Pre-Service Teacher Candidate

Field Experience - Instructional Lesson Observation

Teacher Observed: Joe Mairona
Subject/Grade:

6th grade

District: Alliance City Schools

School: Alliance Middle School

Context for Learning

Describe the students (demographics, diversity, exceptionalities, etc.) and classroom model (inclusion,
co-teaching, team teaching, paraprofessionals, self-contained, etc.).

Inclusion classroom-SPED students are mixed throughout the classroom. They are not isolated or
grouped together.
The students in the classroom were very diverse and they were disturbed in a random way
throughout the class.
The main subject area teacher did most of the teaching, and the SPED teacher played a mostly
assisting role.
Physical Environment
Describe the physical environment of the classroom by completing the checklist. Answer yes or no:

Did the teacher use table groups for seating?

Did the teacher use rows for seating?

Were the students able to see the teacher and the board clearly?
X
Were the students able to move around the room?

Could the teacher see everyone clearly?

Were the bulletin boards updated and appropriate?

Were there displays of student work?

Were materials organized and available?

Comments related to the physical environment:
-The room felt a bit cramped due to the number of kids in the classroom.
-Grouping was done with partners.
-The room had many posters and visuals up on the wall, and a smartboard.
-The teacher decorated the classroom with subject related materials and also with things that related to
him personally. Ex. Spiderman action figures.

Feeling/Tone in the Classroom

Use a check to indicate which of the following aspects were observed.

Students and teacher treated others with courtesy and respect

Teacher had a positive rapport with students

Teacher encourages slow or reluctant students to participate

Teachers classroom management skills were effective

Teacher feedback was positive

Teacher feedback was prompt

Teacher corrected errors in positive, supportive manner

Teacher maintained proximity with all learners in the classroom
Teacher used expressions, gestures, and words to provide praise
Teacher demonstrated acceptance and respect for all learners

Comments related to the tone of the classroom culture:

The subject area teacher was extremely engaging and energetic towards the material.
His animated way of teaching was effective, in my opinion, in getting the class to be involved in
the material that was being taught.
A lot of different people were called on throughout the class. There wasnt a favorite student or
students that were consistently called on.
The students seemed to be engaged throughout the lesson.

Classroom Routines & Record Keeping

1. What routines or procedures were apparent during your observation?

At the beginning of class the subject area teacher introduced what they had been doing
previously, what they should have already done, and what they were going to be doing that day.
When they would go over answer, the subject area teacher and the SPED teacher would both go
through different sections.
When the students were doing work, both of the teacher went around and assisted students where
it was needed and helped to keep students on task.

2. What forms of record keeping were apparent during your observation?

The SPED teacher had filing cabinet that had different files in it.
He had separate binders for different kinds of paper work. (Section 504, IEPs, etc.)

Teacher Behaviors & Actions

Check all behaviors demonstrated by the teacher you observed.

Determined the success of the lesson

Supervised/monitored student practice

Provided sufficient practice for students to master each step of the objective

Assumed major responsibility for task completion

Questioned frequently to check for understanding

Provided immediate and thorough feedback

Walked around the room to monitor students during activities

Re-taught as necessary

Worked with whole group, small groups, an individuals at various times throughout the lesson
1. Which of the above teacher behaviors were most effective? Explain.

Both of the teachers made sure that the questions being asked were understood by everyone.
They went around made sure that if students had questions about different parts of the work that
they got answered.
The subject area was able to keep the students engaged well throughout the lesson.

Check the behaviors you observed:

Addressed questions to each student

Seatwork monitored to ensure participation and understanding

Volunteers called on occasionally

Asked questions and waited for responses (3-5 second wait time)
X
Solicited participation from all students
2. Which of the above behaviors were most successful? Explain.

The seatwork that was done was monitored very well.

The students were kept on task by both of the teachers very well throughout the lesson.
If students got off task, they were quickly prompted to get back on task.

Give examples of the following teacher actions:

3. Teacher used prompts to guide students towards success. Write the prompts here.
There is a strategy that Alliance uses and they call it reminders.
The students will have notecards and will get to different levels when they need to be reminded
to get back on task.
There are different levels that the students reach depending on the amount of the reminders that
they receive during each week.
The subject area teacher and the SPED teacher both used this prompt system to get students to
stay on task, which helped them to get their work done.

4. Teacher extended a students response. Write the extension here.

The teacher asked about what land did not have a widespread use compared to the other choices.
He then talked about and asked about what possible uses that land did have.
Doing that extended the original question that was answered by the student.

5. How did the teacher acknowledge correct responses? List at least three examples.
The subject area teacher swiped on smart board and the answer came on the blank on the board.
He then swiped over to a program that tracked how often different student participated in class
and marked the student who just answered up a number.

6. How did the teacher acknowledge incorrect responses? List at least three examples.

If someone gave an incorrect answer, the teacher would move quickly to another student and ask
them to answer the question.
At other times he would have the student who gave an incorrect response, correct their answer.
When they were doing individual work, both the subject area teacher and the SPED teacher
would go around and show students where they have made a mistake and help them correct it.

7. Was there a pattern as to whom the teacher called on? Explain.

There wasnt any discernable pattern of the students being called on.
A program that picked a random student was used at times to call on students.

8. Were there any students who did not participate? Explain.

Several of the students were off-task and having side conversations during the teaching of the
lesson.
The teachers would try to get them to get back on task, but they would gradually go back to not
paying attention.

Instructional Strategies
1. What was the instructional objective of the lesson?
The objective of the lesson was to review the different uses of stretches of land in different parts
of the world.
2. How was the purpose explained to the students?
The purpose was explained before they started the worksheet in the form of directions on the
paper.
They teacher went over the directions to class before they started to the class, so everyone would
have an understanding of them.
3. How did the teacher begin the lesson?
The teacher had the class copying down the weeks agenda, which was a breakdown of what was
happening during the week.
The teacher had all the students get a world atlas and a worksheet.
4. What kinds of student activities were observed?
The students were working independently and with a partner complete the given worksheet.
Once they were given time to complete the worksheet, the teacher went over the answers.
5. How did the teacher encourage reluctant students?
Both teachers would go around the room and assist students with different problems on the
worksheet they were completing.
Sometimes if a student didnt know the answer to a problem, the teacher would let that student
figure out the answer while they went on to other questions.
6. How did the teacher keep students engaged throughout the lesson?
The subject area teacher did not stay in the same spot the whole class.
His voice fluctuated when talking about the material.
He had a lot of energy in his voice that made what he was talking about more interesting.
7. Explain student actions that indicated the lesson was presented clearly?
The students were able to answer the questions that were asked of them.

The teacher was able to move through the material without having to stop and explain every
question.

8. Explain student actions that indicated a lack of clear communication.

Several of the students werent engaged during the lesson.
The students that werent engaged were off-task a lot. They seemed to not be listening to the
directions that were given to them.
9. What materials and/or technology were used to teach the lesson?
Smart Board
Worksheets
Atlas book
10. How did the teacher close the lesson?
The teacher closed the lesson by giving a quick summary of what they learned during the lesson.
He then went over the homework and then gave the class an overview of other things due later
that week.

Evaluation and Feedback

1. How did the teacher monitor, evaluate, and give feedback to students? Check all that apply.
X
Communicated the specific learning objective to students

Questioned or elicited oral responses from most of the students

Elicited written responses from most of the students

X
Sent students to the board to demonstrate their understanding

Provided corrective feedback to clarify misunderstanding

Consistently scanned the class

2. Did most of the students have an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the lesson?
Explain and list examples.
They all had the ability to answer the questions on their worksheet, but only some of them were
able to respond orally when they were going over the answers.
The teacher collected homework from them in previous lesson and was going to collect the
worksheet they were working on class on a different date.