Observational Report
Mrs. Sara McManus
School of Education, University of Northern British Columbia
EDUC 390: Observational Practicum
Melanie Baerg, M.Ed. – Lecturer
October 31, 2021
On October 19, 2021, I observed a new elementary school for my third Observational Practicum. This school is in a significantly more affluent catchment community than the first elementary school I observed and then returned to observe again on October 26, 2021. For differentiation purposes in my reporting, I will name each school respectively as Schools A, B, and C in the order of observation. The main body of this report will focus on classroom management; however, I will begin by providing an overview of School C’s climate, culture and community, and then contrast the two elementary schools’ social and cultural realities.
School C’s climate is perceived to be one of the best schools in the district, and as expected, it had an extremely different “feel” than that of School A. Although there was significant evidence of diversity in student learning needs, School C’s ethnic and social-economic diversity was visibly narrow. The school’s cultural focus is on athletics. Whereas other schools use acronyms like CARES to help foster values, School C uses the school sports team name for a value statement. It is evident that the school promotes school pride and spirit. There were posters reminding students of upcoming events, like Crazy Hat Day. Our practicum happened to land on Swag Day. For this, the Principal randomly drew student names, and if those students were wearing school colours, they were awarded prizes. School C did not have a breakfast program for students but instead had healthy food delivered as snacks to all students, like the large tray of milk and carrots brought to the classroom I was observing in. The school works very hard at building community every day. I participated in a buddy-reading class between K-1 and Gr 5-6 and a multi-class walk-run and was told there were also buddy-PE classes.
The two elementary schools in our observational practicums are excellent examples of local schools at opposite ends of social and cultural reality. Although both schools have catchment areas large enough for both walking and bus students, some students from School A are bussed in for over an hour’s drive on gravel roads. School C’s catchment is primarily single-family dwelling homes; whereas, School A has many more multi-family units like apartments and duplexes in the community. Therefore, housing is generally more affordable in the less-affluent community of School A. Students’ names are much more ethnically diverse and include a larger proportion of visible minorities, especially Indigenous students in School A than School C. One key thing that stood out for me on my second practicum at School A was the fantastic smell of a hot breakfast when we arrived in the morning. There were tables set out in the gym, and a large student population was invited to have breakfast. The lunch program at School A is also significant and needs to be delivered by trolly from class to class. The lunch program at School C was barely noticeable. The secretary even sarcastically complained about how she would have to start charging parents for delivering McDonald’s lunches to students when it was dropped off at the front desk.
I had the unique opportunities to teach on-call at these schools in the preceding weeks before my practicums in the specific classrooms I observed. These observations provided me with an interesting perspective on classroom management techniques for both the teachers and myself; this was incredibly insightful, especially given the order of events: On Tuesday, October 13, 2021, our EDUC 390 lecture and class discussions revolved around the central idea of needing both a blend of good classroom routines and solid student-teacher relationships for good classroom management. It made perfect sense at the time, and I didn’t give it much thought.
On Friday, October 15, 2012, I was dispatched to work as a TTOC in a Gr 5-6 class at School C. Previously hearing lovely observational feedback from another Teacher Candidate about this particular class, I mistakenly made assumptions about what the classroom would be like for ME because I clearly forgot the entire lesson from three days previous. I was so excited to have a great day with these amazing students. When I arrived in the classroom, there was a sub plan on the desk that the previous TTOC had prepared, and I thought I was set! There was even a shape of the day scribbled on the whiteboard; it was all perfect until the students arrived. Within five minutes, chaos erupted. Not because I wasn’t their teacher, but because I had no way of knowing the hidden routine embedded within the teacher’s relationships with her students. They all knew what they were doing, but as the TTOC, I did not. I wanted to take attendance, but they would not let me take it without a fight. I was wasting their gym time. Their teacher didn’t take attendance in the morning, at least not that they knew about. The whole day continued like that. There were little unwritten classroom rules, routines, and built-in procedures, like being allowed to eat all day long or not needing to ask to go to the washroom everywhere I turned, including full-size chocolate bars to the winning team for the end-of-the-week prize. (<–The what??? I had to contact her about that one!)
By the end of the day, the students were tired and frustrated. I had been left a general plan for the afternoon to let them catch up on all of their unfinished work, which meant it exponentially got crazier. Some boys got into a bit of a fistfight, the classroom looked like a tornado went through it, and the resource teacher ended up supporting me for the last half hour. I sat there until almost 6:30, trying to recover the resemblance of the classroom I had entered, then I sorted and tried to mark some of the massive pile of work they managed to turn in, and untangled the knots my brain had been tied in, all while I wrote notes for the teacher knowing full well that I would be back for my practicum in two days.
On Tuesday, October 19, the students were terrified when I opened their classroom door again. I got sighs and looks of disappointment. One student told me that I was a great substitute; I was just not their teacher. That was certainly clear. She had a very casual approach with her students. They were still very chaotic around her, she just had a bigger personality than they did, and she could command their attention quicker than I could. The format of our two days were very similar. However, the students lined up faster, they listened a few minutes longer, and wanted to please her when they knew she was paying attention to them. It was easy to see that she cared deeply about building genuine relationships with all of her students. Other than a rough sketch of the shape of the day, the day’s schedule flowed on the class’s needs. There appeared always to be extra time for more physical activity, more food, and more one-on-one spontaneous learning opportunities.
At the end of the day, I had a brief conversation with her and told her that her classroom reminded me of how I managed my classroom at the alternate high school. I was all about the relationship. I always had prepared excellent TTOC notes. I had a schedule and materials prepared, but I never shared the details of the relationships-based routines of my students with my subs. I can now see a different perspective of why I could LOVE working there so much, and someone coming in to cover me for an afternoon might not. This is something that I will have to think about deeply for my future if I work in an alternate setting again, where building a solid relationship is the key to a student even walking through the door.
I also would like to document one really great PE lesson that the teacher did. It was an introductory lesson on Volleyball. The teacher used an “I do, we do, you do” method to teach basic volleyball skills. She had the entire class line up on a line facing a wall, with just enough space for her to demonstrate between the students and the wall; this meant that there wasn’t a great big gap of gym space for students to be distracted in. One of her most athletic students in the class came up to join her on one side, and her student with the most severe disability joined her on the other side. They were both comfortable being her assistants. She would work with the disability student for each position she demonstrated first, showing him how to hold his hands or feet, etc. Then she would have the athletic student get into position and correct him, even just a little bit, to show how it could also be improved. Then the whole class would try. When they were ready to practice with a ball, she demonstrated with the athletic student and had the other student actively count the number of volleys etc., which he enjoyed. The EA stood back during this time and then joined in when partners were made. It was a really great example of inclusion in practice.
My second day of subbing in a classroom before my observation was on Wednesday, October 20, 2021, and I was assigned to a Kindergarten-Grade 1 split classroom in School A. Two teachers share this classroom. I was in the class for a full day teaching, but only part of an afternoon in the practicum. (I will have to name the teachers, or this might get confusing too! Ms. X will be the experienced K-1 teacher I subbed for on Wednesday. Miss Y will be her younger, job share teacher, who I observed on Tuesday, and Mrs. Z will be the Music teacher with who I observed with the same K-1’s.)
The students were wonderful on both days, but everyone around me seemed to think they were “wild.” Ms. X left me an amazing plan full of details about her students and exactly how the class flows through the day. Her classroom was filled with great visual instructions and reminders for students. She has the support of a dedicated EA, who was particularly helpful, and other support workers who floated in and out of the class throughout the day. It is undoubtedly a busy classroom with lots of high needs students, including three ASD students. Each student had a large square assigned for them on the carpet, and group tables had name tags taped to their spots. The students knew the routine well; they just needed help getting through it.
On my day teaching the class, the District Occupational Therapist came to observe a student. I felt like her presence may have affected the behaviours of the support worker more than anything else. The support worker was having a tough day. The result was seven adults in the classroom where I was teaching and the removal of a student without my consultation. At the end of it, I felt kind of run-over as the TTOC, who they knew was a student-teacher. I hope I don’t have a situation like that again.
During our observation, Miss Y was very hands-on in teaching with the class. She was sitting on the carpet playing cars with the Kindergarten students, not busy doing paperwork, which was refreshing to see. When I complimented her on some of her classroom routines and learning décor, she acknowledged that much of that was the work of Ms. X. Personally, I have had a terrible job sharing experience in teaching already in my career. I know that this is something that I will not be able to do again. I am a creative person, and I don’t like to hear the word “no,” I prefer to find solutions. I’m all for collaboration and teamwork, and my experience has shown me that I tend to overwork, which makes it easier for my partners. I hope Ms. X doesn’t feel that way and Miss Y isn’t taking advantage of Ms. X’s generosity.
I’ll close with the super friendly Mrs. Z. Wow! She loved using positive words to the point that I worried for her. I was scared that her cup was almost overfilled. The K-1 class was full of energy during her music block. I had not seen them that bouncy, even after my entire day with them as their teacher, nor during our observation in the classroom. Additionally many of the students were missing, including all three ASD students. They would not sit on the floor. They were hands-on, masks off, rolling around, and being little monkeys! It was hard for me not to step in and help establish control in the class, but I resisted. I kept hoping her sweet, “Hey, friends!” would work its magic, and they would settle down. Whenever one of the monkeys would run by me, I would snatch the opportunity to ask them to mask up, or stop yelling, etc. The three of us, Teacher Candidates, tried to model good behaviour by sitting nicely, listening, singing along to songs, etc. Overall it was an excellent experience to be in a classroom with a teaching style so different from my own. I can concretely say, the overly sweet, super friendly, bubbly teacher is not me.
Post-script Monkeys: I often use the term monkeys to describe a group of children who are not behaving within a defined set of expectations, monkeys; this comes from my scouting background. Rudyard Kipling, the author of The Jungle Book, was good friends with Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts. When Baden-Powell developed the Wolf Cub program in 1916, he created it based on The Jungle Book. Banderlogs are the monkeys in the jungle who do not follow any rules. They do not follow the Law of the Jungle that the rest of the jungle animals do. They jump from tree to tree with little care for anyone else in the jungle. They are only afraid of one creature in the jungle, Kaa, the python, because he can hypnotize them and then swallow them whole! I use this as a teaching tool to help my Timber Wolves remember their Law, which teaches them not to give into themselves, essentially to follow the rules or what is asked of them. When they do not, they turn into Banderlogs… little monkeys! Then they need to think about what it means to be a real Timber Wolf by remembering their Scouting Promise and Law.
