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Jennifer Morrison

Dr. Ellis

EDUC 1301.200

3 December 2017

Observation Reflections

When the words teaching observation appeared on my list of assignments for

Introduction to Teaching 1301, I was both curious and excited. What would it be like to sit in a

classroom again? What would it be like to be sitting in a classroom as a student today, hoping to

become a teacher sometime in the future? Would this experience scare me away or catapult me

deeper into my passion for education? Would sixteen hours be enough for me to make any

observations at all? There was only one way to find out.

I was assigned to observe Mrs. Margaret (Maggie) Paynes kindergarten class at Kathryn

Griffis Elementary school in the Caddo Mills Independent School District. Both she and the

principal, Mrs. Kendra Mosher, were both very helpful and allowed me to schedule my hours to

include two full days of class time and one half-day. This allowed me to see a complete picture

of what a day of teaching looked like, get to know Mrs. Payne and her team teachers better, and

ask many questions about what it was like to be a full-time teacher. This also allowed me ample

time to note the different personalities of the students and truly appreciate the care and time Mrs.

Payne took with each of them. During these hours I observed many things, but three important

observations stick out in my mind.

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I first noticed the way that Mrs. Payne handled behavior management in her classroom.

Some students responded well to statements like you are not making good choices, while

others seemed to have a hard time staying on task unless they were told to move a pin down on

the behavior chart (a tool Mrs. Payne uses to reward exceptional actions and to warn students

when they misbehave). Even when a child had been pushing the boundaries, Mrs. Payne gave

them the chance to try again. She was always kind and very patient, even when she had to be

stern with them. It was very rewarding, even just watching, to see the way her students admired

her. They respected her, and she respected them. In my classroom, I want to make mutual respect

important as well. I do not ever want to forget that even though they are children, they are people

and I should treat them as such, making sure to show them as much respect as I wish to receive.

Another wonderful tool I noticed in the kindergarten class was the interactive lessons.

Each lesson had a part for every learning style. During the morning calendar assignment, I

observed singing, hand motions, question and answers, pointing, reading together, repetition, and

so much more. It seemed to me that this activity, as well as many others, were well planned to

include children who learn at different paces and levels. Each student had the chance to

participate and the activities were fun and fast to keep their attention focused during the entire

lesson. There were also times when the activities were focused just on small groups. While

observing reading rotations, each small group worked through a series of exercises to assist them

in learning to read. The activities were visual, mechanical, and audible, which was important to

each students learning experience. I want to be sure that my lessons always keep the children

engaged, leaving no one bored or uninterested. Most importantly, I want to be sure I am teaching

in a way that the information can be most clearly understood by the students. There should be
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some part of the lesson that appeals to each student to keep them engaged and excited about

learning.

Lastly, the use of technology in the classroom was amazing. Mrs. Payne was able to

design pages with embedded videos and links to learning sites ahead of time and project them on

her SMART Board for use throughout the day. The SMART Board allowed her to add in some

active learning activities on Go Noodle which allowed her students to get up and move their

bodies to prevent them from getting restless. She used a digital overhead projector to work

papers as a class, often letting the students come up and try. The students still worked with paper

and hardbound books, but they seemed to respond very well to the more advanced technological

tools that Caddo Mills I.S.D. provides for their classrooms. I would love to implement the use of

technology in my classroom when I become a teacher. If these tools are not available to me, I

will still implore enthusiasm and creativity into each lesson and use technology to help when it is

available.

It goes without saying that my classroom experience was a very positive one. I could

probably write twenty pages filled with all the things I learned from Mrs. Payne. Each day

brought and taught me something new. Sixteen hours showed me how a good teacher interacts

and respects her students, how to keep them engaged and learning, and showed me some of the

tools that may be useful to make learning fun and exciting. This experience made me sad to leave

Mrs. Paynes classroom, but excited to continue the journey towards my own classroom. I look

forward to my next observation and the opportunity to learn even more about this wonderful

career field.