Reflections

Reflections-

Writing reflections about the lessons I have taught has helped me to improve my teaching skills. The following reflections are a selection from my student teaching experience, although writing reflections has been continuous during my teacher preparation program.

Reflection Entry- Week Five

1. Event description:

On Thursday, I taught my first large-group lesson to the fifth-grade group. While preparing for the lessons, I found the teacher’s manual to be laid out in a fairly self-explanatory manner. My mentor and I discussed some alternative ways for presenting the lesson to suit the students’ needs. I reviewed the lesson well and made notes to myself in the manual. My mentor and I agreed that she would observe this lesson.

I began the lesson mentally focused on the upcoming reading comprehension questions that I was to ask the students. Yet, the first part of the lesson was to be reading the vocabulary lists and so, I approached the vocabulary differently than what the students were expecting. When this happened the students were quick to let me know that I “forgot” how it was supposed to be done.

Consequently, some of the students used this opportunity to continue to disrupt the first part of the lesson. Some began giggling and I discouraged their behavior by warning to take away a positive consequence (a Popsicle stick). Then, one student began coughing repeatedly. I asked him to get a drink and he complied, only to come back coughing louder. I looked at my mentor and she told him to go the nurse’s for a cough drop. He came back without the medicine and continued to cough. I told him if he continued then he would have a stick taken away. He immediately began to argue that he could not help it. So, I warned him that he would have to go into the hall because he was disrupting the lesson. After a few more coughs I sent him reluctantly into the hall.

2. Feelings and Actions:

After the start of the lesson, I intuitively knew that the students would see my mistake as a lack of preparation and confidence on my part. I felt that I lost them right off. I was not upset at the coughing student, but I was a little disappointed in myself for not seeing the importance of the introductory task of vocabulary words.

3. Learning:

After the students questioned me, I should have just went ahead and told them that we were going to do the lesson a little differently, instead of backtracking. I also learned that although I felt I maintained my professional demeanor through the coughing episode, I saw what I would be up against for future lessons. I would set a few ground rules before the next time and consider the initial task as important. What’s most significant to me was that while the lesson wasn’t very successful, we got through it. I was surprised at my comfort level. I maintained my humor, laughing with my mentor about the lesson later.

Reflection Entry- Week Ten

1. Event description:

Today I taught the second graders a reading lesson. We went over vowels, phonograms and blends, vocabulary words from past and new stories, read a short story, completed workbook activities, and reviewed over 100 Brigance Sight Words. The lesson was planned for 30 minutes.

2. Feelings and Actions:

The lesson started out dragging. I reviewed how many minutes I should spend on each activity. After 10 minutes ticked by I immediately saw that I needed to pick up the speed, or we would not finish. I was reminded of previous suggestions given to me from my mentor about how to improve my pacing. So, I sped up the lesson with voice inflections and verbal encouragement. I was able to finish the lesson on time, but I felt as if I had pushed the students too quickly toward the end of the lesson.

3. Learning:

I learned that I have become more aware of time frames and lesson completion. I have also learned that I can use delivery strategies that encourage students to focus and work more quickly. I also learned I need to monitor the time spent on activities within each lesson more closely.

Reflection Entry- Week Eleven

1. Event description: This week I taught language arts to various groups and grade levels for full periods. The fifth graders are with me for two hours each day. Their lessons are writing, reading comprehension, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

2. Feelings and Actions: I have been working to pace my lessons these last weeks. Today, to my surprise, the students and I were finished with all the lessons and activities ten minutes early! I chose to review spelling on white boards to use up the last of the class time efficiently. The transition went smoothly.

3. Learning: Looking back at my first lessons, I never thought that I could get through all the lessons in time. Having strict time constraints was relatively new to me. When I taught for Head Start, our time frames and lesson planning followed the children’s interests. “Bird walks,” or incidental learning was the normal course for lessons and required for future planning. We based achievement on the individual’s growth. In becoming a certified educator, I knew that I would be held accountable for content area curricula and student progress. I also knew this would be one of my major obstacles to overcome. Working with suggestions from my mentor, I developed strategies for pacing. For example, it helped to keep an eye on schedules, time wasters, and maintaining student interest. I feel confident I have achieved success with lesson pacing.