Service Learning-Reflection

Kristen Parrott
Instructor: Andrew Buckle
November 15, 2015

Service Learning- Reflection

For my service learning, I was put in four different classrooms at Franklin Central High
School. This was a great experience that I will take onto my future teaching, and has opened my
eyes to how the teachers and students interact with each other. I observed many actions that will
be beneficial to my future career as a teacher.
The first class I was in was math lab. The climate of the classroom was a welcoming one.
There were many posters and the teacher kept the lights on during class. The desk were arranged
in rows. The second classroom I was in was reading lab and the climate was very similar to that
of math labs. Many posters, the desks in rows, and all the lights on. While the climate of the
third classroom, life skills, was similar, there was a difference: the first row of lights was always
off. The last classroom, resource, did not have many posters in the room at all. All the lights were
always on. This class was more of a study hall for the inclusion students.
All of the classrooms I was in was special education only classrooms. First period
through third period there was about 15 students in the classroom. In fourth period, there was
about 4-6, depending on if the student needed to go to resource.
The first period teacher was very calm in front of her students. First thing the students did
was do their math minute, which was a series of 10 math questions. They would then go over the
answers, write down how many they got right, and hand the paper into the teacher. After math
minute, the teacher would then do her teaching for the day. The second period teacher was a little
stricter with her students. She didnt put up with talking when there was to be no talking, and she
really pushed her students. The routine changed depending on what was required for the day, but
at the beginning of each class the teacher explained the plan for the class period. When there was

a quiz or test, she would read it to the students and always went over every assignment with the
students. She was very active with answering questions. In their period, the students started off
their period with bellwork. The students were to write down the question and their answers. Once
every student was finished, the class went over their answers. After bellwork, the teacher explain
the plan for the class period, and depending on the plan for the day, she would either teach the
whole class period, or give the students an assignment and walk around the classroom and help.
Since fourth period is more like a study hall, the teacher helped with whatever a student needed
help with. She was very kind, and I could see that many student had a special connection with
her.
I saw each teacher work with a student with an exceptional need, because all of the
students had one. A moment that I remember in particular was in reading lab. There is a student
in reading lab with mild autism, and this student was having difficulty with an assignment. The
teacher got down on the students level and talked very calmly to him. She had to repeat herself
multiple times, but always stayed calm. The student was starting to get agitated, but I really think
the teacher staying calm helped the student and he eventually understood what he was supposed
to do.
During my service learning, many things made me think about the text. One example was
the student with autism. Another connection was when two teachers were talking about an IEP of
a students. It was very interesting to listen to, and I was glad I understood what was being said.
The teachers were actually considering whether or not the child should be there in the
meeting/parent- teacher conference or not. The teachers were all very dedicated to the success of
their students.

I have learned that exceptional need in the classroom takes a lot of patience, organization,
and the knowledge of the disabilities presented in the classroom. My experience in the
classrooms really gave me a different perspective of these students. The students are so fun and
willing to learn. I did not perceive the classroom to be exactly like the book, because, in my
opinion, there is not textbook perfect classroom. The classes were very time structured and the
teachers worked with each individual student as needed. The life skills class really helps with the
transition to adulthood. In life skills, students are taught how to handle things such as
procrastination. Another thing the students learned is how to manage money. The teacher had
some vocabulary words that helped apply to the lesson.
Special education teachers work under more difficult, more intense, and more
demanding conditions than mainstream teachers (Masters of Weaving: The Complex Role of
Special Education Teachers). Judging off my observation, I feel that this is a very true statement.
These students need more attention from their teacher, and the teacher has more accommodations
to make in their classroom for their students. Teachers are responsible to have strong
communication with the students parents and other teachers, which I was fortunate enough to
witness. I saw a lot more teacher-teacher interaction, but that is because I was there for most of
it. The students I observed shared many of the same teachers, so if a teacher had a concern about
a student, he/she could interact with the others. I did not see the actual interaction of the teacher
and student, but a teacher tell me that she emails a most of her students daily and gives them a
report on what is happening in class and what assignments and homework the child has.
I learned so much from the teachers at FCHS, and I will always remember some of their
actions and will use those in my future classroom.

References
Hillel Lavian, R. (2015). Masters of weaving: the complex role of special education teachers.
Teachers & Teaching, 21(1), 103-126. doi:10.1080/13540602.2014.928123
Hallahan, D., Kauffman, J., & Pullen, P. (2015). Exceptional learners: Introduction to special
education (13th ed.). Boston: Pearson