Classroom Observation At The Child Development Center

On a separate day, this observer examined the school age classroom at the child development center; the class had mixed age groups and consisted of children age’s five to twelve. Children began to arrive from their elementary schools at 2:30. The teacher sat down at one of the tables and instructed the students to get started on his/her homework from school, or to quietly read a book. At the time, there were only five children in the classroom. The teacher prepped afternoon activities while children worked on homework assignments and chatted with their peers. The second bus arrived at 2:40 and more students flooded the classroom. Some of the students immediately began working on their assignments and others hovered around the teacher. The noise level of the classroom increased exponentially, and more children became off task. The teacher reminded them of the expectations and requested a decrease in volume. The students followed her directions without complaint and still chatted, but more quietly. However, a group of students got in a disagreement while doing homework shortly afterwards and the teacher had to firmly repeat her expectations. The teacher threatened to revoke the computer privileges of the students that did not comply. The transition from schoolwork to snack time was abrupt, but only the first bus of children were allowed to put away their work. The second bus of children complained that it was unfair, but the teacher insisted that they work for five more minutes. The assistant teacher arrived, but the lead teacher did not acknowledge him. The assistant jumped in immediately and helped the students at the table in finishing their homework. The lead teacher excitedly explained the art activity to the students eating snack, though the students dispersed to …show more content…
The expectations for after school activities were clear. Teacher made consequences clear, alternating between authoritative and friendly as