Post Observation Self-Reflection

Post Observation Self-Reflection

As I reflect on the lesson, activity or interaction to what extent were the students actively engaged?  How do I know?

The students were very engaged in the topic. It is a topic that they have been working on and they were conversing back and forth about the lesson.

Did the students learn what I had intended?  Were my instructional goals and objectives developmentally appropriate?  What is my evidence?

After conferencing with the kids on the topic, I was able to observe which students understood the idea of an All About paper and a One Time paper. The children were able to understand the lesson as well as meet the goals for the lesson by showing the understood the difference between an All About paper and a One Time paper and were able to independently choose their topic and write their paper.

Did I alter my goals, strategies or activities, as I interacted with the children or as I taught the lesson?  If so, what changes did I make and why did I make these changes?

I did not alter the lesson but it was customized to the conversation so even though the lesson was planned, the conversation was not. I did have to ask the students to change their behavior because of the materials in their hands, which I should have done at the beginning of the lesson.

 Were my strategies and activities effective?  What is my evidence?

As a small group, we talked about our weekends. At this age and definitely with these specific children, they love to talk and chat with each other constantly. The strategies I used for this was to talk about their weekends as well as mine in a small informal circle. They responded well to this technique. They also know how to write weekend webs and draft ideas for writing so the activity lined up with what they already knew.

To what extent did the classroom environment contribute to student learning?  What is my evidence?

The four students were in the classroom while the other kids in the class were in art. It was helpful to have the class to ourselves so they were not distracted by other students or loud noises in the hallway. We sat on the rug in a small circle which made it feel very comfortable and relaxed. The students talked the entire time about the lesson and topics at hand.

Was my assessment effective and useful to my students and me?  Describe an instance in which my feedback positively affected a student’s learning.

I was able to observe their drafts and writings after they were done picking a topic and they all were able to grasp the concept of All About and a One Time paper. While conferencing with one child, I was able to give him some ideas about his topic he chose. I was able to help him by saying “what do you want the reader to know?”

If I had the opportunity to teach this lesson again, what might I do differently?  Why?

As I had mentioned before, I would have had the children leave their materials on the ground in front of them so they would not be distracting and if they did not put them on the ground I would have ust taken them away until we started our independent writing. I also would have chosen a different topic as an example for myself but it still worked as an example for their lesson.