407 Observations

407 Observations

 

            The What:

I observed four classes of an inclusion social studies class.  In all of the classes the teacher, Miss Simas, was on the same topic; how to write a constructive essay about immigration using the SEE (statement, evidence, explanation) graphic organizer.  The classes were freshman, sophomore and junior classes.  The one thing that I saw that was throughout all the observations in all the classes was that the teacher had an established plan and an established procedure that allowed her to handled any situation that came up and was still able to continue the lesson and teach the students.  She had a plan and a procedure for the unexpected and the unplanned. 

 The So What:

All of the classes are inclusion classes in which all of the students have an IEP that is either learning or behavior based.  The teacher stated that most were behavior based.  She has the same procedure for each class start a “do now” that is on the board when the students enter the room.  After it is completed and discussed she starts the CNN student news in which the students are to pick two of the stories from the report, write about them in their binder and then discuss them in class.  After this the class would then move on to the constructive essay about immigration lesson.  Miss Simas had the same established procedure for each of the classes.  She told me the students like it this way, they like the routine and that they do not like to have this routine disturbed.  Miss Simas along with the assistant that is in the class would go around helping the students with the exercise.  The students would work as a group to come up with the individual parts of the SEE graphic organizer and then with the help of Miss Simas and the assistant would make sure they had it copied to their graphic organizer.  After this was done she would then help the class as a whole come up with a constructive essay based on the individual parts of the graphic organizer.  This was then written on the board to allow the students to copy the whole fully constructed essay.  While observing this I noticed various students what would I call acting out, especially since I have never seen an inclusion class.  One kept getting up, one student pulled out his cell phone and one let out a scream.  Miss Simas, without missing a beat in the lesson, corrected all there behaviors quickly and then resumed the task that was her plan.  She has a routine that the students are to follow if the disruptions get out of hand, which one did.  The student that had pulled out the cell phone had to be corrected a second time, which consisted of saying a statement that the teacher has posted at the front of the room.  Again when this was done she moved right back into the lesson and helping all the students.  He then pulled out the phone again.  Miss Siams asked him to put it away and then he began to argue, while swearing.  I was getting concerned for I have not seen this kind of anger from a student before.  Miss Simas though stayed calm, tried to defuse the situation, but when she couldn’t she had the assistant call down for a “disciplinary expert.”  She then moved right back into the lesson as though this hadn’t even happened.  Moving from student to student helping where needed and keeping them on track.  When the person arrived he talked to the student but he eventually had to take the student from the room.  While this was going on Miss Simas continued the lesson, continued to develop the constructive essay with the students and basically just continued the class.  There were further small disturbances in the class, mainly getting out of a seat, some talking an occasional scream but all were handled smoothly with a plan in mind.  She kept to the routine that she had set up and kept to the plan that she has had since the start of the year.  The other classes were about the same, but with nothing as severe as the incident with the cell phone.  In one class a student is allowed to have a lizard from the science class come into the room.  He is even allowed to have the lizard out as it keeps him calm.  He even let me hold it as he went to the bathroom.  There was some disruption in this class with the lizard as another student was trying to hold it, but again Miss Simas stopped took care of the situations calmly and quickly, went back to the lesson and went back to helping the students. 

I really did like how she was able to move so smoothly from teaching a lesson, to class management, back to teaching again after the situation was resolved.  You can tell how she has had a routine and a plan from the start of the year to handle any type of situation, foreseen and unforeseen.  In this class she established the routines and plans at the start of the year.  She knew her students, knew what would work for them, told them the routine and procedures and followed them when something expected or unexpected happened.  I really thought it was done well, done calmly and in a way which the students would not seem persecuted, for the lack of a better term.

Finally, the What now:

For me, even though I am not going to concentrate on special education, I am still going to plan, plan thoroughly, establish that plan at the start of the year with all my classes which I will differentiate based on the students and what works in that class and establish a routine for that plan when a situation arises, even if it is unexpected.  These observations have showed me that only by thoroughly planning, even for the unexpected, can a classroom still function as a place to learn the subject matter.  I know that as a starting teacher there is going to be a lot of trial and error and a lot plans but as long as I continue to revise the plan, and more importantly, keep the students informed of the changes and get their input, I will be able to establish a classroom that is well managed and managed in a way that learning can be accomplished even in the face of unexpected happenings.  I think this will help be establish my identity as a teacher that has a plan for the class, the day the week and so on.  Not just a plan in getting the lesson done and the information to the students, but a plan, a routine, that will allow myself and the class as a whole continue through whatever may come.  It could be a cell phone, a lizard, a fire drill, a tech issue with a computer or any one of a thousand things, I will be prepared to deal with it, calmly, professionally and compassionately all because I will have a plan and a routine that is geared to my individual classes and students and one that is derived from myself and my students.