Running head: FIELD EXPERIENCE
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Field Experience
Ava Pupuhi
Liberty University
EDUC521
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FIELD EXPERIENCE
I observed a special education classroom that contained mild to severe children. The special needs
classroom is at an elementary school that is located on a military base. The name of the school is Murray
Elementary school. Ms. Shults, the teacher has three teaching assistants. She has been teaching for
over 35 years. Her class consisted of five students. One, girl and four boys. The four boys in the
classroom are classified as Autistic and the girl in the as having a learning disability. Due to
confidentiality I will be using A,B,C,D to represent the four boys and E for the girl. The students started
their day singing the pledge of allegiance. The teacher let the students come up to a smart board, they
chose the morning song. She uses visual and verbal instruction during instructional time. She praises
each of her students after they have completed a task. During circle time one of the students was
disturbing the class. He is prone to exhibit disruptive behavior, so one of the aides had to restrain him.
While child A was disturbing the class, child B covered his ears due to the noise in the class. The teacher
informed me that child B wears an earplugs if the noise gets too much for him. I helped each student
during center time. The teacher made each student a folder using board maker. In each center the
teacher assigned each student various tasks to complete. One of the students had to match his letters.
This student, C, is on a high dose of medication. He was nonverbal. When he matched the letters, he
pointed and tried to sound out the letters. After his attempts, I said the letters for him. The little girl
was using a tracker game. This game helps with motor, visual and perceptual/ cognitive skills. I used the
hand over hand technique to help her track the ball to different types of object on the game. I helped
students B with matching up his colors. The teacher arranged her classroom to meet each student's
needs.
The teacher let the students chose a snack and drinks using board makers with pictures on them. During
snack time the teacher talked about the letter of the day, which was "V". She gave them chalk and chalk
board, placed points a,b,c on their boards. The students had to connect the points to form the letter V. I
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FIELD EXPERIENCE
helped two students in the class hands over hands with connecting the dots to make the letter V. When
they were finished the students did a science project. The teacher showed her students some pictures
on the smart board of an erupted volcano; she also, stated that volcano began with the letter V. Then,
she showed the students a volcano she made using mud for the structure. Vinegar and baking soda were
used for the eruption. The students were having fun looking at the erupted volcano. She then let them
cut out a heart using adaptive scissors. The students had to color the V heart, cut the pictures that
began with V, and place them on the heart. I helped one of the students with this project. He could not
use the scissors on his own, therefore I assisted him using the adaptive scissors, to cut out the pictures,
and then we pasted the pictures onto the heart. The students got a chance to have free play after they
had to complete a task the teacher left on their desk. The girl in the room took my hands. She wanted
me to read a book about numbers. I read the book for her. While reading the book she pointed to the
numbers on the page. When, we were finished reading the book. Little E Wanted us to Play Catch the
Ball, the nonverbal students used board maker to ask and answer questions during instructional time.
The second day at the school the routine was the same, except the students were working on the letter
B. I worked with two of the students, I helped them cut out the pictures that begin with the letter B,
using the hand over hand method, and then they placed the pictures on their B basket.
I also read the B Book to students. I like that the book I read had pictures, therefore the students can
hear the story and read the pictures in the book. At the end of the day, before getting the students on
the bus, we took the students to a sensory room. This room has all different types of play instruments
for Autistic children. The next day of my observation I wanted to observe a kindergarten special needs
classroom for two hours. In this room the teacher helps the students write their names. I also, assisted
the students on writing their names. The teacher had a folder for each student. In their folders she has
assigned goals that they have to meet at the end of the quarter, using teaching strategy goals. The
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FIELD EXPERIENCE
students in her classroom were not severe. They were not on their grade level, but needed that extra
assistance. Her class was made up in different centers. Students stayed in each center for 20 minutes
and then rotated to the next center. When I was finished I went back to Ms. Shult’s classroom. The
schedule was structured the same way as the day before. I learned a lot of information from this field
experience. The school has many resources for students with special needs. I also, will volunteer on my
day off at Murray Elementary school. You can see Ms. Shults and Ms White like their job. We need more
special education teacher that will dedicate their time in this way.
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FIELD EXPERIENCE
EDUC 521
FIELD EXPERIENCE REPORT GRADING RUBRIC
Student:
Elements
Observation
Topic:
Summary of
Field
Experience
Structure
and
Organization
Length
Format
Grammar,
Punctuation,
and Spelling
Criteria
• Completed all 10 hours of
observation
• Is the topic addressed
thoroughly?
• Is the entry descriptive and
detailed?
• Is the entry clearly organized
and easy to read?
• Do ideas flow smoothly
throughout the entry?
• Are diction and word choices
varied?
• Is the length of the summary
suitable to thoroughly discuss
topic given and aid the reader in
understanding the significance
of the writing?
• Is appearance readable and neat?
• Is current APA format used
correctly throughout the entry?
• Are grammar, punctuation, and
spelling used accurately
throughout entry?
• Are word choices precise,
unambiguous, and appropriate?
Total
Points
Possible
20
20
20
20
10
10
100
Points
Earned
Instructor’s
Comments
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