Fieldwork Observation and Interview Project

Fieldwork Observation and Interview Project

The fieldwork observation and interview project took place at Stephen White Middle School, Carson, California, in SDC 7, the grade English class. The students were using a teacher-made material to learn the area of language arts. The day was the 15^th of February, 2020, and it was a lovely Monday morning. The lessons took approximately one hour, thus the duration for the field observation.

The instructions used seemed to have taken a lot of time as it was to perfection; it is for students with moderate, severe disabilities. The students were autistic and with emotional disturbance. Therefore, they needed a lot of observation for them to understand the material being used. The instruction could have taken approximately four days to a week as the effort put upon it seemed a lot, and the strategies used were a number of them.

The best practices observed in terms of universal design were all implemented appropriately. The three UDL principles were all observed during the lesson. During the engagement, the teacher involved the students during the lessons. She made sure that each student paid attention and was actively engaged in the learning of the language by use of charts (Crawford, 2003). During representation, the teacher used mostly charts and video clips as the use of many representation materials come as a distraction to autistic persons. For action and expression, the teacher gave the students enough time to watch the video clip and later asked them to pronounce the letters heard. She then gave them a chance to ask questions where they had any difficulty. After the lesson, the teacher gave a short random quiz where the students answered by raising their hands.

The behavioral learning objectives were well-stated and achieved at the end of the lesson. The teacher aimed at by the end of the experience, the learner should be able to pronounce the letters appropriately and be able to create a simple word from the letters learned. For the behavior management practices, the teacher ensured the students used the time provided for them as a training method to keep time (Weaver, 2008). She also set some expectations that were expected of the students during the lesson, like answering questions. After the experience, she rewarded the students who showed good behavior and those who participated in class.

A teacher-made curricular material is a teaching resource made purposely by the teacher with the main aim of promoting meaningful teaching and learning in the classroom (Tompkins, 2008). The significant areas of focus in language arts include the four modes of language, which are listening, speaking, reading, and writing. As mentioned earlier, the teacher used charts to illustrate the letters and asked the students to repeat after her before writing the message in their books. After the reading and writing session, the teachers asked the students to concentrate on the video clip being played for the listening and speaking session. She played a video she had formulated herself, which entailed an animated character that looked like it was speaking to the students. It kept saying the letters they had learned and asking them to repeat, which the teacher paused the video, and the students repeated the letters. After each word, the character gave the name with the letters and asked the students to write down the word pronounced, which they did, and the teacher checked for the spelling while she marked. This process was a success at the end as most students got the words correctly, thus making the listening and speaking process a complete success together with writing and reading.

Some strategies observed that I might incorporate into my classroom practices are the ones under universal design. The disciplines of engagement, representation, and action and expression can be of use in any classroom practice as it ensures full participation of both the teacher and the learner for a fruitful lesson. The use of an animated video clip is also another useful strategy I can use, especially to students with moderate/severe disabilities, as it is the right way of catching their attention. To avoid distraction or to lose focus by the students, the video should be brief and straight to performing its purpose for the lesson.

References

Crawford, J. (2003). The Role of Materials in Language Classroom: Finding the Balance. Anthology of Current Practice, Pp. 80-92. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University of Press.

Tompkins, G.E. (2008). Language Arts: Content and Teaching Strategies. Fourth Edition. Books; Guides- Classroom- Teacher.

Weaver, C. (2008). Reconsidering a balanced approach to reading. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.