Context for Learning Description of School and Students

Trinity Christian College Field Experience Form

Context for Learning

Description of School and Students

About the School Where You Are Observing or doing Field Experience

School Name and City: Hilda Walker, Frankfort Square, IL

Type of School: Middle

Setting: Suburban

Write your responses to the three questions below in paragraph form.

1.    List any special features of the school or classroom setting (e.g., themed magnet, classroom aide, bilingual, co-taught with a special education teacher, pull-out program).

I am in a PE setting, and the two special features I have seen are aides in the room during the periods' individual needs students are attending, and special programs such as speech pulling students out.

2.    Describe any district, school, or cooperating teacher requirements or expectations that affect the planning or delivery of instruction, such as required curricula, pacing plan, use of specific instructional strategies, or standardized tests.

The PE period is a multi-class setup with five teachers. One thing I observed was the school requires the period to break into 3 sections, health, fitness center, and gymnasium/sports. The negative is that the school is not equipped for the separation so the health component sits in a hall while the fitness component is in an old storage closet in the cafeteria.

3.    For special education only: List any educators with specialized expertise in the school/district (e.g., specific disabilities, subject-specific pedagogy, English language development, speech therapists).

About the Students in this Class [Give a brief or one-word response]

1.    Estimated percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch: N/A

2.    Grade level(s): 5-6

3.    Number of

a.    students in the class: 125

b.    males: N/A

females: N/A

c.     English language learners: 0

d.    students identified as gifted and talented: N/A

e.    students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans: 5

4.    Complete the chart below to summarize required accommodations or modifications for students receiving special education services and/or students who are gifted and talented as they will affect instruction. As needed, consult with your cooperating teacher to complete the chart. The first row has been completed in italics as an example. Use as many rows as you need.

Special Education Category	Number of Students	Accommodations, Modifications, and/or Pertinent IEP Goals
Example: Learning Disability	Example: 4	Example: Close monitoring, follow up, and Resource Room
Learning Disability	5	Individualized Instruction, paraprofessional Assistance

About the Class You Observed

1.    How much time is devoted each day to instruction in the classroom? Describe the class periods (if applicable)? Choose a content area of your specialty or major. How much time is devoted to teaching that subject?

45 minute periods, approximately 38 minutes of instruction. Students enter the gymnasium. Lead Teacher Overviews the daily agenda then get students ready for warm up. Students spend 5 minutes warming up. The lead teacher then segregates 5 separate classes accordingly on a rotating schedule. 3 classes stay in gymnasium, 1 exits to health hallway, 1 exits to the fitness room. Gymnasium students review the object and goals of instruction for 5 minutes then apply it for 23 minutes leaving 2 minutes to clean at the end of the period. Students in health and fitness switch routines after 15 minutes then continue instruction until the bell rings.

2.    Is there any ability grouping or tracking? If so, please describe how it affects your class.

There was no ability grouping or tracking. The students were grouped by homeroom.

3.    Identify any textbook or instructional program you primarily use for instruction. If a textbook, please provide the title, publisher, and date of publication.

No use of textbooks

4.    List other resources (e.g., SMARTBoard, manipulatives, online resources) used for instruction in this class.

The lead teacher uses a microphone to be heard by all children and a chrome book is used to lead students in the fitness room, but no other resources are used for instruction.

5. What do you know about what your students know, what can they do, and what are they learning to do? What do you know about your students’ everyday experiences, cultural backgrounds and practices, and interests?

  

Students were learning about bowling. In the gymnasium, they were practicing bowling technique and in the health hall, they were learning how to keep school. Most students demonstrated good with great technique, but many struggled on the math component in the scoring system, especially when incorporating strikes into the equation. The teachers demonstrated the good technique in handling such a large quantity of children, but with so little space and so many students, it was difficult to keep all students on track, with students getting away actions not conducive to the learning environment.

6. Describe one teaching event. What best practices in teaching were used?

During the intro overview and warm up, one teacher demonstrated great student to teacher communication. He spoke in a loud and clear with a voice that expressed fun yet authoritative attitude. He constantly used positive words such as “responsible” and “respect,” and expressed the idea of “power of positivity.” His teaching style expressed the idea that if the student respects the teachers and follows directions, the more fun they will have.