1. Observe a veteran teacher administering the standard battery for your chosen. To
get on using the meeting information below. Try to enter a little before four as
it will take a while to let everyone in.
2. assessment and submit a 1-2 page write-up of your observation:
a. environmental set-up of assessment setting
b. establishing rapport
c. teacher instructions
d. student response and behavior
I observed a RSP SPED teacher at my school during Period 1 last March 10, 2020,
Thursday. When I entered the classroom, a table was set up in front of the board.
The WJ IV was set up facing the teacher (facing the classroom), with pencils, an
eraser, white scratch paper, and the Response Booklet beside the easel for Tests
1-11. The student’s chair was on the left-hand side of the table ( facing the board).
There was one window open at the end of the room. Two other students in the
classroom were quietly working on their computers.
The student came in late, and she was immediately directed to sit on the chair. Mr. A
asked her how she was that morning and thanked her for coming to take the test. Mr.
A is Huggy’s case manager. I liked how he explained that the WJ IV test is a series of
tests given to students to test their knowledge in several subjects. He added that
there is no grade associated with this test and assured the student that there is no
pressure to get a high score and just tries to do her best. The teacher pointed to the
pencils on the table and told her that these were for her to use.
He immediately started and explained that the student would start with the first test,
Letter Identification. He moved the easel towards the student and pointed to the
column she would start reading. As the student moved down the test, the teacher
repeatedly asked them to repeat the answer as he could not hear her answer. He
would say okay after each item and direct her to the next question by saying next. I
noticed that he did not say, “good job”. When he started on the next test, Applied
Problems, he pointed to the paper, and told the student that she could use the paper
to write down her solution when solving the problems. On the sixth question, the
student started taking longer to answer the question. The teacher asked her if she
wanted to try, and the student said no. The students responded to the next four
questions similarly, and on the fifth, she stopped and put her pencil down. The RSP
teacher asked if she wanted more time and explained that there was no time limit. He
told the student that he was also terrible at math. The student, at this point, was not
doing anything and was just quiet and shaking her right leg vigorously. With her
head down, she played with her hands and was oblivious to what the teacher told
her. The teacher finally told her to forget about the test and would continue during the
last period, 6. He explained that no grade was associated with this test, and we were
just trying to find out where she was academic. He directed her to sit wherever she
liked, and at this point, she was crying. Her head was still down, and suddenly, she
stood up, took her backpack, and left the classroom without notifying the teacher.
The RSP teacher chased after her and lost her when she set out into the quad
(yard). He came back and told me that she had disappeared.
I asked the RSP teacher if her scores were invalidated because she stopped and
walked out of the classroom. He said no, and if she showed up on Period 6, he
would continue with the next test in the series. I asked if students typically exhibited
the same behavior, and he said that her behavior was a good representation of many
RSP students who come in for testing. I thanked him for allowing me to observe him
administer the test, and I suggested that I help the WJ IV to a student of his, so he
could watch and give me feedback on how I was doing.
In the afternoon, I checked with the teacher, and the student did not show up to
continue with the test. He mentioned that she went to the school psychologist’s
office. It was a relief to hear that the student went to Ms. H. Our school psychologist
is good at calming people down. She always knows the right words to say.