Guided Observation #1 Contextual Factors

Name: Alpha Parton

Date: April 26, 2017
Course: EDUC 2300 Introduction to Education
School: Smoky Mountain Elementary

Interview your mentoring teacher to obtain the demographics about the

school. Write a response for each question in a paragraph format.

1. Record the number of males, females, and ratio of ethnicity within the
classroom. In Ms. Hursts fourth grade classroom at Smoky Mountain Elementary
is where I did my service learning. She only had fourteen students total in her
classroom. She had nine females and 8 males. All were of Caucasian ethnicity and
there was one male who was Hispanic.

2. What are the development levels of the students within the classroom
you
are observing? The fourth grade class was split up into two separate classrooms,
but they never swapped rooms or teachers so I only got to observe one of the fourth
grade classrooms. Ms. Hurst had the lower level students. I dont like using the term
lower level, because in my opinion, those were some of the best kids you could
ask for. I did see a few students who needed help all the time. Her seating
arrangement paired her higher students with her lower students and they seemed
to really help each other out. I will definitely use this seating arrangement in the
future.

3. How is the instruction modified to meet the diverse needs of the

students?
This particular classroom is relatively small, so its fairly easy for the teacher
to assist students who need extra help. From what I observed she used the student
centered approach, leaving the students responsible for their learning. I wouldnt
recommend this for a larger classroom because I can see where It could get out of
hand quick, but her class was small and her students were so good that it really
worked out well for her. She would give them instruction and assistance but it was
ultimately up to the students to figure things out and they would often get help from
their peers more than from the teacher. I thought this was a great way of getting
students to work together.
4. Research the school and the Tennessee State Government web site to
obtain information about the school community, school report card, and
school population. I found that Smoky M ountain serves 176 students. They
serve grades PreK-8th. They are 99% white and 1% Hispanic. The economically
disadvantaged student percentile was 66.7%. they had 30 students with disabilities,
which is 17% of their population. They are a title I school. They got a B in math, an A
in reading, a D in science, and a C in social studies.

5. What are the specialized programs/activities found within the school

that
would assist special needs children, those who need enrichment activities,
or remediation? List the specific programs that are available.
They offer an after school program.
They offer RTI which is for the lower level students to help them stay caught up on
their learning, it provides them with academic assistance on a more personal level.