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Running Head: CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS ANALYSIS

Steven Bambauer
TED 623 Language Development Methods: Secondary
Classroom Observations Analysis
Professor Elena Lattarulo
March 11, 2015

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Abstract
Arrangements were made to observe lessons by two different general education teachers
who have English Language Learners in their classrooms. The first class observed was
American History and the second class observed was Algebra 1, both at Esperanza High
School in Anaheim. The lessons observed were analyzed in their planning and
implementation, with a focus on the teachers modeling and the students cognitive and
affective behaviors. A comparison between the lessons was made in regard to goals,
objectives, outcomes, lesson structure, teacher and student performance, content
presentation, second language instructional strategies, learning activities, use of
technology, student assessment and class management techniques. I have created a
constructive analysis for both lessons, including suggestions for improvement of the
lesson plans and implementation, especially with regard to English Language Learners.

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The classrooms used for this observation are from Esperanza High School in
Anaheim, California. Esperanza opened in 1973 with 923 students, and grew to 3200
students in 2008 (Fox, 2014). At this point, a sister school was opened in the district,
bringing the student population of Esperanza to 1900 (Fox, 2014). All classrooms were
remodeled and equipped with Promethean (smart) boards, interactive tablets, student
responders, LCD projectors, camera docs, and more (Fox, 2014). According to its 201314 School Accountability Report Card (SARC), Esperanza is a California Distinguished
School, ranked at #241 nationally by U.S. News. Its Academic Performance Index (API)
is 859 out of a possible 1000, and its overall Advanced Placement pass rate is 87% (Fox,
2014). Esperanzas SAT and ACT scores far outpace county and state levels, and the
Athletic Program is ranked #45 nationally by ESPN (Fox, 2014). The make up of the
student population at Esperanza is 60% white, 2% African American, 12% Asian, 24%
Hispanic or Latino, and 2% other (Fox, 2014). Other student population groups include
17% Socioeconomically Disadvantaged, 10% Students with Disabilities, and 5% English
Language Learners (Fox, 2014). There is a small yet successful population of EL students
at Esperanza. The 37 EL students at the school have been identified as limited, and are
supported by an EL class or mainstreamed with EL support. The parents of English
Language Learners are involved with the school through the English Learners Advisory
Council (ELAC), attending meetings focusing on school programs and policies, and
Esperanza also has representation at the district level through the DELAC (Fox, 2014).
The first classroom observation was conducted in an eleventh grade U.S. History
class at Esperanza on March 11, 2015. The teacher was Mark Lovein, and the name of his
lesson was Living in the 1950s. This classroom did not have a typical setup of the

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desks rows facing the front of the class, rather, the students desks were set up in groups
of four facing each other. This allowed for Mr. Lovein to walk easily throughout the class
during the lesson to observe and help those that needed it. The instructor began the class
period by introducing the lesson with a quick description of the content the days lesson
would cover. He then provided his students with two worksheets to be completed in
fifteen minutes, each of which would be used to fuel classroom discussion. The first
discussion topic was on characteristics of 1950s culture. Mr. Lovein started the
discussion by asking questions from the worksheets and having the class provide the
correct answers. He then asks probing questions when appropriate to connect student
responses with the desired historical material such as the prosperous U.S. economy, the
Cold War, and segregation. Mr. Lovein takes answers from volunteers at the start of the
discussion, but makes sure to call on all students to make sure that they are included in
the discussion and that they can provide an appropriate response. At the end of the lesson
Mr. Lovein collects the completed worksheets to make sure they were done correctly.
This helps him evaluate the effectiveness of his lesson and if his students will need more
time to retain and understand the material.
The second classroom observation was conducted in a ninth grade Algebra 1 class
at Esperanza on March 12, 2015. The teacher was Danielle Sabia, and the subject of her
lesson was Factoring Polynomials. This class is experimenting with a flipped
classroom learning style. Ms Sabia creates a 15-minute video for each lesson and posts
them online for the students to view at home. At the start of the class period a review
worksheet is given to the students to evaluate their understanding of the new material.
After the students have had sufficient time to complete the worksheet, Ms. Sabia has the

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students walk her through the solutions one at a time. Each student answers one question.
The class is set up in groups of four desks that face each other, which allows the
instructor to move about the class during the lesson. Ms. Sabia moves around the room,
making sure she is near the student that is currently providing the answer, just in case he
or she needs her to help with or clarify on the problem. She utilizes tools in her room to
facilitate her lesson, beginning with displaying that days worksheet in front of the class
on the smart board from her laptop. As the student explains how to the answer the given
question Ms. Sabia writes down what the student says on her tablet, which gets displayed
on the smart board below that particular question. Once all problems are completed
correctly by the students the instructor asks the class if there are any other questions on
the new material in the video from the night before. At the end of class Ms. Sabia collects
the completed worksheets so that she can use them to further evaluate the new knowledge
of her students.
Both teachers were interviewed after the conclusion of the classroom observations
in regard to programs and services for English Learners at the school. They informed me
that there is an English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher, Ms. Elwood, on campus
every day. The ESL teacher has four classes daily made up of entirely ELL students, and
her job was described as developing the students English skills, as well as helping them
complete work from other classes that they are struggling with. Ms. Elwood has the
support of multiple aids in each of her classes who speak different languages such as
Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish. In addition, the school uses Specially Designed
Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) for those that possess intermediate language
skills and are incorporated into regular classrooms. SDAIE is is a transitional approach

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that allows students to progress through the content in their academic courses while
continuing to develop their proficiency in the use of academic language, as well as high
order thinking, advanced literacy and study skills. (Lattarulo, p.4). While it is true that
SDAIE is particularly effective for English Learners, SDAIE scaffolding strategies were
used in both classrooms observed and it was clear all students were able to benefit from
this approach. These efforts are all important to the success of English Language
Learners but it is also important to note the teachers role in teaching these students. An
article titled Every Teacher is a Language Teacher highlights a very real situation. With
the increase in the number of ELL students, teachers are also struggling to ensure that
they are teaching the subject to both native and secondary language learners. This can be
a very stressful and daunting task for certain teachers and it is necessary that schools
prepare their teachers to tackle these issues so that both the teacher and the ELL students
are successful. Language is a social act; therefore, in order to support ELLs language
development, candidates should be given guidance on how language use is infused in
daily living (Fan, 2013, p.89).
The History lesson attempted to teach the students about the 1950s and how it
was different from life today. After the lesson, the students were expected to know the
characteristics of living in the 1950s and the reasons why those characteristics were
prevalent at that time. The lesson was structured by using Bridging to help the students
learn the material presented. Bridging uses past knowledge of students to help them make
connections and move from the known to the unknown. (Lattarulo, p.12). Mr. Lovein
made the new material relevant to the students lives by comparing characteristics of
living in the 1950s to what it is like now. One way he did this was giving examples of

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slang used in the 1950s and having the students come up with the equivalent term that
would be used by them today. During this lesson the students were well engaged most of
the time, occasionally getting off topic because of the amount of collaboration going on,
which would require the teacher to refocus the class. Mr. Lovein was very comfortable
leading the discussion with the class and used probing questions to get the students to
elaborate on their answers, leading into related topics. His classroom management was
effective, and if the students got off topic he would bring them back in by redirecting
them to a new question or characteristic of the 1950s. Mr. Lovein has one ELL in his
class that speaks very minimal English, and he tries to ensure that the student has the
most effective learning environment possible. First, Mr. Lovein has the student sit with
bilingual students fluent in both English and Spanish, so that if a question comes up the
student can utilize these bilingual students. Mr. Lovein also has this student do additional
tasks that will help with English development, such as translating worksheets from
English into Spanish. The student is also allowed additional time to complete tasks, as
well as tools such as a tablet with software that can help translate things when the student
doesnt understand something or there is not someone who can help this student. In a
way, Mr. Lovein is using the concept of Cooperative Learning. Cooperative Learning is
where the class is divided[and the students] work together and rely on one another to
learn concepts, solve problems, and complete projects (Methodology for Second
Language Development, 2009, p.71). While Mr. Lovein does not have this approach as an
objective to approaching the lesson, by having peers who speak English work with the
ELL student, this is occurring in practical effect. This lesson was well put together and
the students for the most part, were engaged and actively learning. As already noted,

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there were times that the students got out of control and the lesson seemed to get off base.
By redirecting the students to something else, some of the lesson was left without
explanation and Mr. Lovein was not able to cover everything that was planned due to
these interruptions.
The goal of the math lesson was to review the material from the lesson plan video
titled Factoring Polynomials from the assigned viewing the night before. The outcome
of the lesson was that the students that did have questions on the material had those
questions answered and were then clear the material. As discussed in the paragraph above
related to the description, the lesson was well structured in that the class viewed a video
the night before to familiarize themselves with the material and class time was used to
review and prepare for upcoming exams. The students were very engaged, had
opportunity to answer an example question, and did not get off topic during the
classroom period. Ms. Sabia mostly used the teaching technique of Modeling, which is
when a teacher demonstrates to the students what they are supposed to do and guiding
them through the steps of solving the example problems both in her nightly video and in
her classroom instruction (Lattarulo, p.10). The use of technology in this classroom was
exceptional as Ms. Sabia utilized all tools available to her to create the most effective
learning environment. The students thrived in this environment because they were able to
interact with the technology and the teacher. There are a few English Learners in the
class, but they are not as severe as the one from the first observation. In this class they sit
in groups with other students fluent in the same language so that they can receive help if
necessary. Ms. Sabia also makes sure to continuously check on their progress so that they
dont fall behind or not ask questions for fear of embarrassment. Ms. Sabia uses a

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learning-centered classroom where students can collaborate, cooperate, problem-solve
as a group and establish a peer teaching and learning atmosphere. (Serdyukov, Ryan,
2013, p.240). This is clear as she provides the lesson to the students in advance so that
they are able to answer problems, ask questions and engage in collaboration with other
students during the actual classroom period.
Both classroom lessons were successful because they engaged the students and,
for the most part, met the objectives, goals and outcomes they were hoping for. Both of
the teachers incorporated SDAIE learning strategies to help students retain information.
While the subjects were different and therefore difficult to compare, the math lesson was
more structured and more effective overall. The math instruction used technology and
more structured learning so the students did not go off topic, and the classroom was in the
teachers control at all times. The History lessons could be improved in the future,
especially as it relates to English Learners, by utilizing technology in a way that would
keep the attention of the students while providing additional non-verbal cues and
instruction to the ELL student. The English Learners in the math class spoke a moderate
level of English and appeared to be well adjusted and fully aware and understanding the
substantive information that was presented. If anything, the English Learners in the math
lesson could be called on more to practice their communication skills.
Esperanza High School attempts to provide all students an equal opportunity to
learn. After completing classroom observations and instructor interviews it was apparent
that teachers at this school were utilizing effective SDAIE teaching strategies and
integrating English Learners into the classroom. This experience was rewarding and

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helped me develop strategies and skills that I can use upon completion of the teaching
credential program.

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References
Fan, Y. Every Teacher is a Language Teacher. (2013). San Francisco: UTSePress.
Fox, K. Esperanza SARC 2013-14. Retrieved from
http://www.pylusd.org/ourpages/auto/2012/5/30/44741788/Esperanza%20SARC%201314.pdf.
Lovein, M. (2015) Classroom Observation and Personal Interview on March 11.
Methodology for Second Language Development (2009). National University Ed. Boston:
Pearson.
Sabia, D. (2015) Classroom Observation and Personal Interview on March 12.
Lattarulo, E. S.D.A.I.E. and Related Strategies. (PowerPoint Slides). Retrieved from
https://nu.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?
course_id=_4428_1&content_id=_302191_1&mode=reset.
Serdyukov, P., Ryan, M. (2013). The 5-Minute Lesson Plan: A Practitioners Guide.
Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions.

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