During the Winter Quarter, each of you will be observing for a full morning in one school building for the ten weeks of the quarter. In addition, some assignments will require you to also stay in the afternoons on some days. Refer to the Field Observation Etiquette sheet from Fall Quarter for appropriate protocol at school buildings.

You are to spend a full morning in your assigned classroom. Most of you have been assigned observations in a subject matter area or grade level in which you are interested to teach. This quarter, again, is primarily to give you an opportunity for focused observations of classrooms, a few transitions into teaching. The following is a list of required teaching lessons for this quarter. These are to be arranged with your classroom teacher to be completed some time during this quarter.

1. Take over Classroom Routine (i.e., DOL, spelling test, attendance)
2. Copy Cat Lesson (TESC student observes teacher, records, and plans to "copy" in a future lesson
3. Self Designed Lesson (The teacher provides the TESC student a specific concept to design/teach a lesson)

It is our expectation that you will again keep a field journal of your observations and questions in the format described in Field Observation Journal from Fall Quarter. Again, you should record any personal responses/insights separately from your descriptions by indicating them with an asterisk on the page, or in your post-observation reflections.

Morning Observations

Week One - all day - Description of the Physical Environment

In order to get a sense of the variety of daily experiences -- classes, playground/lunchroom duty, planning period, etc. that one teacher has, this first week we would like you to stay with your assigned a.m. teacher for the full day. This also should give you an opportunity to get acquainted, and, if there is time, to let him/her know something about what you are doing/ are interested in.

In addition to noting the flow of the teacher's daily schedule, you should devote this observation session to last quarter's first observation assignment -- Observation and Description of the Physical Environment. Add to this, if it is appropriate, a request to take a look at the "textbooks" or resources (including any educational software for the computer) that the teacher uses. Note the names/publishers of these books or software if you can.

Week Two a.m. Observation of Teacher/Student Interactions

For this observation, select at least two of the tasks assigned for week 2 during the Fall Quarter. You may want to observe different interactions than you selected last quarter from the list --attention getting behavior, select and observe three students overtime, "rules" for appropriate classroom behavior evident from what the students do and do not do, how "transitions" are handled, who is called on --gender, race, etc. See if you can improve the formats that you use to record these data.

Week Three a.m. - Observation and Description of Pedagogy

For this observation select from among those tasks assigned for week 3 during the Fall Quarter. You may want to observe different interactions than you selected last quarter from the list -- how class discussions occur, teacher's question-asking approach, teaching-learning strategies used e.g. whole group direct instruction, cooperative group tasks, collaborative problem-solving in small groups, problem-posing and group exploration, individual student-selected study, computer, film, teacher-directed discussion. Can you identify teacher encouraging "dialogic thinking" in which s/he has students compare and/or defend multiple points of view on issues, exploring and testing their ideas, etc. ? Describe in your journal what you see that might reflect this approach and be prepared to discuss it in field seminar.

Week Four a.m. - Observation and Description of Pedagogy, Continued

For this observation select from among those tasks assigned for week 3 during the Fall Quarter. You may want to observe different interactions than you selected last quarter from the list -- how class discussions occur, teacher's question-asking approach, teaching-learning strategies used e.g. whole group direct instruction, cooperative group tasks, collaborative problem-solving in small groups, problem-posing and group exploration, individual student-selected study, computer, film, teacher-directed discussion. Can you identify teacher encouraging "dialogic thinking" in which s/he has students compare and/or defend multiple points of view on issues, exploring and testing their ideas, etc. ? Describe in your journal what you see that might reflect this approach and be prepared to discuss it in field seminar.

Week Five a.m. - Content Area Observations

Elementary school and middle/high school observations will be different this week and next.

Elementary - For this observation, you will want to observe and describe what approaches the teacher is using for teaching arithmetic/mathematical concepts and, if possible, reading. Describe what mathematical concepts are being taught and how are they being taught. Describe as closely as you can what the teacher says and the kinds of resources used by the children. If nothing is being done in the morning, inquire about afternoon and observe then if necessary. If you observe reading, describe what the students are reading and how the teacher organizes the reading/word recognition experiences. Can you assess which levels of Bloom's Taxonomy the teachers educational objectives are addressing? Discuss this in your journal and prepare to use this as a focus for field seminar discussion.

Middle School/High School - For this observation, you will want to observe and describe the content focus of the teaching in each class you observe. That is, what specific content is the teacher having the students address? What are his/her objectives for that class, were they met? What was his/her teaching approach? What resources were used? What perspectives introduced? Questions posed? If tests were given, what kind? What take home or in-class assignments were given? (If you are beginning the Social Sciences, Science or Literature/English Friday groups, see if you can borrow a copy of the textbook used in the class for at least one week). Can you assess which levels of Bloom's Taxonomy the teachers educational objectives are addressing? Discuss this in your journal and prepare to use this as a focus for field seminar discussion.

Week Six a.m. - Content Area Observations, Continued

Repeat the same set of observations that you made last week, with continued attention to content, resources, approach and teacher's objectives. Specifically, attend again to which levels of Bloom's taxonomy the teacher's educational objectives are addressing and examples of teacher encouraging 'dialogic thinking', if s/he does so. Do you see in your classroom any examples of teacher and students exploring philosophical question? e.g. open exploration of how something might work? why things are they way they are? who am I? how am I different from you? Describe any examples that you observe.

Week Seven a.m. - Approaches to Solving Discipline Problems

The focus of your observations today should be to describe the kinds of approaches to discipline that your teacher has been using, If there are specific instances of student "discipline problems" and teacher responses that occur today, record them. However, you will notice that many of the approaches described in the book are not 'discipline' as we might traditionally think of it. Try to identify examples of the overall approach(es) --related to the models in the book --to discipline used by the teacher. In your post-observation write-up identify the specific approaches that you observed. This will form the focus of the field seminar discussion.

Week Eight a.m. - Approaches to Solving Discipline Problems

The focus of your observations today should be to describe the kinds of approaches to discipline that your teacher has been using, If there are specific instances of student "discipline problems" and teacher responses that occur today, record them. However, you will notice that many of the approaches described in the book are not 'discipline' as we might traditionally think of it. Try to identify examples of the overall approach(es) --related to the models in the book --to discipline used by the teacher. In your post-observation write-up identify the specific approaches that you observed. This will form the focus of the field seminar discussion.

Week Nine a.m. - Children with Special Needs

This observation will require that you attend to students in the class who appear to have "special needs". Your classroom teacher may or may not feel it appropriate to identify which children "officially" have been diagnosed with, for instance, a learning disability of some sort. If they do feel it appropriate, or if you are able to notice visually e.g. student in wheelchair, student with Limited English Proficiency, student with behavioral differences, or notable learning delays, then these students can be the focus of your observations. Across the morning identify a) what is the "special need" of each student that you have identified, b) what special accommodations are made to include/ provide extra support for their needs? c) how do these children relate to their peers? their peers relate to them? d) how does the teacher relate to them? do they relate to the teacher? Can you identify any specific "in-group/outgroup" responses by the teacher or peers to those children with special needs? Are there any students in the room who seem to be 'on the margin', or the focus of extra criticism, ridicule, discounting by peers? How would you describe them? The responses they receive from others?

Week Ten am.

This final observation session may be used to extend your focused observation in any of the areas discussed above. This also will be your final week in this setting. You will want to be sure that all discussions with other staff and/or other observations of interest are complete. Be sure to thank those who have let you observe/talk with them throughout the quarter.
 

It will be up to you, in collaboration with other MIT students observing in the same school, to make appointments with school personnel whom you would be interested to observe and/or have a conversation with during the quarter. The week before your observation day, you will want to talk, in person or by phone, with school staff you would like to visit the following week. For instance, you may wish to spend an afternoon in a special needs classroom, a bilingual pull-out classroom, an art, music, p.e. class, a block social studies/literature class or have a conversation with teachers or the principal during their break or planning periods.

You and your colleagues in your school are required to schedule conversations with the following three school personnel during your afternoon observation periods:

1. the principal
2. the educational media/computer specialist and or a teacher who is most skilled with computers in the classroom
3. someone who specifically works with children with special needs.

Required Conversations

Principal - A conversation with the principal about what the principal's various roles are in the school; the school's philosophy, the socioeconomic profile of the student body, the principal's approach to working with parents and the local community, what he/she feels are things that students preparing for teaching should be paying special attention to. What should new teachers know about what support/ expectations a principal might give or have. You might want to talk with elementary principals about what they are looking for in approaches to math teaching and reading instruction. How the school works with children with special needs.

Media /Technology Specialist or Teacher With Good Skills in Computers/Media What kinds of educational technology does the school have? How much are they used by teachers? Do you have many problems with your equipment? What specific software is available at the school and is most often used? (Here you want to get the title and publisher of all recommended software). What are laser discs that teachers use frequently, if any. How are computers used in classroom in the school? Are they hooked up to e-mail, Internet, for student use.

Special Needs Classroom Teacher/Consultant - How does this school integrate children with special needs into the overall program? What need categories do you have in the current school population, and are they handled similarly? Which tests do you use to identify children with special needs? How are those tests chosen? Who participates in the creation of the Individual Education Plan (IEP)? How do the special needs teachers collaborate with other teachers? What do classroom teachers generally do to incorporate these students into their regular classes? Does you district have students with certain needs clustered in a separate program in one district school?

Other Interesting Observations/Conversations

Vice-Principal - What is the role of the vice-principal in this school? What is the school's discipline policy? How are such things as suspensions handled in this district?

School Counselor - What are the most common issues/problems that they work with at these grade levels? What do they spend most of their on-the-job time doing? How closely do they work with teachers and on what kinds of things? What role do they have in working with special needs children and families?

Librarian - What kinds of programs does the library have that relate to what the students are doing in their classes? In what ways do you relate to teachers? How do books and videos get selected for the school library? How do you like to help students learn to use the facilities of the library?

Classroom Teachers - (Many questions would be interesting to explore.) How do you think about planning your curriculum -- thematically, etc.? How often do you hold parent/teacher conferences? How do you structure them? What are the most challenging kinds of parent issues that you have faced? What kinds of relationships do you try to create with the families/guardians of students? What kinds of 'messages' do you send home, if any? Is your school involved yet with planning for the implementation of the Essential Learning Requirements? What have you discovered about best ways to incorporate children with special needs? What do you think are the most important knowledge/concepts/ processes/skills for students in this class/grade-level?

Music(Orchestra/Band/Chorus)/Art/P.E. Teachers - How is the program in these areas designed in this school. Do you work with any of the teachers in joint efforts/collaborations?

Educational Assistants - What are your responsibilities in the classroom? How do you feel that you are most at effectively used in the classroom? How do you coordinate what you do with the teacher? What advice would you have for a new teacher who had the opportunity to work with an E.A. in her/his classroom?

School Secretary - What are the responsibilities of the school secretary? How can teachers best support the work that you do? What kinds of things do you do to support teachers? What is the most interesting part of your job? The most difficult? (A good way to get a sense of the school office is to find an unobtrusive seat and observe for awhile).

School Custodian - What do you like most about your job here? Do you have many conversations with students? What kinds of things do you learn about their needs and interests? What advice would you give me as a new teacher, based on your own experience with the students in this school?

Attend an evening PTO or Site Council meeting - You may opt to substitute one afternoon observation with your attendance at a PTO or school Site Council meeting. If you do this, you must talk with the Chair about their goals for the year; what they see as the needs of this school.

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