Running Head: SALAZAR (OBSERVATION NOTES)

Observation Notes

EDAD 624B: Fall 2018

Diana Salazar
Running Head: SALAZAR (OBSERVATION NOTES)

Observation Notes

An observation took place on November 16, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. at Central Elementary in

Mrs. Vaughn’s first grade class. Mrs. Vaughn introduced a math lesson to her students using

multiple tools. Here is what was observed during the 45 minutes that the lesson took place:

There were 7 groups in her class labeled by colors

 Each group was made up of 4 students and 4 student desks
 Each table received a point on the teacher white board when groups were ready

Upon arriving, students were putting their class made books into plastic bags to take home so
that they could read them over the Thanksgiving break.
 Mrs. Vaughn demonstrated how to put the books away and where to place them when
done
 Students were talking a little loud and excited she reminded them of the rules such
“walking feet please”
 Students were talking as they were putting their books in bags
 Mrs. Vaughn praised students putting their books away correctly
 Students who were unsure of the direction were to ask their peers

Once all the books were put in the correct location, Mrs. Vaugh asked students to get an I-Pad
and have a seat at their desks.
 3 students were still trying to place their books in bags
 7 students remained at their desk and talked with each other
 Mrs. Vaughn walked around the room making sure all students had put their books away
 2 students stayed at the book area and talked to each other
 Mrs. Vaughn walk next to the students talking by the books and they saw her and sat at
their seats
 5 student were ready with I-Pads on their desks and were waiting patiently
 Mrs. Vaugh got their attention with “Scooby Dooby Doo”, students replied with “where
are you?”

Once the students all had their I-pads on their desk and looking at Mrs. Vaughn, the math
lesson began.
 Mrs. Vaughn reviewed how they were learning to solve math problems using
different tools and using different methods
 Mrs. Vaughn demonstrated a video on the computer video demonstrating one way of
solving a subtraction problem
 She paused the video and asked students to solve the problem quietly in their head
 She gave them time to think and reflect on their answers
 Students were engaged and eager to answer questions asked
Running Head: SALAZAR (OBSERVATION NOTES)

Once the video modules were over, Mrs. Vaughn asked all students to grab their whiteboards,
dry eraser markers, erasers, and join her on the carpet.
 Students were to sit at the “parameter” of the carpet on their bottoms
 While on the carpet, Mrs. Vaughn brought out blocks and told students that math tools
can be found anywhere. She explained that at home students may use beans, rocks, coins,
toys, and anything else they can find to help them subtract when doing homework
 Mrs. Vaughn emphasized to students to be problem solvers
 Every problem that Mrs. Vaugh wrote on the white board, students were to draw pictures
to represent the math problem then solve it using one of the 2 methods learned

On the carpet:
 Student were engaged
 2 students could not find their dry eraser and Mrs. Vaughn asked them to use their critical
thinking skill to come up with a solution
 Mrs. Vaughn demonstrated how “tools” can be used to solve problems and what kind of
“tools” can be used at home
 Students were encouraged to come up with “tools” to use at home to solve problems
 When students would get noisy, Mrs. Vaughn would count down from 5 and students
would quiet down
 If students needed help when Mrs. Vaughn presented a math problem, they were
encouraged to ask their peers because they were all a team
 She reviewed 2 ways to solve math problems that were reviewed on the video screen

After the carpet, Mrs. Vaughn told students that they would be going back to their desks and
open the “See-Saw” app on their I-Pads to input their way of solving subtraction problems
 During the transition, students put their whiteboards, erasers, and pens away
 She gave students a timer to keep them focused when using the I-Pad and constantly let
them know how much time they had left
 When done, students volunteered to have their work displayed on the video screen by
Mrs. Vaughn
 Students were asked to give feedback on students whose work was displayed on the video
screen
 When giving feedback, students must start with positive feedback first

Mrs. Vaugh did a wonderful job keeping students engaged. She really knows where her students

are at and easily adjusts lesson plans to meet her students needs. It was a pleasure observing her

class.