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EDUC 280 - Timecard and Journal Entries

Task 1. Timecard
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Task 2. Journal 1 & 2 Combined Journal Assignment
Task 1. Classroom Management
Question 1 – Do you think your teacher has successfully created a productive learning environment? Why or
why not?
This year has been different than any other year, and considering the circumstances that the teachers I observed
had to work with, I believe they both did a wonderful job creating a productive learning environment with the
modifications that had to be made. I do believe however one teacher is a bit stronger than the other. The first
teacher I have been observing has been teaching for many years. She never raises her voice and is very calm
with the students. Whenever you walk into her room the students are well behaved, and very focused and
engaged on whatever lesson or activity is occurring. You can tell her classroom management is very strong
because students know the procedures and routines to follow and don’t need to constantly ask what to do they
do it and she acts as a guide. The second teacher also does many of these things however this year she has a
class filled with thirteen boys and four girls. She is struggling with keeping the boys on task and finding that place
where each of them can sit next to someone and stay focused. I notice her raising her voice more to the boys
and they will respond, stop doing what they were doing wrong for a while, but shortly go back to it. I do know
she is communicating with the vice principle and principle to find the best way to handle her class, and I have
noticed improvement in her class being more focused on learning due to changes she has made.

Question 2 – What techniques does the teacher use to keep students actively involved in academic activities?
There are many similar techniques that I see both teachers use to keep their students actively involved in
academic activities. First off, they both show enthusiasm for the activity that they will be doing. I noticed that
when they are excited about an activity it rubs off on the students and they also begin to become excited. I also
see that both of these teachers love to turn activities into games. Kindergarteners love games, and if there is a
lesson that is not as enjoyable alone, they are great about turning it into some kind of game. These teachers are
also very good at catering to the way the students learn. Students can be auditory, visual, kinesthetic, a
combination, or many more kinds of learners. No matter what way they learn best I know that this group of
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kindergarten teachers try to include a variety of activities fit for every learner so they can ensure that you’re
giving everyone at least one thing that works for them. My favorite thing that I watch these teachers due to keep
their students engaged is let them have discussions. Children love to share experiences and overall have
conversations. I love the fact that the teachers allow a time for the students to share on the activity before
beginning making them more excited about the task.

Question 3 – How is your teachers “withitness?”

Both of the teachers I observed this semester were great with “withitness.” The teacher who is struggling with
her boys in the classroom despite the struggle always seems to know when they are misbehaving. Now that they
are becoming more under control, she is able to turn away and feel more confident doing so, while still keeping
the peripheral vision handy as well. The other teacher has always done really well with this. When I am in her
room, I can tell that the students know she is watching and knows what’s going on. Something I noticed in
particular that she did at the beginning of the year was to always have her back to a wall. This allowed her to
always have her eyes forward and correctly identify the students that are the instigator. It really helped so she
wasn’t identifying the wrong students. If more than one behavior was occurring, she always ensured to deal with
the most serious incident first, especially if it involved a student’s safety. Both teachers not only showed they
were always watching with negative things, but with positive as well. They might casually say “Oh I like how
Johny is working so hard and quietly” and this helped show the students that the teacher is not always watching
for the bad, but the good as well. Pointing out the positive that someone was doing was also a good way to show
the student who may be doing the opposite as them that she see’s them doing wrong and pointing out how they
can fix it.

Question 4 – What types of “punishments” are used in your classroom?

As far as punishment goes in the classroom, I notice that the type of “punishment” depends on the student. I
have seen where both teachers have put a student in timeout and the child learned a lesson and never did it
again. I have also seen the opposite where the child was put in timeout and went back to the wrong thing they
were doing. What I have noticed though is when or if that happens, they are very proactive on regrouping and
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realizing that that method did not work for that student and to put something else into place. Now that we are
closer to the end of the semester I can walk into both rooms and see what is put in place. I can look around and
see behavior change systems, where students are earning tokens for engaging in specific behaviors and losing
them for others. This allows students a visual of their behaviors, and allows them to feel responsible, because at
a specific time they get to use them for a desired item and if they don’t have enough tokens, they can’t earn it. I
also see group reward system, clip charts, and simple verbal and nonverbal cues the teacher communicates to
stop and unwanted behavior. For some students there are choice charts put in place to where when they are
making a poor choice, they choose, am I going to do this or go see the principle. This does not work for every
student, however there is one in the first teachers’ class that this is an extremely effective option. Punishment is
not necessarily negative and both teachers are doing great at learning what works for their students and
adapting to it.

Question 5 – How or where are the rules posted in your classroom? How were they created? By the students
or the teacher?
As far as rules posted in the classroom there are some done by the students and some by the teacher. For
example, in both of the rooms I observe there are posters displayed on the wall with classroom rules. Being that
the students are kindergarten and cannot read quite yet what was great about the rules was that next to what
wording there was, was a visual explaining the rule, e.g., Raise hand. Along with the nice posters the teachers
had they both did a great activity to really get the students involved in the rules. One of the first assignments
was for them to draw a picture of one of their favorite classroom or recess rules. The teachers created a list of
possible rules the students could draw and even did a few example sketches to help them out, knowing fine
motor skills were not strong. The teachers displayed these rules the students created around their posters and
the kids love being able to see their rule displayed on the wall like the teachers. The teachers also mentioned
that the students will get to pick a new rule to draw after Christmas break as a refresher of the expectations.
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Task 2. Curriculum

Question 1 – Give an example of when the teacher used integrated curriculum across subjects (i.e. combining
science and language arts)
In kindergarten I feel like integrating curriculum across subjects is an all the time thing. Kindergarten is the
beginning stages of everything, so anytime you get to combine two things together you do it. For example, daily
math and language is put together. Just the other day students were doing a worksheet on syllables. Well, to do
syllables you have to count, making a really easy combination of curriculum. Another example was a Halloween
book students were putting together. The first page said “I see one Ghost!” Students had to read, trace, and
count the objects on each page.

Question 2 – Give an example of when the teacher used hidden curriculum.

In kindergarten I feel as though there plenty of places where hidden curriculum is used. For example, In
kindergarten students are constantly learning things like sharing, group work, how to fit in and much more.
These things may not be taught as a whole lesson, but are incorporated into their daily activities in a sense of
“social studies.”

Question 3 – Does your teacher used differentiated instruction?

Yes, both teachers used differentiated instruction. As with any grade level in kindergarten many students learn
differently and are at different levels of learning. The teachers I observed understood that not all of their
students grasp a subject in the same way or share the same level of ability, and did a great job at adapting their
learning to what the students are interested in, their learning styles, and differentiating the learning
environment, content, process, and products. One thing in particular that I enjoy watching is intervention.
Students are placed in groups with those who need practice on the same skills. By doing this when that group
sees the teacher, she knows what level they are all at and can adapt the instruction to their needs.
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Question 4 – Can you tell what kind of learner the teacher is from his/her instructional preferences?
As far as what kind of learner the teachers are based on their instruction, I can tell one better than the other.
The teacher with the difficult boys is very kinesthetic. She is constantly doing hand on projects with different
touch, feel, and movement. The other teacher is a bit harder to know her preference because she is so good at
incorporating different kinds of learning. I want to say she is very visual and kinesthetic as well due to the many
hands-on activities she has and the many visuals she uses for teaching in comparison to the other teacher.

Question 5 – Do you think the teacher adapts the curriculum to the types of learners in the classroom?
I absolutely think that the teachers I have observed adapt the curriculum to the types of learners in the
classroom. Half way through the semester I talked to one of the teachers about this, and she said, “Every year
brings a different set of students.” She said this because last year a large majority of her students were very
visual and kinesthetic. This year she said a lot of kids are still kinesthetic, because they do like learning by doing,
but she has quite a few this year who are more auditory. Both do their best to include and many learning styles
as possible but they said it can be difficult when a large majority of them fall one way or another.

Question 6 – Does your teacher like the curriculum he/she is teaching?

Both of the teachers I have been observing like the curriculum. They like the fact that it involves a large
understanding to the “why” behind doing things a certain way, and giving students that knowledge. They also
mentioned that they like the fact that common core is very future centered in preparing students. Yes there are
a few things they may not be a huge fan of, but they know that all of it comes together in the end.

Question 7 – What would they like to see added in the future?

As far as what both of these teachers would like to see in the future, they were both in agreeance for one big
thing and it was technology. There are so many letter identification games and programs available, but the one
big problem is that they can’t use them to their full potential. A lot of times there are apps downloaded on the
IPads for students to use and they are the free versions. Some of those games really help some kids and because
they are the free version only certain letters are unlocked. Both teachers would love for more games to be fully
unlocked. One of the teachers also mentioned that she wished that preschool would become mandatory. So
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many kids are coming to kindergarten with no clue what letters are and falling way behind compared to those
who went to preschool, and received this knowledge. She says it would be much easier to go through the
curriculum.

Task 3. Technology

Question 1 – What kind of technology was used in the class(es) you observed? Was it effective?
In the two classes I observed the technology used was IPads, projector with computer, assistive technology,
digital storytelling, and virtual fieldtrips. All of the technology used in these classrooms I felt were very effective.
One boy has problems with speech and the IPads actually have assistive technology for him to press a picture for
us to understand his needs better. I really enjoyed the virtual fieldtrips. Students were so engaged with seeing so
many different places, and it seemed to make them really engaged in the lesson, and make it more relatable.

Question 2 – What type of technology might you use when you start your teaching career?
When I start my teaching career, I would love to incorporate many kinds of technology. In the kindergarten
rooms they do not have smart T. V’s, so if I end up with one in my classroom, I would love that opportunity. I
would also like to utilize any assistive technology that could help any struggling student in my class. I also might
use chromebooks, or IPads, as well as access all kinds of virtual fieldtrips. I would also love to communicate with
parents through technology. Programs like Class Dojo, linked in, and your standard phone and email are all great
ways to communicate.

Question 3 – Do you think it is harder or easier to incorporate technology into your classroom?
I think it can be both hard and easy to incorporate technology into the classroom. What is hard is ensuring the
students know how to use the technology given to them. There are so many steps to technology that it might
slow some students down using it, especially depending on grade level. What is easier about it, is it allows
students to access things very quickly as long as they know how to use it properly. It’s also easier for the teacher
as far as eliminating copies being made and hundreds of papers being taken home for grading. Technology also
provides so many assistive things to help struggling students.
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Task 4. Diversity
Question 1 – How diverse was your class(es) you observed?
The classes I observed were very diverse. Race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status,
ability, age, religious belief, or political conviction can all be a part of that. In the school itself a large majority of
the students are Hispanic. Many students in the school come from a lower socio-economic status. In fact, a little
over 51% of the school qualifies for the free and reduced lunch due to that. Most classrooms are fairly split on
boys and girls, except for a few, like my one teacher, where it was either heavily filled with boys or girls. The
students in these classes are all very different and I was able to begin to tell which ones needed more help due
to diversity.

Question 2 – What did your mentor/teacher do (or not do) to create a diverse classroom? 
The teachers I worked with did many things to create a diverse classroom. First of all they shared with me that
many of these students are coming from all over, and their lives can be rather hard outside of school. With that
they provided an environment that made them feel safe, loved, and cared for. Both teachers showed how
important it is to listen to what the students have to say, and they both work hard to build relationships with
students. They attempted to relate to each of them to help build that relationship. These teachers also let
students simply be themselves and for them to feel free to share about their culture and where they come from.
Lastly they used the cultural diversities of their students to build on in class.