College of Southern

Nevada Field Observation

Packet
Student _______Rebecca Frazier_______________________________________

School______ Green Valley High School_____________________________

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Field Observation at Green Valley High School

On March 14 March 16, 2016 I went to Green Valley High School to conduct 10 hours

of field observation. My assigned cooperating teacher was Angelique Callicoat. She teaches 11th

grade AP English.

My first impression of the classroom is that it seems like a very comfortable

environment. The students seem happy and the teacher seems to have a daily routine down.

Overall, the environment is pleasant. The classroom is very clean, organized, and decorated.

The room is covered with posters that have famous quotes from authors, or writing tips. There

are many book shelves full of books and colorful lanterns hang from the ceiling. There is a giant

paper tree on the back wall that has student goals written on paper apples that hang from the tree.

The teacher has three desks. Two desks are located in the far back corner of the room, and the

other one is located at the front of the room, centered. The students desks are in rows, facing

forward. The class appears to have approximately 50% girls and 50% boys. The most apparent

ethnicities in the classroom are White, African American, Hispanic, and Asian. No special

accommodations or assistance is needed for any of Ms. Callicoats students. There are no class

rules posted in the room, but there are daily procedures clearly posted. The English 11 Daily

Procedures are, 1. Grab a sheet and your English 11 binder, 2. Get out a pencil or pen, 3. Turn

on your brain. During my visit, Ms. Callicoat did not follow the first two procedures, but she

does require her students to use their brains every day. She rewards her students with verbal

praise often.

I observed that there is no daily/weekly schedule posted in Ms. Callicoats room.

Instruction is delivered to the whole class and, during certain activities, to small groups. Ms.

Callicoat first starts her class by speaking to the whole class. Then, on one particular day, she
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has the class split up into small groups, and visits the groups to observe and instruct. Ms.

Callicoat teaches in a very relaxed manner. She has an upbeat and positive tone when she

speaks. Her classes are built on class discussions, small group exercises, and lectures. She

allows her students to provide input and gives them many opportunities to ask questions. Ms.

Callicoat helps her students gain critical thinking skills by challenging their ideas. She

encourages her students to question themselves and their fellow classmates. Self-improvement is

promoted as well. Ms. Callicoat incorporates auditory learning into her lessons. She does this

through class discussion and verbal instruction. An example of this is at the beginning of her

class, when Ms. Callicoat gives her students instruction on what they are going to be doing for

the day. Another example is when Ms. Callicoat reads the instructions of a worksheet to her

students. She also incorporates visual learning. She does this through showing her students

physical examples of what she is talking about. An example of this is when she has her students

view a past students poster as an example to go off of. Ms. Callicoat incorporates kinesthetic

learning as well. An example of this is when Ms. Callicoat has her students break into small

groups and give presentations of their own. The students move from their seats and find a spot in

the classroom where they would like to present to their small group. The students deliver their

presentations with hand gestures and facial expressions. Throughout Ms. Callicoats lessons, the

students seem engaged because they ask many questions, are looking at and facing the teacher,

and are not distracted by fellow classmates or their cell phones. Some students nod when they

agree with Ms. Callicoat. Few students look at the clock or fidget. Ms. Callicoat transitions

from lesson to lesson smoothly. She gives indications that an activity is wrapping up by giving

her students a time warning, so they know how much time they have to finish what they are

working on. She then explains what the students are going to be doing next. Ms. Callicoat
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walks her students through instructions and allows time for questions. The transitions seem to be

effective. The students do not have difficulty with transitioning. Few students are distracted

with talking during transitions. A routine seems to be in place in Ms. Callicoats class. In order

to get the students attention, she raises her voice to a louder volume than normal and goes to the

front of the room. There were no behavior issues that Ms. Callicoat had to deal with during my

visit.

The classroom has a standard layout. There are rows of student desks that are facing

forward. Ms. Callicoats desks are located in the back corner of the room, and at the front of the

room. There are book shelves around the perimeter of the room. The flow of the room is fairly

easy to move around. There are a lot of student desks, so the room feels a little crowded, but the

students and teacher seem to move around the room well. The space is used efficiently; the

students fill all of the desks and Ms. Callicoat uses her desks periodically during class. The open

space in front of the room is used by Ms. Callicoat. She walks around this space when giving

instruction.

The Green Valley High School building appears to be a medium-large size school. The

building and grounds are clean and visually pleasing. The colors of the school are neutral,

making the atmosphere calm and not distracting. There are some palm trees and bushes that

decorate the outside of the school. The parking lot is very large. Students must walk a long way

to get from the sidewalk near the street to the school. Fencing surrounds the perimeter of the

school. There is a row of gate doors at the entrance of the school. There are no windows at the

front of the building. A large open space is located in the center of the school. This area is the

main place where students gather before and after class. The hallways of the school are bare,
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with brick walls. They are well lit. I did not observe any windows in the hallways or

classrooms. The inside of the school has neutral colors as well.

Green Valley High Schools mission statement is Green Valley High School will ensure

the opportunity for excellence of the whole individual through an educational environment which

encourages achievement, creativity, intellectual curiosity, and social and global responsibility.

Its motto is Commitment to Excellence. Their mascot is a Gator. The schools colors are

green, blue, and silver. The school is organized well. Locations like the main office, lunch

room, and classroom numbers are clearly labeled. There are school awards and trophies in the

main office, in a large trophy case. In the main office, the staff are friendly. They smile at the

visitors and students, and appear to enjoy their work. The staff assists everyone who walks into

the main office promptly. In the main gathering space at the center of the school, a large amount

of students socialize before and after class. Some students form large groups, others form small

groups. They stand and talk with each other, and the atmosphere is very noisy. Inside the

classroom, the students are much quieter. They socialize with one or two classmates in a calmer

fashion.

In Ms. Callicoats classroom, she expects her students to perform to their highest ability

every day, and to give maximum effort. Ms. Callicoat encourages her students to exercise

critical thinking. She teaches in a way that requires her students to explore new ideas and

develop a greater understanding of topics. She believes that success is found in hard work and

improvement. Most of her students participate in class, so she does not need to call on students

randomly because there are enough students that raise their hands to participate. The few who do

not verbally participate seem to be engaged still, because they look at Ms. Callicoat and do their

work. A lot of Ms. Callicoats students appear to have a great relationship with her. Students
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come into her classroom before class begins to talk with Ms. Callicoat about their assignments or

to simply say hello. Ms. Callicoat seems to know her students well. Her demeanor is friendly

and welcoming. Her students seem to respect her. Overall, they do not speak when she is

speaking and they follow instructions. The teacher takes control of her classroom well, without

appearing overpowering. Her tone is upbeat and energetic. During my visit there were no

disruptions or behavioral problems in the classroom.

Before class had begun, I was able to sit down with Ms. Callicoat and conduct an

interview with her. I began my interview by asking her why she became a teacher. She replied

that she had just received her English degree and was a brand new mother, so this job seemed

like it would be a good fit for her life. The next question I asked was what the main challenge

was that she has faced as a teacher. She answered that time was the biggest challenge. It can be

hard to do more than one thing at a time, she admitted. I asked Ms. Callicoat what the best part

of being a teacher was. She replied enthusiastically that there are a million! Truly being able to

affect kids and meet their needs is one of the best, she explained. Ms. Callicoat said that she has

helped students with things like personal problems at home and scholarship assistance for

college. She loves being able to help someone every day. The next things I asked was how she

determines where students sit in the class. She replied that it depends on how chatty the students

are. On the first day, she assigns their seats at random. After that, she moves them around all the

time, throughout the year. She explained that for AP students, she does not have to worry about

students talking with their friends too much. I proceeded to ask her how she selects the members

of flexible grouping. She said that you have to be careful with small grouping because

sometimes it makes students not focus. She said that upper level students work together in small

groups nicely. Next I asked how often she interacts with parents in person. She answered that
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the only times she interacts with parents in person is during open house. She interacts with

parents through phone and email 5-10 times per week though. I asked Ms. Callicoat how much

grading she completes daily and weekly, and when and where does she do most of her grading.

She replied that she does so much grading, daily. She grades at her desk or during any down-

time that she has. Then I asked how long it takes to prepare lessons for the day/week. She said

that it takes a lot of time. It takes her 2 hours a week to plan, and she sometimes plans with other

teachers. Next I asked what behavior consequences she thinks is most effective with the age

group she teaches. Ms. Callicoat said that when you address a problem in front of the class, that

the student feels embarrassed and will be more motivated to change. I asked how often she is

evaluated. She explained that she has been evaluated 4-5 times this year. When she first started

teaching, she was evaluated more often. The last question I asked Ms. Callicoat was what has

surprised her the most about teaching and the teaching profession. She replied that the

differences in schools was something surprising to her. She has taught at more than one school,

and so she found out that teachers and students are treated very differently and each school. She

said that a school is what can make or break the experience.

During my visit, I discretely observed one students in Ms. Callicoats class. Ms.

Callicoat was going over the answers to a worksheet that they just completed, with the class.

This particular student was turned sideways in his seat. He had his foot rested on his knee, and

was coloring on his shoe with a highlighter. He was not looking at the teacher; his head was

down and he was looking at his shoe. It did not appear that he wasnt listening though, because

at one point he raised his hand when the teacher asked a question. The student was quiet. After

he colored on his shoe he began playing with his hair. When the class was done going over the

worksheet, he faced forward in his seat. He continued to mostly look down at his hands, but
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looked up Ms. Callicoat a few times. After a while, he discreetly pulled out his phone and

looked at it as the teacher spoke. After observing this student, I came to the conclusion that he

most likely is not an auditory learner, because he did not respond well to verbal instruction. He

might be a kinesthetic learner because he was distracted by physically doing things, like coloring

on his shoe, playing with his hair, and going on his phone.

I enjoyed my 10 hours of classroom observation at Green Valley High School very much.

It was a wonderful experience for me because it gave me a chance to look at a classroom through

the lens of a teacher rather than a student. I was able to gain knowledge from someone who has

years of experience and ask any questions that came to my mind. I realized that there is a lot of

multitasking done as a teacher. Ms. Callicoat was very busy the whole time I was there. You

must juggle a lot and be alert as a teacher. I learned that it is very important to incorporate the

three types of learning styles into your lessons. If you dont, some students, like the one I

observed, may not absorb the information that you are trying to give. A schools environment

should be clean, friendly, and inviting to its teachers and students. After my classroom

observation, I now feel much more informed about the profession, and I feel much more

prepared. It has made me realize that I need to work on creating a voice that carries a tone of

authority, while still sounding welcoming and kind. Having this voice during times when you

need to get the classs attention is necessary. This opportunity relates to my Secondary

Education class activities because the information that I learned from the class carried over to

this classroom. For example, the types of learning styles. From this experience, I will remember

to take with me the importance of exercising critical thinking skills, asking questions, and

constantly checking for greater understanding. I really liked how Ms. Callicoat effectively used

small grouping as a tool for discussion time, and I think I will use that teaching technique in the
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future. My 10 hours of classroom observation was a learning experience that helped me much

more than information from a textbook ever could. I think that I will refer back to this

experience often as I continue on my journey to becoming a teacher.