Observational Report
Mrs. Sara McManus
School of Education, University of Northern British Columbia
EDUC 390: Observational Practicum
Melanie Baerg, M.Ed. – Lecturer
October 16, 2021
The first two schools visited during my Observational Practicum were at a local elementary school on October 5, 2021, and junior school on October 12, 2021. I observed at these schools with two fellow Teacher Candidates. The elementary school is a kindergarten through grade 7 school in a low-to-middle income catchment area within walking distance to all services. On the other hand, the junior school is in a residential area outside of the downtown core. As the only junior school in the district, all grade 8 and 9 students attend here. Both schools have a perceived community climate of being rough schools.
Built in 1974, the elementary school is a single level with one main hallway and nearly symmetrical rooms on both sides. There is a large gymnasium and office near the main entrance, one portable classroom, a well-equipped outdoor playground, and a newly updated parking lot. The junior school is also an older building, set for demolition. In 2018, it moved from its previous location into a former middle school that had closed fifteen years prior. The junior school is moving into a new building in March 2022. I observed that junior school staff seemed excited about this move as they discussed crowded hallways and mold issues in the school. There is one central hallway that runs across the school, with four branch avenues parallel to each other. The junior school also has four portable classrooms, as well as “cart” teachers without classrooms. These teachers travel with wheeled carts to classrooms to teach during prep blocks.
Our group traveled between a variety of styles of classrooms during our first two observations and witnessed diverse types of teachers, from non-certified to master teachers. I observed in grade 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8 classrooms. I was fortunate to attend different subjects of explicit curriculum taught in four grades by assorted teachers: Math (gr. 3, 5/6 & 8), Science (gr. 6/7 & 8), English (gr. 5-6 & 8), Physical Education (gr 3 & 8). I gained insight into teaching styles and methods, as well as takeaways of what I may or may not want to do in the future.
I witnessed excellent rapport and relationships between students and their teachers and a few instances of questionable staff towards students. Most classrooms were excellent examples where it was clear that routines and procedures were beneficial to both the students and the teachers, thus promoting positive classroom cultures and community. However, there was one classroom where this was not evident. During my brief time with this class, I witnessed bullying, including physical assault on a minority student, inappropriate classroom language and conversations, and excessive disregard for Covid safety rules.
During my observations at both schools, I reflected on the readings and lectures from EDUC 390 and formulated a sense of what I would define could help build an overarching positive school culture, climate, and community. To me, an ideal school aesthetic environment should immediately:
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- create a warm, cozy feeling when you walk in the door. There should be immediate access to school administration/secretarial staff with no barriers to entry. Plexi-glass for Covid-safety aside, schools are not welcoming when there is no one to say hello and nowhere to sit and wait. Neither of these schools had an overly welcoming entrance to their school. The elementary school office was a busy place of business, behind a single door that felt uncomfortable to intrude upon. Alternately, the junior school office welcomes students and visitors with its open concept, but its central location in the school is far from the main entrance. Unaccompanied guests need to make their way to the office. With or without Covid, this does not lend itself to safety in the school environment.
- reflect their culture through art and décor that comes from the learners. I love schools with painted ceiling tiles, graffiti walls, painted lockers, and bulletin boards filled with evidence of student learning! The elementary school had painted tiles and some fantastic pink anti-bullying graffiti boards in the school gymnasium.
- use creative signs to remind students and staff of routines and policies; as well as reinforce culture and community within the school. One of the junior school teachers had a lovely sign on the wall that said, “Finished Early? – Catch up on missing work. – Organize your binder. – Read a book. – Play cards/board game” a sign like this clarified classroom expectations for behaviour after a student finished their work. Schools that display large signs with their value acronyms like C.A.R.E.S. and R.E.S.P.E.C.T. are helpful to new teachers and are an excellent reference for classroom discussions.
In the future, it would be interesting to see the school’s growth plans compared to what I observed against their vision statement.
All the classrooms had their distinct way of creating community. The grade 3 and 5/6 teachers used classroom routines like a visual shape-of-the-day list, class jobs, and timed activities/lessons, whereas the grade 6/7 and 8 teachers were more about building relationships with the individual students. In reflection, none of the teachers observed had an excellent blend between routine and relationship; however, it is early in the year. I would estimate that three out of five of the classrooms would be likely to achieve a better blend as the months go on, and two will not. Unfortunately, as I recently experienced as a T.T.O.C., when students lack routine and relationship is the only key factor holding the classroom together, it is tough for an outsider to step in. It is an Educator’s responsibility to help establish good habits and routines by giving students choices and options for consequences, as they don’t always have that ability for foresight in a new situation (especially in the prepubescent brain).
When I think about where I am in the learning process regarding climate, culture, and community, I have a significant knowledge base due to my Bachelor of Commerce degree and studying organizational behaviour. Simultaneously, I feel like I am in the absorption phase of learning regarding education in general. Detailed accounts fill my observation records with everything that occurred in each classroom I visited, along with notes on the décor, signage, and teacher tools, complete with simple sketches to jog my memory. If I had more time, I would come home and write a blog post every day to have a permanent record of all the cool teacher tricks and resources I learned.
Thinking about what I need to know about students to understand and plan for their learning needs in terms of climate, culture, and community leads me to relationships. It is only through knowing a student that you begin to find out what motivates them. One of the teachers used Class Dojo as a tracking and reward system for their students and integrated it fully into everything. I have seen other teachers use Class Dojo before, but none like they had. This teacher knew when a student needed an extra point for a different good try or bravery in class. The points were not simply a bribe for a class party. Class Dojo was a personal recognition tool for every student uniquely, making students want to do their best.
Next week, I am looking forward to visiting my third school; it will be in an affluent area of town and vastly different from the elementary school that I saw the first time. I am confident that my observational reports will become more introspective after my second and third visits to the school as our focus shifts away from