this in life, and just talks about how he
wants to go outside instead of being in school.
Female:
a. Physical
The female student that Im observing dresses in basketball shorts and
a sweatshirt every day, her hair is always in a pony-tail and doesnt
seem to be too concerned with perfect hair or make-up like some of
the other girls. She plays sports and seems to be really into those.
b. Cognitive
This student asks a lot of questions and seems to really want to know
why they are doing what they are doing when it comes to problems.
She wants to understand every step, not just learn how to do it the
easiest way. Shes always asking the question why, it seems like shes
really trying to understand the reasoning that comes to Math.
 c. Social/Emotional
A few days ago you could see this student in a very good mood, and
other days it seems like she was having a hard time. As a high school
girl there are a lot of factors that can change how your day is going,
friends can be mean, you can have boy issues, you may do poorly at a
sports game. Emotions seem to be running high.
d. Moral
This student seems to know right from wrong and doesnt push the
limits too much in class, she may talk a lot but stops as soon as she is
asked to. It seems like she knows what respect is and knows to
respect follow classmates, teachers, and other workers at the school.

Reflect/Apply:
I found it very interesting to observe specific students and try to
understand why they were doing what they were. From what I observed I
came to find some girls take their learning much more seriously than the
males. They seem to want to get their work done quick and efficiently in
order to work on other homework after. The girls talk about how they have
sports games and dont want to have to take homework on the bus. The
males however, dont do anything in class, and will come the next day with it
not completed either. They are more into throwing pencils, trying to make
wads of paper into each others sweatshirt hoods, making fun of each other,
and being the class clown. Ive always heard the saying that girls mature
faster than boys, and in these particular classes thats very true. The girls
will laugh at the boys behavior but in the end they turn around and try to
pay attention and get their work done, where the boys will continue their
behavior. I also want to note that this isnt always the case, there are girls
that act out as well, but Im stating that the majority in my observations are
the males. This can also be a challenge in a class, you have to take into
consideration that the males and females will not be at the same levels
developmentally. This is where the behavior start to flare up, the boys think
its funny when the girls start to laugh. In conclusion, I think all the
students are trying to find themselves and figure out who they are. High
school can be a very rough time for the students and its important to be in
tune with each of these developments so you can try to understand your
students when they come in and are having a bad day.

4) Observe: A diverse student (racially, socioeconomically,

culturally, etc.). Describe classroom engagement, behavior, interest
in content, and academic achievement that may be impacted by
language, culture, and family.
In todays class I observed a diverse socioeconomic student. It is
observed that this student comes from a low-class home, and perhaps
doesnt have the same kind of support that other students may have from
their parents. In class this student acts out a lot, doesnt raise his hand,
shouts out, and seems easily distracted. His behavior is significantly
different than the other students, and it escalates as the other kids laugh at
what he is doing. The student is currently not passing the class, however
not by lack of knowledge, more just because he doesnt apply himself. If he
answers questions in the classroom he gets them right, and seems to know
the material by thinking out loud, but never has his homework done, doesnt
try on tests, and doesnt answer questions on quizzes. In class, he doesnt
seem to be all that interested even though it seems like he knows the
material. As they were starting a new unit and she was asking them if they
had seen any of the material before he was answering questions about what
they were leading up to, and seemed familiar already with the new content
that was being presented. Some days in class he will be focused and pay
attention more than others, it all depends on the mood of the other
classmates as well, if there is a lot of side talk going on he seems to feed off
of that which causes his behavior to be worse. Almost every day he is asked
if he wants to stay in the classroom or choose to leave because of how
disruptive he is. He always chooses to stay and quiets down for a while, but
then 15 minutes later he comes up with something new to be disruptive,
whether its shooting the ends off mechanical pencils, trying to type with his
feet on the calculator, putting his hair in a bunch of pony tails, talking in an
accent, or getting up out of his desk 20 times to throw away tiny pieces of
paper every 2 minutes. From this it has to be noted that this teacher has an
extreme amount of patience to deal with this kind of outbursts, and still get
through a lesson.

Reflect/ Apply:
Sitting in this class observing this student was quite interesting. It
seems like he is almost bored with what they are doing, because he already
knows it so he just feels like he doesnt need to do the work because he
already understands, but what he doesnt get is that he is failing the class
because he isnt doing anything. It amazed me how much the laughing of
the other students made his behavior escalate, the more people laughed and
looked his way, the more things he decided to come up with to try to do.
However, on certain days you could see that his behavior was affecting the
moods of certain classmates and that they were getting frustrated with him
and that they just wanted to learn, get their homework, and do the work. I
think it would be interesting to see if he acts like that in all of his classes, or
if it just depends on which classmates are in the classroom with him. Its
interesting to know that he has a non-caring home life, so that carries over
into the classroom. So based on what its like at home reflects how he acts
in the classroom, he doesnt seem to think anyone at home cares about him,
so he doesnt care about himself, school work, or getting good grades at
school. I wonder if it would make a difference if he was in a class that really
interested him, or if all of his classes are just a joke to him, and that his
main goal is to just make his classmates laugh. This particular student sits
in the back of the room, so I happened to ask the teacher if she had ever
tried putting him in the front, and she said he was for a short time, but he
took that as an opportunity to be the center of attention. Meaning, his
behavior was worse, and it distracted the class more because then everyone
in the room could see what he was doing, which disrupted more people than
it did in the back of the class. From watching this, Ive learned that its
amazing what difference one student can make in your class, especially
when he feeds off of the giggles and laughs. Of course, maybe that also
reflects his home life, maybe it makes him feel good to be able to make
someone laugh when at home he feels like nobody cares. As a teacher its
important to understand where students are coming from, but also
important to understand that just because they may have rough home lives,
it doesnt give them an excuse to act out and be disruptive. We have to try
to put a stop to that behavior right away, and make sure we try to continue
on with our lessons regardless.

5) Observe: Identifiable artifacts of the classroom management

plan.
a. Describe the room arrangement.
The room is arranges in rows of 6-8 desks. The teacher assigns
a seating arrangement and tries to separate some of the students who talk a
lot. She also makes sure that students sit close to the front of the class
room and leaves the desks in the back (if any are left) empty. After she
takes attendance she has the students move forward to fill any empty desks
from absent students. She has a SMART board and a whiteboard in the front
of the room. She usually puts notes on the SMART board and then works
side problems on the white board. Her desk is at the front of the room in
the corner by the board facing the students so if she has work to do they
can go up and ask questions, and she can see hands if they raise them.
b. Identify the classroom routines and procedures
When class begins the first thing she does is puts a problem on
the board for the students to start working on. While they work she then
takes attendance, asks them to get out the previous days homework, and
then walks around and makes sure they completed it. She doesnt collect all
the homework because with math theres daily homework and thats a lot to
grade. So instead of collecting as she walks around she looks at it and gives
them a score on a scale 0-10, where 10 is completed and done, and 0 is
didnt do it at all. If the students show their work, do every problem, and
make sure to be to class on time and start the beginning of class problem
they get a 10 easily. After shes done the class goes over the problem on
the board, she usually picks a student to try it or she does it herself, and
then proceeds on to the lesson. In the room is the SMART board and a
whiteboard, she prefers to do notes on the SMART board so she can save the
notes for any absent students. As they take notes she makes sure to ask
questions to make sure students are understanding, and gives them time to
do problems silently and then go over as a class. If the lesson goes fast
enough she then gives them an assignment and allows for work time at the
end of class. At the beginning of the week she highlights the weeks events,
letting them know of upcoming quizzes, tests, and assignments.
c. Identify rules and consequences.
In Caledonia Public Schools everyone gets an iPad for school,
they download books on the iPad instead of buying books for all the kids.
However, some of the kids get distracted with their iPads so she tries to
make rounds making sure the kids are only doing math on the iPad and not
surfing the internet on non-school related websites. If they get caught not
doing math on their iPads she gives them a warning, then takes it away for
the rest of the class hour. If theres a student that has an issue with
remembering to stay off the internet and not focusing on math she can take
the iPad away for the remainder of the day. In high school there is also the
cell phone and texting issue, so shes also on the lookout for phones, they
are supposed to remain in the lockers until the end of the day. So just like
the iPads, they can also be taken away for different amount of times,
depending on how much the student is caught with the phone. Mrs. Breeser
also ask students to leave who cant stop talking and are disrupting the
other students from learning, they are then escorted to the office and have
to work independently in the office. For the most part, after a few warnings
the kids quite down and work hard, some days are more productive than
others.
d. Identify strategies used that incorporate teaching of social
skills, motivate students and address misbehavior.
Mrs. Breeser makes sure to ask lots of questions to check for
understanding as she teaches her lesson. She will teach some of the lesson
and then put a problem on the board to let them work on, and then go over
it in class together to see if they all understand, or if there are still
questions. Students hate getting in front of the room, possibly just out of
fear of making a mistake, however, she calls on them sometimes to come up
and do problems. This allows her to see some of the common mistakes that
might be made from the students. Some of the motivation in this school
system comes from students getting to leave at the end of the day at 2:30.
If students have all their work done, and no missing work, during the
advisory period which is 2:20-3:00 they then get to leave early instead of
staying to do work. Many students use the time to work at the end of class
wisely in order to get their assigned homework done so they can leave at
2:30. When kids start misbehaving in the classroom, she addresses it if
needed, however, sometimes she just ignores it until it stops. It depends on
the severity of what is happening, if its just a student trying to bug the
teacher, she doesnt respond, however, if its disrupting the whole class then
the student is asked to leave. Threatening to take an iPad from the student
usually makes them quiet down and pay attention.
Reflect/Apply:
With this being my first week observing I wasnt quite sure what to
expect. In the high school I didnt think there would be too many behavioral
problems, assuming, since they are older kids they should know how to
behave. However, in these math classes there are some students that feel
the need to talk a lot and try to be the class clown. You can tell when a
certain group of friends are all in the same classroom because they are
constantly trying to yell across the room at each other and making eye
contact and side comments. I was surprised at how well ignoring the
behavior can work. It was interesting to see how the teacher just didnt
respond and eventually the tapping, coughing, and distractions stopped.
However, when some students are being very disruptive they were asked to
leave when it started to affect the learning of the other students and you
could tell others were being distracted by the noise. I think its hard when
theres a group of friends in the classroom because they feed off of each
others behavior and think its funny. As a teacher Im coming to realize you
have to pick your battles and make sure you only address when needed and
have a strict policy on what is and is not okay, students will try to push your
buttons, but they will get bored if you ignore it.
In Caledonia Public Schools all students get iPads, they use these for
books instead of students actually carrying around books. While I think
technology is a great tool I am starting to see it can be very distracting for
students to have iPads. Some just cant stay off the internet and seem to
get very into the iPads and zone out on what is being taught that day in
class. Since I sit in the back of class I can see what they are doing on the
iPads, however, the teacher in the front of the class has no idea if they are
on the internet not doing what they are supposed to be doing, or if they are
actually following along on the book app. Technology can be a very useful
tool, however I think there needs to be a definite time to use it and a
definite time when it needs to be put away. Another issue, is when they
have to do worksheets or work on the iPad and then the battery runs out it
prevents them from getting work done. I also see when the teacher goes
around to check work they will say their iPad is dead, so its up in the air if it
is actually dead or if they are just saying that because they didnt complete
the assignment. The teacher also uses a SMART board to take notes on so
shes able to save them and give them to students who are absent, I like
this a lot so nobody has to copy down their notes to give to another students
so theres no extra work for them, and then they can get them right away
the next day and get caught back up as soon as possible. Personally, I think
I need to work a little more with technology and figure out exact ways that it
can be helpful, when to use it, and when not to use it. For math technology
can really help those visual learners see things, however its important to
not just turn to technology and learn to graph thing yourself as well.
Another teaching strategy that I noticed and liked is the not collecting
homework for grading and just checking for completeness. I think that the
more a teacher collects the more she gets overwhelmed, and if they only
collect a few homework assignments here and there and the kids dont know
when they will be collected it forces them to get them done. I would
perhaps look into a homework Friday collection, and then be able to look at
them over the weekend to see where students are at and what topics or
problems may need to be addressed again. In class, she also makes sure to
ask questions to make sure the students are following along, as a teacher
you can get carried away with writing on the board and not know if youre
going too fast or if some kids have missed something. Asking questions
allows quick checks to see if you need to stay on a topic or move along to
the next one. Writing on the board every day gets boring for students, so
she tries to make sure she allows group activities and tries to let them get
out of their desks. One particular activity I liked is she had stations for the
kids to go around to, each station had a problem they had to do, and the
groups had to make it to each station and complete the problems. Students
seemed to really enjoy this and like getting out of their seats. The more
they can interact with problems and work more hands on where it seems
more fun for them, the more they will learn because they enjoy the activity.
I also think its important for them to work in groups because they can learn
a lot from working with and helping each other.
Overall, Im starting to realize how much goes on in a class room and
how much side stuff goes on while youre trying to teach. A teacher is only
one person, so its extremely hard to have eyes on everyone all the time. I
think its important to make sure youre watching your class but its
impossible to catch everything going on, especially in those classes that are
packed and have 33 students. There are also many questions and not
everyone goes at the same pace, so its important to find a pace that isnt
too fast for the slow learners, but fast enough where the quicker learners
dont feel bored. Im starting to see how much planning and organizing goes
into teaching and how much extra stuff you have to deal with on a daily
basis. The stack of papers to be graded grows, and you only get 1 prep
hour, so all grading has to be done after school at home. After all of this I
am still excited to begin my journey as a teacher and take on the extra
hours. It may be frustrating at times, but teaching is so rewarding.

6) Observe: Identifiable classroom management strategies the

teacher uses that illustrate the teachers classroom management
philosophy.
 In the classroom the teacher makes sure to always have something for
the students to work on so they dont get the chance to start talking. Every
day they also have a routine which allows the students to get into the class,
sit down, and automatically start doing what they are supposed to do
because they know whats next. The teacher also has a zero-tolerance for
students who try to disrupt the class, she will give them a few warnings
otherwise, doesnt hesitate to send them out of the class. However, if its
something minor she doesnt seem to let it get to her, she forces students to
stay in class if its not disrupting the whole class, she doesnt give them an
out. Ive also observed that she does a great job at not acting negative or
annoyed, her tone doesnt change too much when addressing disruptive
students, she makes sure to stay neutral and positive so the student doesnt
get any joy from upsetting her. When students arent taking notes or
paying attention, she makes sure to use their name and remind them that
they will need these notes for the assignment and how it will benefit them to
take the notes and pay attention, anything past that if they dont take notes
its their own fault, and their own grade theyre hurting. The teacher also
does a great job at keeping the students engaged by asking them questions
and using class participation. Sometimes, she will even call on the students
that arent paying attention so they have to be forced to try to answer it,
this is also a reminder to them to focus and try to stay on task. Another
observation about her tone and staying positive is you cant tell if there are
any favorite students or students that bug her at all, she makes sure to treat
them all equally and make sure each student starts fresh each day and gets
the chance to behave and stay in class.
Reflect/Apply:
From observing this class I have come to learn it can take a lot of
patience and self-control to not lose your cool. Students will test your limits
and push you just to make their classmates laugh. Keeping a steady tone
and not acting upset will cause the behavior to sometimes stop because they
get bored. At the start of the year I think its important to write up and post
a classroom management plan so the students know what their
consequences will be, and they know that there will be strict rules for
disruptive behavior. When it comes to behavior I think its important to
address the behavior that starts to come in the way of other students who
are trying to learn. However, much like the Mrs. Breeser, its important to
pick your battles and let some things go, just for the sake of continuing on
the lesson. In larger classes, there will always be someone who is not
paying attention, or trying to cause a problem, and if you try to address it all
you may never make it through a lesson. In the case of keeping certain
students under control I think its a great idea to think about where they are
sitting and who they are sitting by, sometimes its nice to put them in the
back so other students cant see what they are trying to do, and sometimes
its better to put them in the front of class so you can keep a good eye on
them. I really like to positive outlook that this teacher has, she always tries
to keep the same tone and give each student a chance to change their
behavior each day, she doesnt seem to hold grudges, and seems to believe
that each student has the ability to do great in class if they just apply
themselves. Another interesting thing Mrs. Breeser did was to make sure
she used names when she was addressing students. This made what she
was addressing more personal, and there was no confusion about who she
was talking to. I think something I need to think about is what my
classroom management philosophy might be, I honestly havent put too
much thought into it. I think as a new teacher we think that we will get
perfect classes that are all eager to learn, but we need to be prepared for
not only the curriculum and lessons, but how we will address behavior and
keep our classroom under control. I have been in a classroom where the
teacher basically has no control of the class and they walk all over them. In
these classrooms nothing gets accomplished. Each day needs to be
productive, and I believe that starts with knowing how to control your class.

7) Observe: Identifiable instructional strategies that address student

learning styles, multiple intelligences, and performance modalities.
a. Identify examples of student strengths used as a basis of
growth.
In the math classes Ive been observing certain students seem
to respond well to the booklets she puts together for them to take notes in,
especially the geometry classes, she will have pre-drawn shapes in there to
help keep their notes organized. As soon as she saw that they liked these
she started making them more for classes because it seemed to help the
class as a whole instead of just students that have a hard time taking notes.
She also observed that students like when they go over assignments
together so they can ask questions on problems they had issues with the
night before, so she started reviewing the assignments at the end of the
day. A lot of her teaching style comes from the feedback from the students
and asking them how they learn best, and then she tries to accommodate
them as much as possible. Some students also learn a little quicker, so if
they want the assignments ahead of time she gives it to them so they can
try to look it over to see what the next day will bring, however she still
makes them take notes and pay attention during that time of class, the early
assignments are for if they want to review it for the next day. In a big class
its hard to accommodate everyone, however she tries her best to keep
everyone on board with the lesson.
b. Identify student errors as an opportunity for learning.
In a particular geometry class that I observed I came across that
there is a wide variety of students in that class. Some students understand
the assignments right away, and others have several questions. At the
beginning of class as the teacher goes over problems she will ask how many
students got certain questions wrong and then do those problems on the
board. Asking the class as a whole to say if they got a question wrong helps
eliminate the issue of students being afraid to raise their hands on their own.
A couple times students have asked questions, you can hear other students
moan because perhaps they got them right and wanted to move on. When
the teacher asks as a survey it helps her to understand what types of
problems or sections the class is struggling with. As working through
problems she encourages students to try to find where they made the error
in their work so they can see what kind of mistake they made. Some
students try to erase the whole problem and all their work, and then they
never see what type of mistake they made, sometimes it can be such a little
error that they dont need to erase the whole problem. In math its
important to learn from your own mistakes to make sure you dont make the
same mistake on all the problems of that type.
c. Describe instructional strategies observed that foster self-
esteem.
In class Mrs. Breeser encourages students to speak up and talk
about what they got for a solution. As students answer she will use phrases
like, Thats an easy mistake., Im glad you did that so we can all see what
happens from a mistake like that., or I make that mistake all the time
too. It seems like she tries to take each mistake and put it into a learning
experience so the student doesnt feel bad for making such error. If teacher
doesnt do this, and the student feels like they had a dumb question, they
may start to never want to ask questions again. Mrs. Breeser does a great
job at getting her class to talk, even students that dont say much she will
walk by and look at their work and make them go put the problem on the
board that she knows is right so they can have a little bit of a confidence
boost. When students get questions right she also lets them know they did
a good job, and praises them for doing a good job. In math classes the
content can get very challenging, so its important to notice when students
are struggling and help bring them up.
d. Describe instructional strategies observed that foster
positive interpersonal relations among students.
On certain days during the weeks she will have some sort of
activity that allows students to work together and help each other out. Part
of this working together is sometimes she will pick the partners so they
arent constantly with the same person every time. By letting them work
together it allows them to get out of their desks and interact and ask each
other questions and see how their fellow student may complete problems.
In math there are many ways to do some problems, so the teacher may do
one way, and students may have a way that works for them, so letting them
work together lets them share these way and learn from each other.
Sometimes they work together on assignments, sometimes its an activity
that allows them to get out of their desk to move around and have to do a
math scavenger hunt to see where the problems lead them. As students
work together they learn cooperation, problem solving together, strategy,
and communication. All of these aspects are important outside the math
classroom as well. Sitting in a desk all day gets long, so thats why she tries
to switch it up and let them do things that doesnt involve sitting, the
students also respond well to this as well.
Reflect/Apply:
In class its important to be in tune with how your class is doing and
what they need to be successful. I find it great to constantly be asking for
feedback from them so you get a feel for if your method is working. Stude
nts will not learn at the same pace and in order to see that you have to ask
them questions as learning checks. I really liked the booklets she gave out
for notes, the kids seemed to be really excited to have pre-drawn shapes to
write formulas on and draw lines. For some of the messier students its a
great way to keep them organized. Something I would be rather concerned
with when it comes to learning styles is how to accommodate everyone and
make sure they all get what they need. I dont want anyone to be left
behind, but I think its hard to plan to accommodate everyone, especially
when you have such a large class. I found it amazing how she responded to
questions and answers and how she always tried to turn them into learning
opportunities if they were wrong answers or simple questions. The
important thing is making sure that your class feels comfortable asking
questions and are able to raise their hands and not feel like they will be
ridiculed for a dumb question. Part of this job would be making sure you
understand kids at the start of the year to try to see what they need to be
successful. Ive heard some teachers have no idea that kids have IEPs or
EBD students, so they never knew that they needed extra help. As a
teacher you need to know each and every one of the students well enough
to assist them to be successful. The last thing Mrs. Breeser did as she
taught was made sure she stopped and asked if there were questions, she
didnt just teach the whole lecture and then ask for questions at the end
since sometimes they would forget questions, but she made stops to check
for understanding along the way. As I observe longer I start to realize just
how much can go into a lesson plan, and how it wont always go as you
planned. Some days your students will come in ready to learn, and some
days they wont want to do anything and be very disruptive. You need to be
ready for anything that comes your way.

8) Interview the teacher.

a. What is the role of the subject matter in student learning?
The subject matter and standards are the main focus in most of
what we do in student learning. Everything we do revolves around that, so
it is the main role in all lesson plans and activities.
 b. What is the importance of exhibiting professional and ethical
behavior in a school setting?
It is extremely important to exhibit professional and ethical
behavior in a school setting because the students are not only learning the
standards and curriculum, but they are also learning how to be respectful
and responsible, and how to act in a professional setting.

Reflect/Apply:
I believe the subject matter is very important, I am going to be a math
teacher and its my job to teach them math, however, its important that
they learn life lessons, respect, and ways to be amazing young adults. As
teachers we are role models to our students, so as we teach its important
that we take our jobs professionally so they can follow by a good example.
Its very important to be professional and have ethical behavior in a school
setting not only because you can get in trouble if you dont, but because
these students will respect you more if you do so. As a teacher you have to
make sure you have that line drawn and dont cross it. I see too many
teachers crossing the teacher/friend line and to me thats not very
professional. You need to treat all your students equally regardless if you
have a closer personal relationship with some of them. As a volleyball coach
its hard to not let that line get blurred. I get to know my volleyball girls on
a different level compared to other students in the classroom because I get
to spend more time with them in the fall, but that doesnt mean they should
get any special treatment in the classroom, they are still held to the same
expectations. The subject matter is meant to help the students be educated
for their future and prepare them for future jobs. Many students may not
have an interest in math currently, however, in the future they may want to
be in a career that involves it and they may not see it right now. Each
student needs to be educated and worked with to make sure they are
getting the most they can out of their time in school, after all these years
are only the beginning, and while they may feel like they are in school
forever it is only a small part of their lives, meaning, we only get a short
time to make a difference as teachers.

Overall Reflect/Apply:
These hours of observation have been very interesting. As I study
these classes I start to really understand what all goes into being a teacher.
Each day you may have behavior issues, interruptions, distractions, or any
other factors that could cause the lesson to be affected. As a teacher its
your job to make sure you have a back-up plan and that you are ready for
these interruptions to take place. Each day is different and every day will
not go smoothly. Teaching is like a roller coaster of ups and downs, some
days will go amazing and great, and other days will be bumpy and rough.
However, every day you step into the class room is a new day, you cant
hold grudges to those students that gave you a hard time the day before,
you cant treat any students differently based on their grades, and you cant
come in to class in a bad mood because your students will pick up on that.
As a teacher you need to be positive every day, your mood will rub off on
your students and its your job to be a positive influence on your students.
Some of these kids need someone positive in their lives, and thats left to
you.
Sitting in class one thing that amazed me was how developmentally
different the students are. For example, in 10th grade there are some really
productive, mature students, and on the flip side there are students who
dont do anything and bounce off the walls every day. I have come to find
that a lot of the behavior directly reflects their home lives. Students who
have supportive, concrete, caring home lives are more likely to get their
work done, care about their work, classmates, and school, where students
who dont have a very good home life, act out, dont do work, and dont
seem to care if they are disturbing classmates. Before I started working at
the school I didnt think that home lives were such a huge influence on a
students school life, and most of your challenging students come from
rough homes. The best thing you can do as a teacher is show them that you
care about them, and encourage them to put forth an effort. I also learned
how emotional it can be when it comes to being a teacher. You get so
attached to your students, so when something happens to them at home it
can affect you as well.
Behavior was also a big issue in some of these classes. I learned that
you cant yell at students for absolutely everything, if you do their behavior
could end up being worse because they then get the attention from being
yelled at. For some of these kids they really like being the class clown, they
like making classmates laugh and enjoy trying to get the teacher to crack
up. What they dont realize is how distracting it can be to other students
who are trying to learn. When I always thought about teaching I always
thought you could put the problem kids in the front row, however after
observing, Ive learned that the front row isnt the place for them because
they then take it as an opportunity to be the center of attention. The best
thing I can think of is to make sure as a teacher, that you have a strict
classroom management plan and stick to it as much as possible. If students
start to see that they can get away with certain behavior it will just keep
escalating, and by the end of the year they will act out as much as they can.
I havent thought much about my classroom management plan, however
now I think it is a very important part of the classroom, and each student
needs to understand it as soon as they school year begins.
As a teacher you also need to be aware of your resources. Fellow co-
workers, and staff members are great resources when you are having issues
with students, or need advice on what to do in a certain situation. Even as a
teacher you need to be able to ask for help. As hard as it can be to do so, in
your first year teaching you need to be able to suck in as much information
as you can, even as a teacher you are still a student in the way that youre
constantly learning as well. You dont want to be that teacher that cant
accept advice from others. Its even a great idea to make sure you can
listen to your students, they will have great ideas as well. As teachers, we
get so caught up in our lesson plans, and making sure we stay caught up
among tests, quizzes, homework, and projects that we forget to ask our
students if there is anything that we could do that could help them benefit
more in the classroom. Each student will have varying needs, and its
important to be open to options in order to help your students succeed.
Mrs. Breeser has taught for many years and she still gets frustrated
from time to time. She told me that part of being a teacher is knowing how
to bounce back. If you have a bad class you just know that you only have
them for an hour out of your day, so you cant let that effect your mood in
the next class even though it may be hard. I am greatly looking forward to
being a first year teacher, but I believe I still have to mentally prepare
myself for the struggles that may come with it. I also see many teachers
getting involved in teacher meetings and getting together to bounce ideas
off of each other. Your fellow teachers will become like family, you need to
work closely with them to get through each year.
The more I observe the more I see that knowing your content is just a
small part of teaching. You get so much other stuff thrown in your direction
and you have to be able to catch it and still manage to stay organized in the
end. Each day I see the stack of papers on Mrs. Breesers desk grow larger
as the end of the year gets closer. Students have crunch time for tests and
finals, and teachers have crunch time for getting everything graded and
entered so final grades can be submitted for seniors to graduate. The stress
is distributed among everyone and you can see it on the teachers faces.
Even though there is so much to get done in a short amount of time, all the
teachers still smile and have positive attitudes. In the long run you can still
see that the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to teaching,
and all of these teachers really enjoy their jobs. As this school year ends the
teachers may get a summer, but they start preparing for the next year as
well. Despite all the behavior issues I saw, and the stress that comes with
being a teacher I am still confident that I have found the career for me. I
cant wait to be standing in front of a classroom teaching students and being
a positive influence on so many lives.