Clinical Field Experience D
Clinical Field Experience D
Clinical Field Experience D
Tannye Stewart
EAD-530
Dr. Deis
I am the only new teacher at Riverside Elementary. Alongside me, are three new
However, she is unfamiliar with the new reading curriculum the school has implemented this
year. Also, this is her first time teaching first grade. She taught fifth grade for the last 11 years.
Our principal, Mrs. Jones, observed her last week while she taught the new reading curriculum. I
was fortunate to have a pre-conference with Mrs. Loncon in her classroom and attend the
component of the educational process” (Parker, 2019, p. 1). Before the meeting occurred, I
informed Mrs. Loncon in a comforting and professional manner that I was there to collaborate
with her and discuss how she planned to implement her lesson for her observation. I encouraged
her to collaborate with me. I did not want her to see me as the enemy. I have taught the reading
curriculum she was getting observed on for the past eight years. I thought it would be a good
idea to identify her objectives for the lesson, how to improve the capacity of student learning,
and help her effectively teach the reading lesson that would lead her students to achieving the
objective. Also, I explained the coaching process to Mrs. Loncon. Afterwards, she showed me
her lesson objectives for her future lesson: “I can decode, comprehend, and answer questions
about a given text with fluency and accuracy.” Furthermore, she explained what activities and
resources she planned to use during her lesson: (1) a Google Slides presentation to introduce the
story topic, unfamiliar spellings, new vocabulary within the text, and oral comprehension
questions, (2) a Gran book, and (3) a workbook page where the students would answer questions
We summarized the lesson piece by piece to reflect on the structure of the lesson as I
asked her questions such as “How do you plan to assess your students’ prior knowledge on this
story from their Gran book? What terminology do the students need to grasp to comprehend the
story from their Gran book? How will you introduce the vocabulary words from the text to the
students?” We discussed how it would be easy to assess students’ prior knowledge of the text by
showing them a vocabulary word and a picture that aligns with that word. Then, the students
would have to speak with their partners about what the vocabulary word means or what they
think it means based off the given picture or from previous conversations. We discussed teaching
strategies she could use to scaffold learning. We thought the Total Physical Response approach
may be a good idea for small children who would benefit from acting out some of the vocabulary
teaching language or vocabulary concepts by using physical movement to react to verbal input.
The purpose of TPR is to create a brain link between speech and action to boost language and
How a teacher introduces and reads a story can influence student engagement and
motivation to learn. I asked Mrs. Loncon, “How will the resources you mentioned help increase
student engagement?” We reflected on the Google Slides presentation she bought that was
bright, contained big print, and had eye-catching pictures. By using her presentation, Mrs.
Loncon visually stimulated the students to participate in her lesson. The students were actively
engaged during the presentation. The media resource that was used assisted students with prior
knowledge building and captured their interest in the story from their Gran book.
Not all students learn the same way. I asked Mrs. Loncon, “How do you plan to monitor
student learning?” and “How do you plan to incorporate differentiation throughout your lesson?”
4
We reflected on the material within the Google Slides presentation and the various questions she
could ask her students to assess their knowledge. When it came to answering oral comprehension
questions, I encouraged her to give her students a sentence frame. With a sentence frame,
students are essentially restating the question and giving an answer in a complete sentence. For
students that need a further challenge, she planned to ask more inferential and evaluative
questions that required an answer not directly found within the text. We collaborated and
discussed some options that would be beneficial to her and her students.
paced accordingly. We reflected on different strategies Mrs. Loncon could use to reinforce
positive behavior and communicate effectively with her students in an engaging and safe
learning environment. I asked Mrs. Loncon, “What strategies would you implement in your
classroom to build a trusting, safe, and positive classroom environment?” We reflected on how
she should review the classroom rules and ask students for examples on how to be a good
classroom citizen.
While observing the lesson, Mrs. Loncon was confident while teaching. Her students
were actively engaged and participating in all the lesson activities. She was very positive and
used a calm tone with her students. She never raised her voice to reprimand a student. She used
positive modeling through her language and behavior. She exhibited an enthusiastic and
Mrs. Loncon kept her teacher manual close by because her manual had all her notes for
the lesson she was being observed on. She followed the lesson and its pacing guide. Throughout
her lesson, Mrs. Loncon was able to identify struggling students that were not fully grasping the
new vocabulary terms, were having difficulty decoding the story, and/or finding the
5
comprehension questions too difficult to answer. There were some classroom distractions, such
as students being too hyper and shouting out during the lesson. However, Mrs. Loncon
effectively addressed these distractions with a phrase like “I love how Elijah is waiting his turn
and raising his hand to speak!” By referencing the positive behavior shown by another student,
most of the distractions lessened. The workbook page where the students had to answer
comprehension questions about the story served as an effective formal assessment. The words
used in their sentences were mainly decodable and tricky words. Mrs. Loncon gave support to
her students by giving them a sentence frame to use when answering their questions on their
workbook page. I felt that Mrs. Loncon would benefit more from our post-conference meeting if
we were to discuss and reflect on how she delivered her reading lesson to her students.
“The purpose of instructional feedback and coaching is always to support and help
teachers grow as professionals, which filters to better instruction for students” (Chapuis, 2012, p.
2). During the post-conference, I concentrated on the notes and data I obtained from the
observation. I asked Mrs. Loncon to reflect on how the improvements made to her reading lesson
during the pre-conference impacted her observed lesson overall, how the strategies/skills she
acquired could be utilized in her future lesson planning and would she have planned her reading
lesson differently knowing what she does now. I provided her with positive feedback such as
how her students found her and her classroom setting to be warm, welcoming, and safe. I told her
that the students responded well to her enthusiasm and were more engaged. Also, I
complimented her on how engaging her Google Slides presentation was. As an observer, even I
was engaged in her media presentation. In addition, I provided Mrs. Loncon with constructive
feedback on how the story she read aloud to her students should have been the same book with
the same publication year as her students’. The teacher’s Gran book had different illustrations
6
and the language was worded slightly different compared to the students’ Gran books. To
conclude the post-conference, I congratulated Mrs. Loncon on collaborating with me during the
coaching process. We reviewed the expectations discussed during our pre-conference. Mrs.
Loncon claimed to enjoy the coaching process and that her expectations were met. She was
grateful for my insight on how to plan the reading lesson effectively and the feedback I provided
her during the post-conference. She asked if I was available in the future to help her plan future
I made a few recommendations to Mrs. Loncon about the effective use of Google Slides
presentations within her reading lessons. First, I informed her that each slide should not be
overwhelmed by text. She needed to keep the text on each slide short and concise. Second, I told
her that her font and color for her text on each of her slides should be easily readable. For
example, her students would not be able to read text in yellow. Third, I encouraged her to include
pictures, animations, and embedded videos to improve her presentation. Because Google Slides
are an effective tool to use during first grade lessons, it would benefit Mrs. Loncon to know how
she can successfully improve her lesson delivery and presentation. In addition, I advised Mrs.
Loncon to have the vocabulary words and spellings within the text bolded and enlarged on her
Google Slides presentation. By doing this, the students recognize the emphasis placed on the
given terminology. I also imparted some advice I learned while teaching the current reading
curriculum. I informed Mrs. Loncon how helpful it is to bold the long vowels when presenting
new spellings and bold the tricky words. The bolded long vowels and tricky words are seen as a
reminder to the students on how a particular word should be sounded out and/or which words are
tricky words. “Bold is used to highlight the text and capture the readers’ attention” (Hallur, 2021,
7
p. 3). Furthermore, I gave Mrs. Loncon the chance to reflect on how setting up a game board on
her Google Slides presentation would be an engaging activity for her students to participate in.
For example, she could split the slide and students in half and ask each group questions about the
vocabulary and text. If a group answers a question correct, she could have students digitally
move an object onto their side of the slide. This would represent them earning a point. The use of
“The key concept behind these meaningful conversations is that they work best when
observer and teacher come together as equals, to learn together” (McVey, 2018, p. 4). When the
observer and the teacher collaborate with one another to create a strong lesson that positively
influences student learning, then you know the coaching process was a success. The observer and
the teacher not only influence student learning, but they also build a school culture based on
collaboration and trust. I made sure to let Mrs. Loncon know that I cared how she was doing and
how she felt during the coaching process. I understood that this was a new grade and curriculum
she was being forced to teach and was unfamiliar with. Being unfamiliar with something can
sometimes induce fear of the unknown. My goal was for Mrs. Loncon to feel empowered and
safe during the pre-conference, observation, and post-conference. I did not want her to feel as if I
was negatively judging her and not providing quality feedback. I went into the coaching process
with Mrs. Loncon knowing I wanted to have meaningful conversations with her while supporting
her any way I possibly could. I enjoyed planning with Mrs. Loncon and observing her. I also
enjoyed working with her as a fellow first grade teacher. After the post-conference, we both felt
confident in the coaching process and the planning and reflection it entailed.
Authentic leaders demonstrate self-awareness when they reflect on their own strengths,
vulnerabilities, and ethics. I know I am not yet an expert on implementing technology effectively
in the classroom or the various strategies that could be used with technology. I have much to
learn on that topic and eventually will. I make sure to be vulnerable with the other teachers. It
can be terrifying, but open communication will build trust between us. I reiterate to the teachers
that I have coached that I am not an expert in everything. I have my weaknesses just like them.
However, we can all learn, reflect, and grow within the education field. By being transparent
with the teachers I am coaching and working with, I am allowing myself to learn, reflect, and
grow as a future administrator. Lastly, I am responsible for showcasing strong ethical behavior in
the education field. During the coaching process, I can promote further success by building
collaborative and trusting relationships with those I coach. My goal is to empower the teachers
References
p. 2. https://www.theprincipalsplaybook.com/instructional-leadership/instructional-
feedback-coaching
1. https://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/tool/total-physical-response-tpr
Hallur, A. (2021, July 29). Bold, Italics, and Underlines: How to Use Them
Effectively? Blogging, p. 3. https://bloggingx.com/bold-italics-and-underlines-in-blog-
posts/
McVey, D. (2018, March 8). Post observation conversations with teachers, about learners:
conversations-teachers-learners-guidance-mcvey