Common Area Observation

Introduction

The purpose of this essay is to analyze the student’s traits and issues, tutor/staff traits and issues, environmental traits and issues, incentives and outcomes, and resources. Therefore, it is essential that a correct assessment is done to develop and transform the existing dining structure of Lacy Elementary School to assist with the mitigation of the challenging and unwelcome repeated behaviors. 

Student Characteristics, Issues, and Factors

During the breakfast period, students seem usually peaceful and dutiful. It appears that the students during this period demonstrate suitable manners. This behavior is taking place in the dining hall during every aspect of the breakfast program. Student’s behaviors during this time involve typically locating a seat, eating, chattering, and completing their assignment. The moment students have left the dining room, most of the trash is put in the trash cans. In general, the breakfast program works effortlessly, and the likelihood of any disruption is rare. At lunchtime the students are noisy, and others yell across the dining hall. Student scramble to find seats, pushing and shoving at times takes place. The students also requests to use the washroom at lunch break, and most students leave the cafeteria littered with plates and trays on tables.

Students/Staff Characteristics, Issue, and Factors

During breakfast, just two paraprofessionals and one school director monitor students as they take their meal. In most cases, no issues arise during this time and the staff is capable of maintaining order. At lunchtime, instructors are expected to escort their students to the dining room and leave of their own accord due to the duty-free lunch time. A teacher might choose to eat his or her lunch in the classroom or elect to eat lunch outside of the campus. At this time, order is usually maintained by using three paraeducators, three parents, and a principal and assistant principal. The administrative staff sits by the door collecting school ID from students who need to use the washroom. Members of the staff seem to be sensitive toward students’ conducts, which plays a significant role in ensuing clashes between students at lunchtime.

Environmental Characteristics, Issues, and Factors/Physical Plant and Logistics

When students are having their meal in the morning, the staff are few, and students are given the opportunity to talk, eat, and embark on assignments. Nearly every student exits the school bus and goes straight to the cafeteria via an external door. The remaining fifty to seventy students enter the school through the anterior entry and head for the dining room for breakfast. As soon as the students are done with breakfast, they chat but not too noisily. The report does offer enough details concerning the workforce activities during lunchtime, but it does demonstrate that staff was monitoring the lunch queues. Besides, the administrator stands by the door to supervise the lavatory usage. Once the bell rings, the staff opens the door to allow students to leave. Extra seats have been provided, as the cafeteria only has adequate chairs for three-hundred students at a time. The school was intended to accommodate an admission of five-hundred but currently serves six-fifty students. Queues are long in the dining areas, which shows the cafeteria cannot accommodate all of the students. 

Incentives and Consequences

During breakfast, there are no incentives or consequences demonstrated. The motivation at lunch is that if each student has to produce his or her school ID, he becomes eligible to use the washroom. Students are also allowed to chat, but the staff arbitrates if problems begin to occur. The school administration and other members of staff in the dining are responsible parties for offering any incentive or consequence to each student. Teacher assistants are given a stipend to supervise students before and after school.

Resources

During breakfast, there are only two resources, including two paraeducators and one administrative staff. Each student seems focused on eating or doing an assignment. The students were scrambling during breakfast, as opposed to all of the students in the dining room at the same time. Additionally, there only two separate doors for the student permitting them to have enough room. The school bell is also a contemporary technology that assists the young learners shows that they will be evolving to the next academic or physical aspect. The school has two lunch programs that help to manage the student demographics in the dining room. Through using a member of staff to help control the cafeteria by showing each student the expected behavior before going to the cafeteria, encourages control over the student population in the dining hall simultaneously. 

Summary

In the mornings and when students are having their breakfast, it seems that fewer issues took place, as the cafeteria has few student’s populations, most students enter the cafeteria through the external door while the rest enter via the front entrance. Another strength that is to be put into consideration is that the number of staffing is enough for the student ratio in the cafeteria during both lunch and breakfast. The students engage in chatter, embark on their assignments during these periods which promotes study habits. The attendance administrators during breakfast and lunch are also viewed as a strength since it motivates the students and personnel to make favorable decisions. Giving teacher assistants some stipend to supervise students before and after school is a good incentive for the learning institution to appreciate their assistance. Some of the weakness seen begins with the dining hall incapacity to accommodate all the students at once. While the students are split into groups and offered two lunches, the capacity of the cafeteria can only handle three-hundred students at one given time. The other weakness is that the students being exhausted might have contributed to the behavior in the dining hall as they ate their breakfast

The first recommendation for the school would begin with the instructors. Each teacher must be required to sign in to school 1-45 minutes before learning resumes. This will make sure that the school’s management will be capable of appropriately staffing classroom and request for help in the event of an emergency situation when students are eating their lunch. At lunchtime, each instructor must be required to walk their students to the lavatory and lay down expectations before walking into the cafeteria. One of the components including discouraging problem behaviors (Arnt & Ole Henning, 206). This will lower or prevent conflicts among students. As the dining hall cannot accommodate all of the students at once, the school administration should divide the lunch session into three sets. This will improve the supervision of the student’s population. The guidelines of the cafeteria must be sent out, and the controlling personnel must develop a system that requires each student to enter the cafeteria, take his or her meal, and find a chair in the designated area. When leaving the dining hall, teachers must be available as to pick and count their students. Both entranceways must be utilized to reduce traffic. Teachers should be allowed to eat lunch with their students to observe and identify behaviors that need to be addressed. According to Sugai & Horner (2002), this will remind students of the importance of demonstrating responsible behavior. Also, cafeteria supervisors should be provided in-service teaching and follow-up coaching on strategies for promoting a positive cafeteria experience. Teachers and supervisors should be taught what to say and do to foster a calm and comfortable environment. 

References

Arnt, O. H., & Ole Henning. N. (2016) "Learning environment and student effort." International Journal of Educational Management , 30(2), 271-286.

Sugai, G., & Horner, R. H. (2002). “The evolution of discipline practices: School-wide positive behavior supports.” Child and Family Behavior Therapy , 24, 23-50.