Harry Olenick

Austrian Field Experience Reflections

Reflection 1
Ohio New Teacher Standard 1:
Teachers understand student learning and development and respect the diversity of the students
they teach.
Element: Teachers understand how and when students develop and gain knowledge, acquire
skills and develop behaviors for learning
Competencies from Franciscan Field Experience: Field Student has observed an inappropriate
behavior and identified an appropriate approach to help remediate the behavior.
Reflection
Tuesday, September 30, I visited the Haupstschule in Gaming for the first time. Upon
arriving, the students from my classroom were standing inside the doorway. They were excited
and talkative as soon as they saw us; they immediately recognized us as the American student
teachers. After meeting my cooperating teacher, Mrs. Fischer, she led the students to the
classroom. These students are in the sixth grade and are around eleven years old. Along the way,
Mrs. Fischer asked if I would use the first part of class to introduce myself to the students and
vice versa.
I told the students my name, where I was from, what I was majoring in, and how big my
family was. These students are advanced in their use of the English language. Yet, Mrs. Fischer
stopped me to ask the students if they understood what I said. If not, she told them to ask me to
repeat. None of the students did. This only took a few moments and was slightly awkward. These
students, though excited, were shy and a little reserved; the same could be said about my
demeanor. I was nervous and had a slight cold at the time; I was not sure what to say or do. I
then remembered that I had my computer and asked the teacher if she wanted me to show them
some pictures of family and my dogs. She said that would be nice and it was a better icebreaker
with the students. I was able to show them some pictures of my family at Christmas time and my
nieces birthday party this previous summer. Afterwards, the students shared about themselves.
They told their names and talked about where they lived, their families, and hobbies. Their
English was better than I anticipated; their speech had to be corrected only a few times.
Finally, the students continued with an English lesson from a previous class. For this
portion of the class, I was a mere observer. They were reading a skit in one of their workbooks.
The students were allowed to choose a character to read the lines of the skit; they then read
through the play one time. After, Mrs. Fischer asked the students multiple questions about the
passage and the English involved. Then, the students read the text again but with the aid of a CD.
The CD provided the text in English and had many different people speaking. The students were
able to listen and follow along while having to comprehend the English being spoken. Mrs.
Fischer stopped the CD many times in order to ask questions about the story. By this point, the
class period was over; however, the next assignment involved acting out the play with the
characters chosen at the beginning of class.
 The goal of this lesson was to reinforce the vocabulary and grammar lessons that the
students had at an earlier date. All the students participated in some fashion and the lesson
seemed to accomplish its goal. The students progressively improved with their answers and
responses as the class proceeded. This is the reason that I chose the above Ohio New Teacher
Standard for this reflection. The students demonstrated an apt ability with the grammar and
vocabulary provided in this lesson. As they read the skit together, they had a few stumbles with
wording at first but progressively improved scene after scene. This was a clear demonstration of
a technique in which students learn and develop.
The Competency from the Franciscan Field Experience Handbook fits into this lesson in
the following way: while the lesson was productive, two of the boys in the classroom
misbehaved at one point in time. In the middle of the reading, the boys were fighting over a
pencil and started some heavy whispering. The teacher walked towards them and simply asked,
in a quiet but authoritative voice, if there was a problem. The boys said no and stopped their
antics at that exact moment. This was a clear instance of observing misbehavior and the
corresponding approach by the teacher. This approach was done in a discreet way in which the
boys received the message without disturbing the rest of class. I am not sure if I would have used
the exact same method but in this instance, it proved effective and sufficient.
Overall, the first visit to the school was interesting and informative. Although it started
out a little bumpy, it worked itself out by the end. I feel confident that the visits will only
improve as I become acquainted with the students, cooperating teacher, and Austrian school
system.
 Reflection 2
Ohio New Teacher Standard 5:
Teachers create learning environments that promote high levels of learning and achievement for
all students.
Element: Teachers create learning situations in which students work independently,
collaboratively, or as a whole class.
Competencies from Franciscan Field Experience: Field student has discussed with the teacher
grading procedures and has corrected papers.
Reflection
Tuesday, October 21, I completed my second visit to the Haupstschule in Gaming. When
I arrived, I recognized the students from my previous visit and was met with a hello. I was
waiting with the students for the teacher when another teacher approached me and said my
cooperating teacher was sick for the day and that I was to come with him. Now, that I reflect
upon this, I wonder if that was a mistake. He took me to a different classroom with a different set
of students than the ones I met before. He said he was a math teacher covering the English class
for a day because the teacher was out. He said that my teacher should be back next week and I
will return to the other class. I am unsure if my cooperating teacher was actually absent or if
there was a simple mix up.
At the time, I did not think anything was wrong. I just followed him down the hall and
met a new classroom. This classroom was smaller than the previous one I visited. This one had
six students, five boys and one girl. This class was less advanced in their usage of the English
language. They were able to communicate with me and ask questions but their sentences were
more broken than the other class. The first thing that I did was introduce myself to the class. I
told them my name, where I was from, some hobbies, and about my family. Then, they did
likewise. After the introductions, the students completed their worksheets for the day. I was
asked to simply supervise and answer any questions that arose.
These worksheets centered on Halloween. The teacher told me that Halloween is a
growing interest in Europe; its practice is not widespread but it is slowly gaining popularity. The
students in the class are beginning to wear costumes and trick-or-treat around Gaming. These
worksheets were vocabulary based. There were many word searches, picture-word
identifications, fill-in-the-blanks, crosswords, and word scrambles. The students were to work on
them individually and ask for help when needed. This is the point that the above Ohio New
Teacher Standard was demonstrated. The teacher created an environment in which the students
were forced to work individually to learn and reach a goal. However, the students turned the
worksheets into a collaborative effort as well. They did complete a majority of them by
themselves but at times, they asked one another for clarification or a translation of a word from
English to German. The teacher tried to discourage this; he wanted them to ask me for help
instead of one another. The students eventually approached me; I think they were simply shy and
felt more comfortable talking to one another.
 Midway through the lesson, the students were working quietly and at a steady pace. I
believe many of them were working on a word search. The teacher asked one boy if they had
homework the previous night. He said yes and showed us the workbook page that was assigned.
The page consisted of two sections: a small crossword puzzle and picture-word identification.
The teacher asked if I would mind grading them in order to lighten the work load of the absent
teacher. He gave me a red pen and I sat down to grade. He simply said that, if anything was
wrong, to make a mark next to it and correct it with the pen. This task only took me a few
minutes. The students had a majority of the answers correct. I only had to complete two blanks
that two students had left in the crossword. Otherwise, I corrected two spelling mistakes. Overall,
the students did an excellent job. It is for this reason that I chose the above Franciscan Field
Experience Competency for this reflection.
Overall, I believe this visit was more beneficial than my first. Even though I am unsure if
I was in the correct classroom, the day was productive. I felt more at ease and comfortable with
the students. I also enjoyed interacting and participating in the classroom. I think the visits will
only improve and be more enjoyable from here. I look forward to returning to the first classroom,
getting to know the students, and becoming more involved.
 Reflection3
Ohio New Teacher Standard 3:
Teachers understand and use varied assessments to inform instruction, evaluate and ensure
student learning.
Element: Select, develop, and use a variety of assessments
Competencies from Franciscan Field Experience: Field student has assisted to help individual
members of the class on a one-on-one basis (tutorial).
Reflection
Thursday, November 6, I returned to the Haupstschule for my third visit. When I arrived
at the school, another Franciscan student and I were placed with Mrs. Fischers class. The class
was taking an exam. Mrs. Fischer told us that the class would be working on the exam for the
entire length of the period; she asked us to simply sit in the back and observe. Although I was
with the same cooperating teacher, I noticed that there were some different students in the room.
I recognized some of them and others I did not. I believe that the students are placed in different
rooms for testing according to their capabilities and proficiencies in English. She explained that
each subject has four exams throughout the year; this was the first one in the English series.
Mrs. Fischer gave us a copy of the exam to read as the students were working. This test
seemed fairly straightforward and easy to us; the test used simple grammar and vocabulary.
However, this test might be challenging to one who is learning English. The test consisted of
seven major sections: listening, writing, vocabulary, grammar, dialogue, essential English, and
reading. The test focused on simple past tense verbs and vocabulary associated with music,
singing, and performing at a concert. The students were allowed to use a German to English
dictionary for this exam.
The test took a majority of the students the entire class period to complete. With ten
minutes of class remaining, a small handful of students finished their exam. Mrs. Fischer asked if
we would be willing to talk with these students. She asked us to go into the hall with them and
simply use informal conversational English. The students were excited to be able to talk with us
and practice their English.
The students were able to introduce themselves, tell their age, and where they lived. I
then asked them about their favorite hobbies. Each student was able to tell us his or her likes; a
majority of the students enjoy football, hiking, swimming, and riding bikes. Some of the students
also expressed an interest in cooking, skiing, and snowboarding. One student stood out to me.
This boys English was more advanced than the other students. He was able to respond to our
questions more quickly than the others. He was also able to help the other students express their
thoughts. At one point, he corrected another boys grammar.

Overall, this was the most beneficial part of the visit. The students had the chance to
practice their English grammar and vocabulary in a real life setting rather than worksheets. In
this way, I believe the above Franciscan University Competency was completed. The students
were able to practice their skills in a one-on-one basis. I believe that more informal sessions
similar to this would be increasingly beneficial to the students.
I wish that I was able to be more involved with a lesson at the school during this visit.
However, I realize the importance of testing and I am appreciative of the opportunity to observe
the procedures and examine a sample test. I greatly look forward to returning to the school and
becoming more involved with the students and classroom. I hope to be able to get to know the
students more and be able to practice conversational English with them.
 Reflection 4
Ohio New Teacher Standard 4:
Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction that advances the learning of each individual
student.
Element: Teachers use resources effectively, including technology, to enhance student learning.
Competencies from Franciscan Field Experience: Field student has been able to recognize
how classroom climate effects affects childrens behavior and has used appropriate techniques to
show positive classroom climate.
Reflection
My fourth visit to the Haupstschule occurred on Tuesday, November 18. After arriving at
the school and meeting the cooperating teachers in the main office, we were paired with a
classroom for the day. I was paired with Mrs. Fischer again. However, Ms. Priller only had three
students in her class. The two cooperating teachers decided to combine classrooms and jointly
teach the lesson for the day. Therefore, all three field students (Katie, Jamie, and myself) were
placed in the same classroom.
Katie and I followed Mrs. Fischer and her students to their classroom while Jamie and
Ms. Priller went to check on the availability of a technology room. Eventually, Jamie came to
Mrs. Fischers room and directed us to the technology room. When we arrived, Ms. Priller had
the smartboard turned on and a video waiting. This video focused on the new English lesson that
the students were beginning. This video focused on the use of comparatives. The videos mostly
consisted of dialogues with corresponding explanations in order to teach the concepts. The
English comparatives were featured in bold on the screen. For example, the words tall and
taller would appear on the screen when spoken in the dialogue.
After this video, Mrs. Fischer and Ms. Priller asked the class questions based on the
video. They asked the class to share any comparatives that they remembered from the video.
Various students would raise their hands and give an answer such as tall and taller or fast and
faster. Mrs. Fischer and Ms. Priller also gave short explanations as to why some words received
the er ending while other words were preceded with the word more. The students were eager
to provide answers and be interactive in the classroom.
Following this short class discussion, the cooperating teachers started another video. This
video focused on the superlatives and their use in comparison to comparatives. This video was
produced by the same company as the previous one; the set up of the video was the same. It
consisted mostly of dialogues and English words were displayed on the screen. Again, Mrs.
Fischer and Ms. Priller followed the videos with a class discussion. They asked similar questions
to their previous ones. They also supported the content with making comparisons between the
students. They picked a tall girl in the class and compared her to another girl in the class. In this
way, they demonstrated that the first girl was taller than the second girl. They also made
comparisons with who was the shortest and the funniest. Finally, they used superlatives to
describe who was the fastest swimmer or the best at English in the room. By using the videos,
Mrs. Fischer and Ms. Priller utilized technology to enhance student learning.
 Following this portion of the lesson, the entire class returned to Mrs. Fischers room.
There the cooperating teachers gave another brief explanation on comparisons and superlatives.
They explained how one is to determine when the er ending is used in relation to the word
more. Next, they were given worksheets to practice the new lesson. The worksheet consisted
of a list of words. The students were required to provide the correct comparisons and
corresponding superlatives. For the most part, the students worked quietly. If a question arose,
the cooperating teachers were quick to answer and help the students.
Overall, this visit to the Haupstschule showed the effective use of technology in
enhancing student learning and creating a positive classroom environment. Mrs. Fischer and Ms.
Priller effectively combined their classrooms and lessons at the last minute. The lesson was both
productive and informative. This visit was a beneficial observation of the day-to-day challenges
and surprises that teaching may bring.
 Reflection 5
Ohio New Teacher Standard 3:
Teachers understand and use varied assessments to inform instruction, evaluate and ensure
student learning.
Element: Select, develop, and use a variety of assessments
Ohio New Teacher Standard 4:
Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction that advances the learning of each individual
student.
Element: Teachers differentiate instruction to support the learning needs of all students,
including students identified as gifted and students with disabilities.
Competencies from Franciscan Field Experience: Field student has facilitated small group
activities for learning.
Reflection
Tuesday, November 25, I completed my fifth visit to the Haupstschule in Gaming. Like
last week, Mrs. Fischer and Ms. Priller combined their classrooms due to the low attendance in
Ms. Pillers class. Thereefore, the other field students (Jamie and Katie) and I were in the same
room again. The lesson was a continuation of the previous English lesson that involved
comparisons and superlatives. This lesson was structured as a workshop in which students have a
variety of activities to work on during the period. These activities included a game involving
comparisons, a puzzle with a corresponding worksheet, sentence composure, and worksheets in
their workbooks. The students already completed some of these tasks the day before. Today was
a wrap-up day.
Mrs. Fischer began the lesson by directing students to their needed stations. She then
asked Jamie, Katie, and I if we wanted to play the game with them. Of course, we excitedly
accepted the offer. This game was a simple board game with a die and pawns for each person.
The game focused on the use of comparisons and superlatives. Each space on the board had a
word or a word and two pictures in it. The first player would role the die and go to the
corresponding space. He or she then read the word in the space. If there was only one word, the
student would give the corresponding comparisons. For example, if I rolled the die and landed on
a space with the word small, I would have to say the comparisons small, smaller, and
smallest. If the player lands on a square with a word and two small pictures, they have to
construct two sentences about the pictures using the correct comparisons. For example, if the
student lands on a square with the word beautiful and two small butterflies, he or she would
have to construct sentences such as the following: this butterfly is more beautiful than that
butterfly and this butterfly is not as beautiful as that butterfly. If the mover correctly answers,
the he or she stays on the space and the next player takes his or her turn. If the mover gives an
incorrect answer, he or she has to return to the space from which their turn began and the next
player takes his or her turn. The first player to reach the finish line wins.
 Mrs. Fischer asked that we not only observe the game but play along with the students.
We took our respective turns and helped the students to understand mistakes they made. As the
game progressed, it became obvious as to which comparisons the students struggled with the
most. The students had a hard time distinguishing the correct answers for two-syllable words;
they struggled with which ones received the er ending and which ones received the words
more and most.
After the game, the students rotated to the next tasks. Each of these tasks involved
independent student learning. The students worked on a puzzle and worksheet with which they
were able to self-check their own work. They then completed the sentence construction activity
according to the prompts on the board and the workbook assignments. Any workbook
assignments that were not completed in class were assigned for homework that evening.
Overall, this field experience provided an excellent opportunity to interact with the students in a
small group activity. It was also a perfect demonstration of differentiated instruction and
jigsawing. I was able to view how to simultaneously and effectively provide individual and
group activities in one period; I was able to see how to transition students from one task to the
next without losing their focus.

Above: The board used for the Comparison Game.

 Reflection 6
Ohio New Teacher Standard 4:
Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction that advances the learning of each individual
student.
Element: Teachers create and select activities that are designed to help students develop as
independent learners and complex-problem solvers
Ohio New Teacher Standard 6:
Teachers collaborate and communicate with other educators, administrators, students, and
parents and the community to support student learning.
Element: Teachers communicate clearly and effectively.
Competencies from Franciscan Field Experience: Field student has facilitated large group
play and/or games and rhythms
Reflection
Tuesday, December 2, I completed my sixth and final visit to the Haupstschule in
Gaming. Upon arrival, I went to the main office to meet my cooperating teachers, Mrs. Fischer
and Ms. Priller, who greeted us and asked if this would be our last visit. When we said it was,
they expressed their gratitude in having us come and observe their classrooms and wished us safe
travels home. They also discussed the days schedule. Both teachers would go to their respective
classrooms for a short period and then, after some grammar activities, they would combine
classrooms to watch a video on this weeks English chapter.
However, this schedule did not happen. Before heading to the classrooms, I gave Mrs.
Fischer a thank you gift that I brought from the United States. I wanted to give the class
something small in return for hosting me this fall. I chose to give them the game Bananagrams
because I thought it would be useful in teaching English vocabulary and word recognition. In
addition, the other field student, Katie, brought American coins and dollar bills along with coins
from our travels to show the students. Mrs. Fischer was very appreciative of our gifts and asked
how many students could play the game at one time. I told her that up to eight students could
play. Both Mrs. Fischer and Ms. Priller decided that they wanted to incorporate the game and
coins into the days lesson. They decided that, in order to do so and because it was our last day,
that that they would postpone their pre-planned lesson to the next class day. They asked if I
would teach the game to a group of students while Katie explained the coins.
We then went to the classrooms where the students were divided into multiple groups.
Katie sat with some students in the corner of the room and explained the money she had; she
explained where they came from and the significance of the images that were on them. Another
group of students worked on some activities with Ms. Priller while I took the final group into the
hallway where some tables were set up. I was in charge of teaching an average of eight students
the game Bananagrams. In order to explain the game, I compared it to the game Scrabble; I
simply said the game involved making words by connecting tiles horizontally and vertically. I
also explained the differences between Bananagrams and Scrabble. I found it easier to
demonstrate how the game was played than to simply explain in English. I instructed the students
to only make English words since it was an English class.
Overall, this interaction with the students was highly beneficial and productive. The
students seemed to enjoy the game and were reluctant to leave the table when the next groups
turn came. After one game, two girls started back to the classroom to complete the next activity
but the teacher allowed them to remain due to the small number in the group that was replacing
hers. She was very excited to play the game again. This game also gave me the opportunity to
see the students progress with English. For the most part, the students made simple words such
as sea, dog, feel and cat. Some of the students learned to use the letters to make longer
words such as street and rugby. If I saw a student struggling to use the letters in front of
them to form a word, I would help by suggesting a word or showing them how the letters could
be rearranged to make more words. Although the students are supposed to be racing each other,
they were more interested in forming words and using all of their tiles. Because of this, the
students often helped each other make words. They also asked one another and me if a word was
properly spelled or indeed a word to begin with.
In the end, the students greatly enjoyed the game and the cooperating teachers found it to
be an interesting instructional support for learning English vocabulary. The teachers seemed
excited to incorporate the game into future lessons. Personally, this final field experience was the
most beneficial. Not only was I able to supervise their activity, but I was able to interact with
them and teach them a new concept. This experience helped me to become more comfortable in
the classroom setting. I feel that it helped me to grow and mature as an individual and a future
educator.