Classroom Observation

I brought Mrs. William flowers because today was my last day in her room since my semester is ending and her career is coming to an end (my supervising teacher informed me that is retiring at the end of the 2016 academic school year). Mrs. William hugged me, thanked me for the flowers, and set them next to the sink. She told the students, “Now you all have pretty flowers to look when you wash your hands.” Mrs. William told me and my peer teacher candidate that she needed help administering a mathematics test. I took four students, Mrs. William took three, and my peer took the others into small groups. Mrs. William read each question and answer choice allowed multiple times. She said, “I usually like to give them a big hint. Feel free to do the same just do not give the answer. The goal is to see if they know how to do the math, not if they can read the problem.” Mrs. William would say hints like, “Remember take away means we will subtract.” There were two problems that Mrs. William told me were “questionable.” One stated, “Where is the moon in comparison to the Earth.” This problem had no picture, but had statements such as, “next to, beside, above, etc.” One student said, “This is a science question, not a math question!” The other question involved a student making various shapes using toothpicks. Mrs. William called my peer and myself over to her table and had us work out the problem on our own. Not a single one of us got the same answer. My peer is the only one that got an answer in the multiple choice options. Mrs. William said, “I guess you will have to teach us how you got that!” There were 28 problems and it took a full hour and half to have it administered. Mrs. William told me that this was an exam that The Learning Academy gives the student biannually. The students had snack time and then were given another portion of the test. However, this part is what Mrs. William called the “easier section” because it has “no word problems.” For example, the statement would say, “Pick the biggest ice cream scoop.” I pulled my case study student during the first part in order to give her the spelling inventory. When I finished with her, I had her go back and check her work (any ones she circled- meaning she needed to finish it) and do the “easier portion.” While we completed this, the rest of the class walked to recess and the substitute teacher next door checked in on us. It only took five minutes into the recess block for Hannah to complete the whole exam. I walked Hannah out to recess, hugged Mrs. William and told her how much she has meant to me over the years. She said, “I love you, and I know you will succeed in life.” My last day at The Learning Academy came to an end, and I walked to my car with a tear in my eye.

Classroom Reflection

I have known Mrs. William since elementary school when she was the school librarian. It was a shock to find out that she was teaching at The Learning Academy. I heard from my supervising teacher that she was retiring at the end of the year. I knew that it was probably my last time seeing her. We have a special bond, I am so happy that I was able to reconnect and learn more from her. It’s funny how I was one of her first students and now one of her last. It is sad knowing I may never see her, but I know she will have fun at the beach in her new beach house! She has made an impact on my life, and I am sure an even greater impact for the students at The Learning Academy. Helping with the math test was a lot of fun. However, I do not think I would have given the students so many hints. I understand that the reading of the problem should not have an effect on their performance. However, telling them when to add, subtract, multiple, and divide is almost just as bad as giving them the answer. They should be able to recognize key words (even if it is being read to them) and know what to do with them. I worry about these students when they enter public school (though some may choose to stay in a private school setting). The students will not have this kind of one-on-one attention during standardized testing mandated by the state if they enter a public school.

Case Study Observation

During the first half of the mathematics assessment, I was given a small group which Hannah was in. Hannah would often (just about every question) have me re-read/re-state the question and answer choices. I did since this is on her IEP plan and Mrs. William said I could since the goal was to make sure she knew how to do the problems not read the problem. Hannah circled roughly five questions. I watched Hannah work out the problems on her scratch paper and then circle the number whenever Mrs. William said that it was time to move on to the next question (the class was instructed to stay together). At the end of the day, I pulled Hannah in order to have her finish that portion and do the “easier section” of the assessment. I pulled Hannah after the “difficult portion” of the mathematics test while the students were starting the “easier portion” in order to gather my last data point. Today was my last day at The Learning Academy for the semester so I needed to give Hannah the original spelling inventory given at the beginning of the semester. The only assessment I gave Hannah was the inventory, and then we read, “Oh the Places You’ll Go!” I told that I have had so much fun working with her this semester and she will go so far in everything she does because she is so smart. I told Hannah to pretend that she was the yellow person in the book. We read the book for fun (I simply read the book and modeled fluency). I provided Hannah with peppermint patties since she told me the first week (during the interest inventory) that it were her favorite candy.

Case Study Reflection

I am truly going to miss working with Hannah. She has been such a joy and has opened up a lot since the first couple of weeks. I am a little disappointed in the performance of Hannah’s final spelling inventory. She went down in the skills we worked on (diagraphs and blends). It makes me feel like we wasted all of the time for nothing. Perhaps Hannah felt rushed or left out because the classroom was doing a test. She could have felt as though she was falling behind in her classroom assignments. She has shown inconsistency this semester with the majority of her assignments so this was just another drop. A gain would have been nice to see, but children are inconsistent based on external and internal factors. Hopefully she has taken some of what I have taught her and applied it to other subjects. Hannah has worked really hard and did not complain once about any of the assignments I asked her to do (no matter the difficulty).