Observation Checklist
Observation Checklist
Room set up: Classroom was very flexible for students to move around and desk are
shaped in a “U”, which allows for a more open space in middle of classroom.
Flexible, moveable The organization of the “U” shaped desks was great for any class discussion.
Inviting, clean
Safe, orderly Classroom was very colorful with student art and their work up on the walls.
It was very inviting as Mrs. Phillips would stand at her door and greet every
student. As soon as you walk in, students have their cubbies against the wall
where they order their backpacks. Overall the classroom was very clean, the
only thing that I felt that was a bit disorganized was the teacher’s desk and
around it. However, it didn’t throw off the order of the classroom. Most of
the classroom was organized and accessible to students for supplies and
other resources. The classroom was safe for students, the only thing that I
believe that could’ve been dangerous is the cords of the headphones around
the computer area. Mrs. Phillips did bring it up to my attention that she ties
them up behind the computer, however, all the students use it throughout
the day and the ties behind the computers come apart.
Visual Examples: The classroom had a few graphic organizers up on the walls that included
cause and effect, the life cycle or a frog, and how to summarize for writing.
Graphic Organizers
Scoring Guides I did review a few papers that Mrs. Philips graded for the students. The
Student Work scoring guide was different for morning work, assignments, and tests. Most
Displayed of the work was graded out of 100, however, a few assignments were out of
Procedures/Rule 50 points. There was a lot of student work displayed in the classroom which I
Agenda enjoyed because I love when students can see their accomplishments on the
walls in their classroom. There were writing activities and math work around
the classroom. There were a few posters about the procedures and rules that
are expected from students. As soon as you walk in you see the rules: “1.
Listen when others are talking 2. Follow directions 3. Keeps hands, feet, and
objects to yourself 4. Work quietly and do not disturb others 5. Show respect
for school and peers 5. Work and play safely”
Agenda or daily schedule is posted in the front of the classroom. The times
for each subject, special area, and lunch was very quick.
Print Materials:
Variety of books The students had accessibility to a variety of books that ranged from non-
Magazines fiction to nonfiction. The bookshelf was location on the side of the classroom
Other Print Material on a shelf. All books on the shelf had reading counts points. When students
were finished with books, they were able to go to the computers on their free
time and earn points for reading. Mrs. Phillips did have a few magazines,
most of them were cut up from using them for past activities. Other than the
books and magazines, students had access to textbooks and workbooks to
choose from if they wanted.
Instructional Lectures within the classroom mostly took place on the carpet as soon as she
Presentation: got students together. I did notice that there was not an abundance of
lecturing going on the days I went to observe because students had to do
Lecture short testing on the computers. Regarding the discussions in the classroom,
Discussion
when they sat on the carpet, students were very excited to join in on
Question & Answer
discussions as the topic they were talking about interested then. They had
Small Group Work
recently read a story about a little girl who moved from a very rural area in
Modeling
Kenya to New York which is a very urban city. The discussion began with the
Monitoring
teacher asking students how they would feel about such a move and talking
Assessment
about the little girl’s feelings regarding the actions she made in the story. All
Clear & Audible
Used Visual Aids questions that students had, she was very patient and answered then to the
Used Technology best of her abilities. If she was not sure she would take the time to search it
Students are up for her students. Students did not work in small groups the two days that I
attentive and went to observe, however Mrs. Phillips did tell me that she will do small
engaged groups if there is enough time in the class day to do it and the material is
Addressed all mastered by students to work together. Mrs. Phillips did model the activities
learners that she wants for the students to complete. Her actions in the classroom and
how she spoke to her students was modeling how she would have liked her
students to respond to each other with respect. While trying to have all
students working on material and not falling behind in testing, Mrs. Phillips
did a great job monitoring students and speaking to students personally if
there were any problems with getting off task. Assessments for class material
is all on paper. However, the county does ask teachers that students be
tested on math and reading to make sure they are on grade level which has
to be done within the classroom during instructional time. Teacher was
always very clear with explain instruction. Students went right to working as
soon as she was done speaking. While doing a science lesson, Mrs. Phillips did
use a visual aid when explaining what body part does what. By color coding
the different parts of the body, students were able to recognize what had to
do with what.
HIGH SCHOOL FORM
Seminole State College of Florida
Classroom Observation Checklist
EDG 2949: Practicum in Education
Student Name: Vivianne Figueroa
Room set up: For being an AVID classroom, the room is very modern and flexible. Students
desk were organized in a “U” shape format. Students can all see their
Flexible, moveable classmate’s when they are speaking and working together. When you walk
Inviting, clean
into Mrs. Longfellow’s classroom you will find many inspirational quotes on
Safe, orderly
her walls as well as banners of all the different colleges and universities
within Florida that make it very inviting. Mrs. Longfellow also stands at the
door to great students. The classroom was not overly decorated but it did
have just enough where it wasn’t distracting. Mrs. Longfellow had told me
that her classroom won a contest to get the classroom redesigned. Based on
her classroom creativity, the school had purchased for her, new tables,
chairs, couches, ands boards for her students to use. The chairs were
specialized as they could rock for students that feel the need to cradle back
and forth while doing work. Without creating a distraction, the students were
able to focus and help each other. The classroom is very clean as she does
have a rule of no eating in class because they do have a lot of technology in
the classroom. The classroom is very safe and there is nothing in the
classroom that could cause any harm to students. The classroom is very
organized. Mrs. Longfellow has a table near the main entrance, where she
has flyers for students that had the school news or nay scholarships the
school was offering.
Visual Examples: I did see graphic organizers on what avid stands for and how to be successful.
The scoring guides are based on 100 points. Every Tuesday and Thursday,
Graphic Organizers students are instructed to bring in their TRF’s which have any questions that
Scoring Guides
they are having trouble with in their core classes. These questions can be
Student Work
from their math, science, and English classes. Students are then graded on
Displayed
filling out the sheet and having their binders checked to see if they have all
Procedures/Rule
their work organized. Student work is displayed on the walls. Since the class
Agenda
focuses on their future studies, there is a wall with the names of senior AVID
students, and each student aims to be accepted into a college.
Accomplishments are also displayed for the class to see how great they are
doing. Each student receives so much support from Mrs. Longfellow and their
peers as they can accomplish anything, they set their minds to. Procedures
are displayed on wall next to the door, which reads “1. Arrive on time 2. Raise
your hand before speaking 3. Listen to others 4. Stay on task and do your
assignments 4. Bring materials and have them ready”. Agenda for class period
was posted on smart board with the bell ringer. The agenda consisted of
completing the bell ringer, updating planner, and completing the scholarship
activity. The bell schedule was always posted in the front of the classroom
and near the door for students to view.
Print Materials: The teacher had a bookshelf filled with textbooks from all subjects in which
the students had access to in order to answer the questions on their TRF’s. I
Variety of books really enjoyed how the students pushed themselves and others to work on
Magazines
something new. While helping each other out on the questions, everyone in
Other Print Material
the group learns something new. There were not any magazines that I could
see on the bookshelf, however there were other workbooks such as ACT and
SAT prep for students to use and borrow.
Instructional There wasn’t too much lecturing that went on the day that I went in. She
Presentation: began the class reviewing the bell ringer and bringing up any important dates
that students should have in their planners, such as deadlines and test days.
Lecture During the bell ringer, all students shared their answer to the question. Mrs.
Discussion
Longfellow went around the whole classroom as students shared. If students
Question & Answer
had any questions while she was giving instructions, student raised their
Small Group Work
hands and she gave them the best answer she could give. On the other hand,
Modeling
during independent work or during group time, students would either go up
Monitoring
to her for questions or she would come to them depending on the situation.
Assessment
My observation of the small groups was that with each group there was a
Clear & Audible
Used Visual Aids “tutor” which is another adult that would help guide students if they were
Used Technology stuck on a student’s question. Mrs. Longfellow did a great job modeling for
Students are her students and making sure she always spoke to her students with respect
attentive and as she would expect the same. If a student was stuck on a math questions,
engaged she wouldn’t go on her computer to look up questions, she would model for
Addressed all students and grab a textbook and show them how they could find the topic
learners by looking in the index. Mrs. Longfellow did a great job monitoring her
students as some would get off task, she would kindly walk up to them and
make sure they completed their work. For assessments, Mrs. Longfellow does
not have frequent tests as other core courses. They have some summative
grades which are from in class projects and binder checks which are out of
100 points. Mrs. Longfellow is very clear with directions as she know how her
students and what works for them best. The assignment they were working
on in class was a scholarship that everyone had to complete for a chance to
get $10,000 for future studies. To show students how to get to the website
and start off their project, she used the projector to show them how to do it
as a visual aid. Mrs. Longfellow has a lot of access to technology within her
classroom, whether it be the laptops, iPads, or the smart board. Students had
access to it all to work on projects online. All students were very engaged in
the class as the bell ringers were exciting and working on the scholarship
gives them a chance to be creative. Mrs. Longfellow did a great job of
incorporating all learners when reviewing the bell ringer as all the students
shared their answer.
DIVERSE STUDENT POPLUATION FORM
Seminole State College of Florida
Classroom Observation Checklist
EDG 2949: Practicum in Education
Student Name: Vivianne Figueroa
Room set up: The room was very flexible and moveable as the classroom consisted of three
large tables with chairs surrounding the tables. Desks were easy to move for
Flexible, moveable students to do music and movement around the classroom. The classroom
Inviting, clean
was very inviting as students came in excited for what the day has in store.
Safe, orderly
Mrs. Woodward explained that they are always creating new fun things to
help students learn and get them excited for learning. The classroom was
very inviting with many colorful posters and children’s work displayed on the
walls. The entire classroom was very clean and safe for students to play in
centers. While walking around the classroom, all toys seemed very safe for
the young students and nothing was harmful.
Visual Examples: There were graphic organizers which displayed the plant cycle, shapes,
colors, and “things that you can find on a campground” as that was the
Graphic Organizers theme for the week. The scoring guidelines for the students was based on
Scoring Guides
participation points and their grades on their in-class worksheets which is
Student Work
also out of 100 points. The work of students was displayed around the
Displayed
classroom on walls and hanging from the ceiling. Procedures and rules were
Procedures/Rule
posted on a poster as soon as you walk in the classroom and near the
Agenda
morning carpet to review them before they start the day. The rules consisted
of “1. Be respectful 2. Listen to the teacher 3. Keep your hands and feet to
yourself 4. Inside voices 5. Be kind to your friends”. The agenda for the school
day is posted on the chalk board and reviewed for students in morning for
morning circle time as well. The agenda consisted of reviewing alphabet and
the different sounds of the letters.
Print Materials: The classroom had a book filled with children books that the children may
choose from and borrow if they would like to. There were also magazines on
Variety of books the shelf that were very informative on the life cycle and other science
Magazines
related topics. I did not see any other type of print material available for
Other Print Material
students.
Instructional The lectures within the classroom mostly took place on the carpet as
Presentation: students sat around in a circle. The classroom had two other teachers that
Lecture helped keep students focused during lecturing on the letters and their
Discussion sounds. I noticed that Mrs. Woodward allowed students to get into short
Question & Answer discussions after reading a story and talking about how the character was
Small Group Work feeling or what they believed was going to happen next. If students had any
Modeling questions during class time, they would try to ask her right away, however,
Monitoring Mrs. Woodward was working on the students to raise their hands to ask a
Assessment question. Mrs. Woodward took time to answer any questions the students
Clear & Audible had no matter what she was doing. For small group work, the students were
Used Visual Aids broken up into three groups and worked with the three teachers. Usually the
Used Technology teacher guided students with instructions and students would then work
Students are together to get work done. Students chose a letter and made a poster out of
attentive and pictures and different items that started with the letter they chose with the
engaged
help from the teacher. While sounding out the letters, Mrs. Woodward
Addressed all
modeled how the students need to sound out the letters and the students
learners
would follow. During class time, Mrs. Woodward monitored the class to make
sure all students were playing safe and following the classroom rules.
Assessments for the students are to be taken individually with the teacher
with accommodations based on the students needs. Mrs. Woodward’s
instructions were very clear for the students and many understood her way
of wording what she expected from the students. When Mrs. Woodward
would sound out the letter, she would hold up the letter to give students a
visual aid. Technology was minimally used in the classroom. There were
about three computers and were all used for online testing that is required
by the school. They are modules that need to be completed by all students.
Students were very engaged and attentive in the classroom as they sang
songs and would do activities that involved moving around in the classroom.
While doing a card activity that involved solving a large puzzle of connecting
different animals, all students participated in sharing the animal they had and
why they match with the puzzle.