CLASSROOM OBSERVATION AND TEACHER INTERVIEW 1

Classroom Observation and Teacher Interview

EDU 305

April 17, 2012

Christie Guite

2Classroom Observation and Teacher Interview Paper

Classroom Observation and Teacher Interview

My classroom observation took place at Belgrade Central Elementary School

in Mrs. McKenzie’s kindergarten class for about two hours. There were only two

adults present during the interview, myself, and Mrs. McKenzie. The observation took

place from behind the teachers table so I wouldn’t distract the students or the teacher.

During my observation I quickly concluded how well Mrs. McKenzie interacted with

the students and how well she used the developmental theory in the classroom.

Teacher Interview

Christie: What is your professional background?

Mrs. McKenzie: I graduated from UMO in 1996 with a B.S in Elementary Education

and specialized in Early Childhood. In 1996 I opened my own childcare center that

cared for up to 20 children with one fulltime and one part time helper. In 2000, I

opened up a Pre-school program at my day care center. I operated my own facility for

10 years, until I became a Kindergarten teacher at Belgrade Central Elementary

School in 2010. Last year was my first year as a teacher. For my first year, I felt it

went very well, considering the fact that I did not have an aide. I had to prepare and

coordinate the classroom on my own. This year the budget has allowed each

kindergarten class to have an aide. This allows for more reading and one on one with

my students.

Christie: Have you had any professional training? Was it effective?

Mrs. McKenzie: I had specific developmental training in my bachelors program. That

training was extremely effective. I recently completed RISC and Beacon training.

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This training overall has helped our district toward a fully implemented RISC school

within two years. It has been extremely effective.

Christie: Do you consult with peers or specialists about developmental issues?

Mrs. McKenzie: I am a member of our school’s Student Spirit Team. Our team works

with the teachers on a bi-weekly basis concerning developmental issues.  I also

communicate daily with any concerns that the teachers or students may have.

Christie: What are the developmental issues you deal with in your classroom?

a. Cognitive – What are the academic abilities and challenges in your age group?

Mrs. McKenzie: In my class the students’ cognitive skills of my students range

from high to low. Their learning ability ranges from entering kindergarten ready to

read, to never being read to. Kindergarteners have a different range in cognitive

skills.

b. Physical – Do you feel that there is an academic difference with gender?

Mrs.McKenzie: I have seven girls and 11 boys enrolled in my class. All children

are physically similar.

c. Emotional – Do they seem overwhelmed or stressed? Do they solve their own

problems?

Mrs McKenzie: Children at this age, are sometimes very emotional. They often

times display mixed emotions in different circumstances’. For children this age

this is normal and, I have to explain that to parents. Stress, overtired, or grief may

be reflected by crying. Crying seems to be a good stress reliever for my children. I

tell the parents to allow them to cry, they will get a sense of their emotions and

how to deal with them eventually.

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d. Social – How are their social skills, do they make friends easily?

Mrs. McKenzie: Majority of my students attended a preschool program. This

provided the social skills and readiness to learn with other children. A few of my

students had never attended a preschool or daycare prior to kindergarten, first they were

lacking in social skills, and had difficulty adjusting to the school environment. Some

students at first were frightened by the school bells and would seem very timid. As time

passed those students easily blended in with the others.

Christie: What are the specific challenges of your age group?

Mrs. McKenzie: Specific challenge: At this age children are not independent learners

they have a difficult time sitting quietly for 10 minutes. They are easily distracted and

their attention span is limited. Amongst 18 of them there is a wide range of skills.

Some of my children can follow direction whereas others need my full attention.

Christie: What is the most challenging developmental in your career? What are the

details of the issue?

Mrs. McKenzie: I would have to say that learning to read is the most significant

developmental issue I have worked with. I work very diligently with my students by

encouraging reading strategies and reading at home. I have many parents that are

supportive and involved and I have some that are not. I feel that child will learn to

read when they are developmentally ready.

Christie: How did you address the issue?

Mrs. McKenzie: I explain to parents that some children may not developmentally be

ready and provide literature that shows this. I give them reading strategies to use at

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home such as, getting your mouth ready for the sounds, identifying pictures, and

recognizing words within other words.

Christie: What was the outcome?

Mrs. McKenzie: Once I show parents these simple strategies, their children usually

pick on sight words quicker. Children eventually learn to read when they are

developmentally ready.

Classroom Observation

Mrs. McKenzie used small white boards with her reading groups to help them

with word recognition, while re-telling the story. Mrs. McKenzie made up flash cards

to take home. Students that have difficulty developing basic reading skills go to the

Title 1 reading program designed to provide extra help in reading. throughout the day.

I noticed Mrs. McKenzie incorporating flash cards quite often during lessons to

emphasize high frequency words. The use of flash cards and the ability of the students

understanding what are on the flash cards falls under the cognitive theory. The more a

student sees the words or problem the more likely they will remember the word or

problem the next time they see it.

Christie was able to see Mrs. McKenzie use flash cards with her students.

Some of the words came easy, such as their high frequency words and other words

came harder for them to identify. Mrs. McKenzie provided the students with laminated

flash cards. These flash cards are great for when you are on the go, in class, in small

groups, individually, or at home. We you find an attached three photos, two examples

of the high frequency words and one example of a sheet of flash cards.

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Reference:Jill McKenzie, Belgrade Central School, Kindergarten teacher