Amber Courtney

Observation Reflection #1
18 September 2015
The place I observed was Discovery Middle School, which is in Orange County and near
Waterford. It is a school with a fairly high academic rating, and the surrounding neighborhoods
would most likely be considered suburban. The involvement of most of the parents in the school
was evident in the fact that most of the children came to school with the correct supplies and
with their homework completed. The student were able to be attentive and were not complaining
about being tired or hungry. The school was also able to provide a paraprofessional to a student
in one of the classes that I observed, which helped him to control his behavior and sometimes
work on the assignments. It was easy to find my way to the front desk in order to sign in and
there were also staff outside making sure you were following the rules of the school. I was able
to observe six different classes and teachers with some of the subjects being the same.
The first classroom I went to was Mrs. C, who was teaching 7th grade advanced math. Her
classroom seemed organized with the desks in neat rows and posters on the wall including
procedures and rules. There were math puzzles and books on a shelf available to the students
during free time. Florida standards, essential questions, learning goals, learning targets, learning
activities, homework, and example problems were displayed on the board for each class. When
the students came in, they would sit in their seats and do the bell work. Then the teacher would
introduce the lesson, go over the bell work and check their homework. The student were able to
write the problems on the board and the projector was used to display the bell work and then the

classwork. At the end of class the teacher discussed being able to do test corrections for the test
they got back, and the students were allowed to ask questions during the lesson.
Ms. R, who teaches 8th grade science, was the next teacher I observed. The desks
faced different directions, and it looked like there were two main sides of the classroom that she
taught from. It might have been difficult for the students to turn in different directions and be
able to see the teacher and the board clearly, depending on where they sat. There were a few
science books, some posters, and science materials around the classroom. There were learning
goals, standards, learning targets, and Homework displayed on the whiteboard. The students
were introduced to the learning goal at the beginning of class and had the opportunity to write it
down. The teacher had a tendency to talk loud and fast in order to enforce certain points of the
lesson, which seemed to confuse some of the students. The class was reviewing for a test coming
up, and the teacher was calling on students to answer questions that the class could discuss in
order to review. If nobody knew the answer they would all be told to open their books and look
at or highlight a certain passage. Repetition was also used to help with memory of a certain topic.
At the end the teacher went around and checked individual answers to ensure all of them
understood.
Then I went to Ms. Bs classroom for 7th grade civics. The classroom was organized with
the desks in pairs, a calm area, bookshelves, posters, and student work displayed on the bulletin
board. There was an essential question, benchmarks, a learning goal and activity, homework,
scales, and an assessment displayed on the board. The first thing the class did was watch a 9/11
video and have a moment of silence afterwards. After that, the teacher talked about 9/11, and
then went over what they were going to do that day. Homework was collected and the class
looked at how to do a DBQ, and worked on highlighting an article as a class. This seemed to be

an effective method of learning for the teachers that also did this. The students worked on their
own to look at a few more articles for the DBQ while the teacher walked around the classroom in
order to help them individually and check their progress. After everyone was finished the
students were able to share answers and questions to discuss as a class.
Ms. S also had 7th grade physics, and her classroom had the most decorations of any
classroom I have ever been in. The decorations were mostly patriotic and looked good
individually, but felt overwhelming and distracting altogether. There was a benchmark, an
essential question, and a learning goal on the board. There were rules and procedures listed on
posters in the room, individual whiteboards for the students, and a few books related to civics.
The teacher went over what the day was, 9/11, and what happened on that day. The class watched
two 9/11 videos and would write words of what the videos made them think of. Each student
would have to share a word that could not be repeated, and the teacher would go into detail about
some of the words that were listed. The students sat in groups of four and would sometimes
discuss with each other their ideas. The students were also able to ask questions about the video
that the class could discuss. The lights were never fully turned on which made it harder for the
students to pay attention and participate, and the blinking sign seemed distracting.
Ms. W was teaching a 6th grade science class, although she usually taches 7th grade. She
had Florida standards, an essential question, a learning goal and activity, rules, and Homework
on the board. There were also scientific procedures displayed among other posters in the
classroom. The students sat in groups of four and worked together for part of the class. The
classroom was organized, and each student was able to sit in their seats easily and call the
teacher over to help them if they needed to. At the beginning of class the teacher introduced the
schedule for the day and went over major upcoming events. The student were able to ask

questions at this time to clear any confusion. After that, the students were given a short amount
of time to finish their lab from the previous class. The class went over the results of the lab
before moving on to the next activity. Then there was a lab for the groups, which was a mystery
they were trying to solve using clues and inferences. The teacher would walk around the room
while the students were working to check progress and see if any groups thought they had the
right answer. At the end of class the right answer was shared and discussed before the students
were dismissed.
At the end of the day I observed Mrs. D, who was teaching 7th grade Algebra. She had
bell work, an essential question, a learning goal and activity, the agenda, and homework
displayed on the board. There was also a word wall that the student had the opportunity to help
make. Posters displayed around the room included rules and were related to math. At the
beginning of the class, the students were to try to complete the bell work that was related to the
classwork for the day. I was able to help a few of the students walk through the problems and
complete them correctly. Then the class would answer the questions as a class while the teacher
used an interactive smart board and called on different students to help with each step of the
problem. Then the teacher would introduce the daily lesson and used example problems. The
students would then be assigned some related problems in their individual workbooks to
complete. The teacher passed back their tests and told them that they could do test corrections at
home to improve their grade. If the students needed help the teacher would try to help them
before they were dismissed.
I learned that each student has a different way of completing assignments and thinking
through them. It is harder to be an effective teacher if the students do not take you or the class
seriously. It is important to check on the progress of individual student to ensure they are not

falling behind, and that they understand the concepts. The way a classroom looks or if it is
unorganized, the students will have a harder time with their behavior or with learning. It is easier
to stick to an orderly yet exciting routine in order to encourage participation. The most effective
teachers that I observed seemed to be able to connect with their students more and make them
excited to learn and ask questions. Having class discussions was a good way to review and
clarify the material learned. My favorite part of the day was being able to help individual
students and get them to have confidence in themselves and what they are doing.