Weekly Observation Journal

Objective:
To document an experience that occurred during my weekly Classroom
Observation hours at Saint Matthias School as a source of reflection in my future
teaching practices.
9/14/16
Today was my first visit to first grade classroom that I have been assigned at St. Matthias
School. The co-operating teacher greeted me at the front entrance and made me feel
welcome immediately. She had an area setup for me to place my things and made it clear
that she was there to help me in anyway needed. Though this was probably the second
week of the school year the co-operating teacher had already mastered the students
names. She made sure to compliment students by name for their behavior, creative
answers, and listening skills. At one point during the morning she complimented a male
student on the great job of listening he had displayed and asked him to come to her desk
for sticker. In my Foundations of Education course I learned that reward systems like this
do not benefit a class because students who are not rewarded can feel left out or
overlooked when they believe they have displayed similar behavior. The teacher gave
out a few more stickers to students as the day progressed and I noticed the look of
disappointment on a few students faces, as they did not get a reward. The co-operating
then notified the class that I would be giving students to stickers that I felt displayed
proper classroom behavior. This really put me on the spot because it was my first day
there and I did not want to have any tension with the co-operating teacher, so I took the
page of stickers. Later in the day I during free time I discreetly gave a sticker to a child
that was sitting alone reading, doing my best not to catch the attention of any of the other
students who were off in other areas socializing and entertaining themselves. I made a
point to give the teacher back the stickers at the end of my visit, letting her know I did not
need them. Hopefully she got the hint that I dont do stickers and this will not be an issue
in the weeks to come. It was a good first hand experience on popular reward practice
used in schools. I believe the co-operating teacher does an excellent job of
complimenting her students for appropriate behavior in the classroom and that this
acknowledgment is enough reward for her students. As an educator I will do my best to
compliment my students for their accomplishments and not creating an expectation of
physical rewards such as stickers.
9/21/16
Today I witnessed a disciplinary procedure by the co-operating teacher that I did not
agree with. The teacher took away an object that a student was playing with at her desk.
She explained to the student and the class that this would be a consequence for not
paying attention and playing during a lesson. She then made sure to explain the
definition of the word consequence to the class, which I thought was very well done.

Later she took away a wristband from another student and also told him he would be
losing one minute of recess as well. She had reprimanded this student earlier for not
paying attention but never warned him of the possible consequence of losing time at
recess, which visibly upset the child. I believe the teacher could foster resentment from
her students by taking their possessions and free time away. A better approach would be
to respectfully point out that their behavior is not appropriate and have them put the
object in their book bag with a warning that any similar behavior would lead to a greater
consequence.
9/28/16
Today I was given the opportunity to instruct the class on the use of the IPads as a center
learning activity. My first objective was to emphasize that the Ipads were to be handled
with care and responsibility. I had a few minutes before the centers started to verify what
applications were a suitable challenge for first graders. Since we only had a few minutes
to work after going over the rules and features of the Ipads I let the students select one of
four applications to work on. Giving the students the power to pick their lesson got an
immediate and positive reaction. They went right to work and I assisted when needed. It
was obvious that they were all familiar with IPads I noticed that the math applications
available for their age group were not much of a challenge for some of the students. I
found that some of the applications needed to be updated or unlocked by payment. I
notified the co-operating teacher regarding the lack of applications avaialble. She was
unaware of this because she had just recieved them and did not have the time to review
all of the applications. This was my first time working with the stundents in centers. It
gave me a chance to observe how they socialize in small groups, some insight into their
learning preferences and processes. It also afforded me the opportunity to field their
questions, guage their knowledge of the devise and deflect comments that were off topic
in order to keep everyone focused on the lesson. It was a fun experience I look forward
to doing it again soon.
10/5/16
This morning the co-operating teacher had multiple math centers setup for the class. We
went over them so that I could assist with instruction. This was unique from my IPad
center because I had the opportunity to instruct and assist at a variety of stations that
offered different learning challenges. I had a particularly interesting time with the
students who were estimating the number of toy dinosaurs they picked out of a bucket.
The goal was to place a large or small handlful of dinosaurs on the desk and quickly write
down an estimated amount on a provided worksheet before counting them, then count the
dinosaurs to see how close their estimate was. Some of the kids would write down
numbers like 50 or 100 which was obviously way off while others would count the
dinosaurs and right down their estimations so they could say they got it right each time.
Most of the students were able to understand with litttle extra instruction but were more
concerned withbeing right then following the rules. I could tell these students understood
the process and that their concern was with being 100% accurate, so I moved on to other
students who needed assistance. Since I was confidnet that the students understood the

process but were only being stubborn, I let it go. Spending extra time trying to get them
to co-operate would interfere with the rotation of the centers and keep others from
participating when it was their turn. Sometimes you have to pick and choose your
battles, especially with a bunch of six and seven year olds.
10/12/16
Today I had the opportunity to discuss a student that co-operating teacher was having
behavior issues. During a student book fair we had some time alone in the class and she
asked me if I had noticed the behavior of one of her students. I told her that I did notice
that the student had continually disobeyed the teacher on a number of occasions. The
child was not openly defiant or rude, she just seemed to do as she pleased. The teacher
went on to tell me that the childs mother had contacted her about articles that her child
had brought home, things that belonged to the teacher and classmates. The child was also
not following instruction during lessons, and when asked to follow what was being taught
she responded by saying I want to do it this way and This is the way I do it. Yh
teacher contacted the childs mother about this but the mother did not feel that this was
somethig to worry over. She told the teacher that her child was diagnosed as a genius
and that she would do things outside the norm because she thinks she is an adult. The
teacher and I discussed the matter further and I suggested a change of seating since the
childs desk was the closets to the teachers desk which also had the the containers of
colored construction paper that the child was taking home. I also recommended tht she
continue documenting the childs behavior and notify the school guidance counselor. I
had a chance later to observe the child during a math lesson and noticed that she was not
following the learning technique that was being taught and was adding instead of
subtracting. I pointed this out to the student and she told me she was doint it right. I
informed the child that the teacher was showing everyone the proper way of doing the
problems and that she should be following along. The student then replied I do it this
way. It was obvious the child was not concerned with my request and I did not really
know where to go from there. I notified the teacher during snack time and she proceeded
to show me notes she had witten in students math book to her parents on earlier lessons
to notify them of this issue. She then showed me a note from the mother saying that they
were able to complete the lesson without issue at home. The childs parents dont seem
to have a concern for their childs behavior, which makes this very challenging for the
teacher. The co-operating teacher has shown great patience but needs to reach out for
assistance from the school if this persists. This experience is a great example of the
challeges teachers have with students and parents who turn a blind who deny their childs
inapporproate behavior.
10/19/16
Today was the school bookfair which caused a lot of excitement for the class. While the
kids were shopping for books the co-operating teacher brought me to the teachers lounge
to get a snack from a farewell brunch that was being held for a teacher who was moving
away. At the time it was just the two of us and the departing teacher. I asked the teacher
about her upcoming move and she brought up the issues she had with finding a teaching
job in another state. During our conversation the teacher admitted that this was the most
time she had spent in the teachers lounge in some years. She explained that she had
tought at a number of different schools in her career and the the teachers lounge in some

schools was the place for teachers to vent their frustrations. She had seen teachers lose
their jobs over the negative comments and gossip that was shared in these lounges. It
was funny that she was actually saying all these things in the lounge at the time but I
understood her warning. She was stressing the importance of being a professional and
responsible teacher. Im thankful for her helpful advise and honesty. I will be sure to
avoid possible situations that can compromise me in the workplace.
10/26/16
Today was picture day for the class and the kids were looking their best. During a lesson
I had the opportunity to work with the young lady that was displaying behavioral issues.
The class was working on identifying completed sentences from a worsheet that had a
number of complete and incomplete sentences. I helped her read an example and she
decided if the sentence was complete or not, it was very productive and she followed
instruction without issue. I was encouraged with this little breakthrough. Later in the
day the child would not pack her bag to prepare for dismissal. I asked the child why she
had not began to pack her bags and she just gave me a blank stare. I encouraged her to
start packing because school was almost over but she continued to ignore me. I used this
opportunity to calmly get down on her level and tell her that It was disappointing to me
when students do not follow directions or cooperate with the teacher. This seemed to
work, as she began to pack her bag. I spoke with the co-operating teacher afterwards to
let her know what had occured and she seemed pleased but informed me that she had sent
a letter home to the childs parents the day before because she had pushed a couple of
classmates. The teacher witnessed the pushing asked the child, Why she pushed her
classmates? The student replied Because they were in my way. The teacher feels the
child has a sense of entitlement and is hoping that notifiying her parents will encourage a
dialogue between them that will benefit the child. I told the teacher that I think the child
is having trouble not being the center of attention and may be acting this way to get the
attention she is craving. Collaborating with the co-operating teacher was great. We were
able to bounce ideas off each other and work on solutions to benefit the child and the
class. This type of collegial support is vital to teachers and their susccess.
11/2/16
Today was a big learning day for me. The co-operating teacher gave me the opportunity
to use the Smart-Board. This was the first time for me to use the device. While the
students were working independently she gave me a quick tutorial and let me explore its
functions. It was a fun learning experience and great practice. The co-operating teacher
was very helpful with answering questions I had during my Smart-Board quest. I am
very thankful that she afforded me this opportunity. I had not thought of asking her to let
me access the Smart-Board, it was very thoughtful and generous on her part. I will
definitely ask for access to the Smart-Board at my next service learning assignment. This
practice has helped to grow my knowledge and confidence with this valuable teaching
tool.
11/9/16

Today I taught a math lesson to the class. It was the first lesson I have taught students of
this age. My lesson was based on adding and subtracting within 20 with pennies. I
created and submitted the lesson plan to the co-operating teacher for her approval and got
my student-teaching feet wet. During the lesson I provided some interesting facts about
the penny, played a couple of YouTube videos that reinforced the value of the penny in a
fun and interesting way and supplied each student with a Ziploc bag containing 15
pennies. The class used the pennies to work independently on problems in their
textbooks. It was fun to watch them as they excitedly used the pennies to find their
solutions. At the end of the lesson we had a class discussion on the lesson, the value of
pennies and saving their pennies. I then told the class that they could take the pennies
home to add to their piggy banks. They were very excited and thankful for the pennies. I
enjoyed the lesson and the outcome. My co-operating teacher wrote an assessment of my
lesson plan and my teaching abilities. I have included the lesson and assessment in my
digital portfolio. This was a big step towards my professional goals and I am so happy
and pleased by the results.
11/16/16
Today the co-operating teacher and I discussed the charitable causes that the school
supports. I am so impressed with the charity and community services that the school
performs. The school supports and variety of causes to help the families of their school,
local community and world community as well. The school has partnered to support two
sister schools, one in New Orleans and another in Tanzania, Africa. The schools faculty,
families and supporters perform a variety of fundraising events throughout the school
year to raise money and goods for these causes. One of the events is a weeklong carnival
they hold each spring. I have written an essay on the schools initiative to support others.
It is titled Teagle Reflective Essay and is posted in within Standard 11 of my digital
portfolio. I hope you will read it and become as inspired as I have by the actions of the
Saint Matthias School community.
11/21/16
Today was my official last day of service learning at Saint Matthias School. It was truly
bitter sweet. The co-operating teacher and the class sat me in the front of the class and
presented me with gift card and a craft they created that consisted of thank you letters. I
was very touched by the special words that the class wrote to me. I spoke to the class
briefly and thanked them for allowing me to become a part of their class and how special
they all are to me. I wished them the best in their journey through first grade and
emphasized how lucky they were to have such a caring teacher teacher and to go to a
good school. Afterwards the class lined up to thank me and wish me luck. We shared
hugs and I promised to come back and see them sometime soon. This experience is one
of the many rewards of teaching. I was able to make a positive impact on the lives of my
students in such a small window of time. It gives me a great sense of accomplishment
and joy knowing that I provided opportunities for these students to succeed. I will look
back on my time at Saint Matthias with great pride and affection.