[nobe-l] Visual observations? Help?

[Valerie Gibson]

Hi,
So as some might know, as part of our teacher education program, we are put into classrooms with elementary students. We have college courses attached to that where we talk about classroom management, instructional methods, etc. We then take what we have learned in the college course and observe and practice that in our elementary classrooms under the guidance of our professor/supervisor and the cooperating teacher.
I’m in a class of second graders. I’ve been observing how the teacher teaches them, and it seems like I could make teaching accessible, but there are some things that I have no idea how to get around.
This is a part of an email from my professor regarding an assignment that we have to do, and I wanted some feedback on how best to do this and what to tell her.  I’m posting this here because it’s an example of what I wanted to know.
My main question is: How do you know when a student is not doing their work?  There have been times when a teacher has asked the classs to write something, and a student is just … not writing. She has to go over there and see what’s up with the student.  How do you, as a blind person, catch this?  I imagine it would be hard to go to every single student and ask them if they are completing the task, trusting that they will be honest and tell you the truth.
Here’s the email:

Next, we will begin the week 6 power point on slide 5. We are watching a 30 min clip where we will be practicing taking observational notes. I have attached the link here: http://www.learner.org/libraries/readingk2/wilson/first.html <http://www.learner.org/libraries/readingk2/wilson/first.html>
I have attached my observational notes on Justin to this email titled, Justin oral language video. Essentially, as teachers we want to be observing what a student is doing both behaviorally and academically. For example, do they hesitate to begin their assignment? How does what they are speaking align with what they are writing? Are they the same? Does the student work on the assignment for the entire allotted time or do they rush to finish? I need you to think about how this task will be for you. Maybe watch the movie prior to class or in class and then compare your notes with mine? Observing a student is part of your hidden gems assignment and your job as a teacher. What will your observational notes consist of? I just want to make sure that we are getting started on this now, so that we can brainstorm ways for you to approach this important task of teaching and to have your hidden gems assignment completed. 

Finally, we will look at some kindergarten writing samples and determine their developmental level. They are a student's drawing with a typed caption of what they picture is about. Again, what do we need to do to make this a successful task for you? Your classmates could describe the picture to you and read the caption? What are your thoughts?


Pleas help.

Thank you.