Courtney Dickinson

Vegas Verdes Observations Reflection Essay

Internship

Mrs. Ho

October 18, 2016

 On October 18, 2016, our class observed several Pre-K Classes at Vegas Verdes Elementary

School. We observed 3 classes each, and it was a variety of special education Pre-K classes. I observed a

self contained class, a title one inclusion class, and their Kids program, for ASD students.

The first class we observed was a self contained class, with Ms. Hertzfeld in room 205. We didnt

really observe much about this class, because it was time for their outside play/gross motor activity time, so

it was mainly just observing the students playing on the playground. But we were able to observe the

interactions between the students and the teachers, and the way they knew their students really well and

how to work with them. Because we werent really in the classroom at all, we didnt really see the different

roles of the teachers. Ms. Hertzfeld seemed to be the main teacher in charge, but she also was working

with a student who needed the most assistance most of the time, so she needed another teacher to help

with the other students. And that was the main accommodation that was made, for him, to be in the special

chair and for her assistance.

The next class we observed was a Title 1 inclusion class, with Ms. Frost/Chavez in room 405.

When we observed this room, the class was doing centers, and there wasnt much to observe overall. We

saw some interaction between the students and teachers, but it was very cool to see the room itself, with all

of the centers and the materials that were available to the students. There was a lot of options for them,

and everything was labeled with the word and a picture of the item. I didnt really see any accommodations,

or what the roles of three teachers were, because the teachers were very busy resolving conflicts and

keeping the kids under control. There could have been more accommodations made for the students who

dont speak English, since the labels were all in English, but other than that, I think the accommodations fit

what I saw of the class and of the students.

 The next class we observed was the Kids program, the Autism Spectrum Disorder class in room

212. This class was very different from the others we observed. The students had just gotten back from a

recess, and they were eating a snack, and I could see how the teachers worked together to get the

students their snack and to ask for their snack. They focused on each student individually, and had a set

plan of what they were going to do next. There were accommodations made for the students who were

nonverbal, using cards with pictures and words on them, and they were given breaks during activities

because of their short attention spans. And we were told that most of the students in this class were not

toilet trained, so the teachers had to change diapers when it was necessary.

Overall, the experience was really interesting, but I think that I would have gotten more out of it if

we had more time in each classroom and the ability to see how each teacher ran their class and learn a

little more from the observations. But it was very cool to see a different view of how the classroom should

be setup and how to make accommodations for every student, even as young as PreK.