Field Experience

ITL 606 ASSIGNMENT 3.4

Elise Maygren

National University

It is always a good experience observing in classrooms, learning from teachers and students. The last couple of weeks I had the opportunity of observing in Mrs. Davenports Kindergarten classroom. Mrs. Davenport teaches at a school called, Copperopolis Elementary. It is located in a small, more rural town in the foothills of northern California. The town of Copperopolis has a population of roughly 3,700.  This school is a Title I school with 65.6% of its students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. This particular classroom is a split TK (Transitional Kindergarten) and Kindergarten class. The hours that I observed only kindergarten was present. I will discuss the observations that were made in my time in Mrs. Davenports class as well as a summary of the interview I was able to perform.

When observing this kindergarten classroom, I always came at the beginning of the day. I was able to watch as the students came into the classroom. They all seemed very accustomed to the routine of putting their backpack up on their hook and sitting on their spot at the circle. The first thing I noticed in this classroom was that there were not any desks. There were a few tables but the children mostly sat on the floor. It seemed that most instruction was given at the circle in the front right section of the classroom.  The teacher had her chair and the students sat quietly in a circle in front of her. She attached separate numbers to the floor to make a circular shape. Each student had a number and that is where they sat quietly every time they sat in the circle. Standing or sitting on a special stool was a student she called the, “Wise Owl”. This student called on helpers and assisted their teacher in every task for that entire day. The “Wise Owl” was not something that was earned, each student takes a turn and rotates again through all students, one day at a time. The students loved being up in front of the class with their teacher.

In front of the class where the entire class could see there was a picture schedule of the day. Each day looked mostly the same. Mrs. Davenport seemed to thrive off of routine as did her students. After the class greeted each other with a “good morning”. They reviewed the calendar, followed by a short math lesson. The “wise owl” wrote a number sentence on the board in the front of the circle. They could ask the class for help, the students seemed to enjoy solving the number sentence. The children did not seem to be afraid to raise their hands and make a comment or share something from home. One student in particular shared that she had a new pet cat that her dad had found and wanted to rescue. The class seemed excited about this and others raised their hands to share something personal regarding their own experiences with either a cat or a pet. Mrs. Davenport stated that they had time for two more hands and called on the two names. The two students then took turns sharing what they had to say. I enjoyed watching this discussion take place, they all seemed to feel extremely valued and the teacher expressed great interest regarding what they had to say. There was a moment when a student couldn’t contain themselves and started talking out of turn. Mrs. Davenport made a hand signal in the air and kindly said, “that’s called in-terr-up-ting”. This seemed to be a signal to the entire class to listen and not speak until their classmate had finished.

Following their morning routine, the class broke up into 4 groups. The students then took turns going to the four different stations with their group. Each station was previously discussed before breaking up. She even asked if there were any questions. The stations consisted of listening to a book with a headset, searching around the class for an object and writing the word on a piece of paper. There was also a station with a parent volunteer where they did some coloring and pasting as well as a table with their teacher where they did a writing worksheet. Each station had a symbol that went along with it and projected on the smart board, were the groups and station order they would be going to. Mrs. Davenport had a timer and each time the timer went off the students new to rotate to the next station. She also had timers set for students that were going to speech or receiving other additional services. There were times when she would have to remind students to stay on task but for the most part they worked well together. I noticed that some of the groups were larger than others. One group in particular had more than the others, they had 6 students where the others had 3 or 4. The larger group worked extremely well together. They were all very independent workers and did the tasks without much trouble. It made me wonder if the teacher arranged the groups in such a way that allowed certain students to receive more individual attention.

While they were working independently in their groups I noticed that when students would finish what they were doing they’d go and stand on a circle next to the table where the teacher was sitting helping students at her station. The student would stand there quietly until the teacher had a moment to give them some undivided attention. She would look over their work and make a positive comment about it. The student was then asked to, “clip up”. This seemed to be part of a positive behavior system, rewarding good behavior. Following these exercises, they had recess/snack. Each time observed in this classroom it was the same time in the morning and the routine was always mostly the same with different activities. In addition to making observations I was also able to meet with Mrs. Davenport and interview her.

The following is a transcript of our interview:

1. How important it is for students to have their basic needs met in order to be successful in school? Why do you think so?

Basic needs absolutely need to be met first. There are three things that I have found kindergartners must have met before they can concentrate on anything. Those needs are, Hungry, Thirsty, or needing to use the restroom. Most of the students in my class eat the free breakfast in the morning. Some years students bring the breakfast with them into the classroom and they’ll finish up eating it while I get the class started. These needs are most important for the students to achieve success and brain functions.

2. Which needs are most important to have satisfied so students can thrive in school? Why do you think so?

A full stomach. During break we provide all students with a snack in case they missed breakfast.

3. Who is responsible for ensuring that students have their needs met?  Why do you think so?

School staff: teacher and lunch lady. Mostly myself as the teacher, though. I am responsible for all my students and feel that it is up to me to make sure that all their essential needs are met.

4. What is one thing a teacher might do for a student who has physiological or safety needs?  Why would this be useful?

First, I would conference with the principal. We would do our best to help problem solve the situation. Depending on the situation I would have to contact CPS, as a mandated reporter, if it was severe enough.

5. Ensuring Safety needs are met and making sure students are ready to learn involves classroom management.  What are three things you do to manage your classroom?  

First, I try to be very upbeat and use clips for positive reinforcement.

Secondly, we have a marble jar where the whole class contributes based on effort, this helps everyone feel accountable.

Lastly, Song! I use song to give directions, get attention, and teach subject matter. It also helps with transitions, especially after recess.

6. How do you decide what rules and routines to employ?

I don’t necessarily have, ‘classroom rules’. Our school uses PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports). We try to establish expectations not rules, they are: safe, respectful, and responsible. In my classroom I teach the students to use problem solving strategies such as, “please stop” or “ask before you take”. I also feel it is important to have a visual schedule posted where the entire class can see it.

7. Do these fit for students who have a Behavior Intervention Plan? How do you assess progress? What do you do for students from a different culture?

For those with a plan it is usually set up as “first-then” and have an additional plan. Regarding different cultures, everyone is treated the same regarding behavior. When it comes to curriculum I do try to make adjustments to accommodate all cultures.

8. How do you organize your classroom / educational environment to support classroom management?

I have to work in a very organized, functional space. I have “sit spots” and establish a daily routine. My classroom doesn’t function well with chaos. I want students to feel good when they enter my classroom and try to make it inviting to them. This structure also helps kids feel a sense of accountability.

9. With classroom management in mind, what advice would you give me regarding how to establish good classroom management in my first class?

Organization, “be mean until Halloween” meaning that it is important to stay super focused in establishing a routine. Make sure everything is black and white for the students and practice over and over and over again. Pick what is most important to you and focus on that. Be careful not to do too much. Classroom management is the #1 most important part of your classroom. It will be a lot of trial and error and each class will be different. What works for one may not work for another. You will have to, ‘go with the flow’.

10. When you know that a student has a specific need that most of the other students do not have, what do you do to address that need?

I try to target that need or skill in small group work. You could also pair them up with a strong student who can help lead them by example.

I was surprised by some of the things Mrs. Davenport had to stay. After observing in her classroom, I could see that there was much structure and the students seemed very happy and comfortable although, I was surprised that she didn’t have a list of rules. As I learn more about rules and expectations I can see that expectations can serve a better purpose because they are able to take into account different needs and situations that may arise. As a teacher I can see a lot of value in being flexible. She told me that when she first started teaching she would encourage students to only use the bathroom at recess and lunch, she soon found though that she needed to adjust. Her students couldn’t fully participate if they couldn’t use the bathroom. I always thought of food, shelter, and safety as crucial needs but for a kindergartner using the bathroom is also part of that list.

As a result of this interview and observation I found that kindergarten was not as chaotic and stressful as I had anticipated. Entering this classroom was such an inviting experience. There was a sense of peace when I entered the room. Everyone seemed so happy to be there and they functioned so well together. Yes, problems arise but I could see the entire class supporting each other and the learning environment which they had created. These students were only 5 and 6-year olds. As adults and teachers, we really do our students and children that we are around a great disservice when we don’t give them opportunities to lead and make good choices for themselves. I also liked the clip system that they used. This allowed for students that were exhibiting good behavior to also be rewarded. When a student misbehaved the clip went down. Slavin stated that, “Creating effective learning environments involves strategies that teachers use to maintain appropriate behavior and to respond to misbehavior in the classroom. Keeping students interested and engaged and showing enthusiasm are important in preventing misbehavior.” (Slavin, 2018, p. 296). This gives me a sense of enthusiasm knowing that as I observed Mrs. Davenport and her kindergartners use strategies to maintain an effective learning environment much good can occur.

References

Slavin, R. E. (2018). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice, 12th Edition. 

[Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780133550429/