Samantha Hess

K. Suk
EDUC 230-02 Education Field Experience
Spring 2019
Setting Observation Rationale Statement

Standard 3- Learning Environments:

The teacher works with others to create environments that support individual and collaborative

learning, and that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-

motivation. (New Jersey Department of Education, 2014, pg. 4).

Artifact: Observation #1: Setting

Date: March 7th, 2019

Course: EDUC 230-02 Education Field Experience

Rationale Statement:

This artifact is an observation paper about classroom setting. I have been observing in a

second-grade class and the environment is much different from a public school. I have been

recording all my observations, and wrote them up into a paper to talk about what the classroom

looks like and if it works for the students. I related this artifact to standard 3.i.5 “The teacher

uses a variety of methods to engage learners in evaluating the learning environment and

collaborates with learners to make appropriate adjustments” (New Jersey Department of

Education, 2014). My cooperating teacher at this school works hard to create a warm and
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comfortable environment for the students. Whenever they work on activities or assignments, he

lets them work wherever they’d like in the room. He sets up different areas around the room to

make the students feel like they can work comfortably wherever they’d like. He sets out

cushions, boxes, different chairs and little pieces of carpet out for the students to sit on and move

around the room. The standard mentions the teacher collaborating with the students to find out

what type of environment works best for them, and adjusts accordingly. One of the students had

a rubber cushion that he sat on and carried it to the carpet, and specials. The other students were

distracted by this one boy having the cushion, even though he needed it for sensory purposes.

The next time I came back to the school, the teacher had gotten the cushions for everyone. Now

they were no longer worried about what that other child had. They bring it to the rug to sit on

during lessons, and to their desks to work.

Through this artifact, it has taught me just how much thought has to go into setting up a

classroom and maintaining a warm and safe, yet engaging learning environment. Throughout the

years of taking education classes at Raritan Valley Community College I have learned strategies

and tips to properly set up a classroom. If the students do not feel comfortable in their

environment, they will not learn. Also, from working in a daycare I have helped rearrange tables,

shelves, even whole centers to make the classroom flow better and still work as a learning

environment. All this background knowledge made me familiar with how a room should be set

up. This private school was proof that everything I have learned about setting up a classroom

helps students be more successful. My cooperating teacher had each area in the room set up in a

way that worked for his students. The teacher has made every area of the room feel comfortable

for the students to move around and work in different areas. My cooperating teacher has also

explained to me that he just recently moved things around in the classroom to make the room
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work better for his students. He also told me that each year he has to move things in the room

around to accommodate to his students. This private school was a perfect example of everything

I have learned.

I can use this artifact in the future as a reference on the proper setting for a classroom.

The artifact included tips on how a classroom should flow. As you get into the older grades, you

see more of a whole class and less of centers broken up around the room like what I am used to.

It also included recommendations, and things to look out for. This observational paper furthered

my knowledge for what a good classroom environment should look like.

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Reference:

New Jersey Department of Education. (2014, August). New Jersey Professional Standards for Teachers

Alignment with InTASC. Retrieved from

https://www.state.nj.us/education/profdev/profstand/ProfStandardsforTeachersAlignmentwith

InTASC.pdf