Reflection on lesson planning

Reflection on lesson planning:

The 3 lesson plans in unit 7 were based on the English Language Arts Standard for writing- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.3.B
“Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.”

 I focused on the following objectives for my lessons in order to achieve these student performances:

Objectives:

Ø SWBAT discover the difference between direct and indirect dialogue used in writing.

Ø SWBAT create character identities through dialogue.

Ø SWBAT write detailed directions to communicate an experience

Ø SWBAT incorporate pacing to develop plot events in a story using a story mountain

Ø SWBAT create a story using descriptive words and pacing.

The 21^st century skills framework requires “the development of core academic subject knowledge and understanding among all students.” (P21). My lesson plans were designed for students in the Learning support Study skills program to be able to access requirements in their core subjects. Although these students are in the regular language classes they need assistance to fill the gaps due to varied learning needs to be on par with the grade level students. As the 21^st Century framework requires essential skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration to enable student success, on analyzing my learning plans I noted the following:

 

Creativity & Innovation requires that students use a wide range of idea creation techniques. In my lessons the students are required to create a small moment story with dialogue, description and pacing to communicate a story where prompts are given to assist their thinking. Although the framework requires them to “Create new and worthwhile ideas (both incremental and radical concepts)”(P21),considering their needs  firstly having the prompts from the narrative grid will give them a head start however I could also be limiting their creativeness if they had more ideas than the  prompts and if they were asked to something new altogether. I could have also included peer review for their final product for the purposes of refining and analyzing to improve their creative efforts.

Another aspect of the creativity and innovation is that students are able to communicate their creativity with others and be open to feedback and input.

 

There were two group activities that the students were able to communicate their creativity with one another. In lesson one they developed a dialog between two characters and presented it to class. In lesson two they will pair up once again to write detailed directions to communicate to their partner how to make a burger. They will be able to discuss what details they missed out on when working on the directions.      However I think giving them a more open ended task for the summative with specific guidelines would help them to further develop their originality.

 I would like to help them to understand that “failure is an opportunity to learn & creativity and innovation is a long-term, cyclical process of small successes and frequent mistakes” (P21)after the summation of the activities. Many students are fearful of creativity as they would feel a failure. I would want to encourage them to be fearless in this area.

·        Critical Thinking and Problem Solving is also an area that I have focused in these lessons. I developed the critical thinking process on the following lines of student performances throughout the three lessons :

The areas of student performances I concentrated on were:

·         -Knowledge: Students will be able to discover the difference between direct and indirect dialogue.

·         -Comprehension: Students will be able to describe using detail to communicate an experience.

·         -Application: Students will be able to apply the process of pacing and dialog to write narratives.

·         -Synthesis: Students will be able to create a small moment story using descriptive words, dialog and pacing.

The objective in my second lesson was to write detailed directions to communicate and experience. I believe through the tactile learning experiment they will be able to comprehend that detail in description is necessary in writing.

In addition another of my objectives in my third lesson was that students will be able to apply pacing and details to a create small moment writing task. Part of critical thinking is to reflect critically on learning experiences and processes. Even as students are guided through this activity I would expect them to listen – think- feel and understand through the visuals and videos how in reality they would feel when reading a story. Hopefully this will filter into their writing when they are asked to apply their knowledge in using dialogue, description and pacing in their summative task present their understanding through the creation of a short story which will be presented in written form and digital media. They would have to problem solve with non-familiar problems in both conventional and innovative ways when they work with digital media.

It is important that in these lessons that the students know that writing is a complex system that involves many parts to have an overall outcome. Even as the 21^st century framework defines this as “Use systems thinking- Analyze how parts of a whole interact with each other to produce overall outcomes in complex systems”- (P21)
  I need to ensure that at the culminating activity I address this and ask that students to write a small reflection on the process of creative writing and what they learned.

         Communication and Collaboration in The 21^st century skill framework requires

“Use communication for a range of purposes (e.g. to inform, instruct, motivate and persuade).

-Utilize multiple media and technologies, and know how to judge their effectiveness a priori as well as assess their impact.-Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multi-lingual)” (P21)

 

In considering the above and understanding that the students in the classroom today are digital natives ,it is important to recognize as rapid changes are happening in the world of technology using it wisely in the classroom can bring in another dimension to learning. In my lesson plans my instruction would be mainly through power points, videos and digital applications. All my lesson instructions were done on a power point to enable student understanding visually. The videos were incorporated as an auditory and visually learning tool. Hence I could say I have used media and technology skills to inform, instruct & motivate my students. Varying the technology is important to assess its effectiveness. In my lesson plans the students use the storyboard in a summative assessment to create a story.I would think of incorporating more technology in formative assessments in the next line of lessons.

 I would also explore further in time to come in incorporating relevant technology to enhance student learning as the students and I gain gradual confidence in its use.

            In communication in the 21^st century skills frame work it requires students to “Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts.” (P21)In my lesson plans student communication has been worked into a class summing up activity where students present a dialog.In lesson 1, they present it with expression to communicate a cartoon dialog they created. In lesson 2 the students read directions to a partner to complete making a burger thus communication will be once again encouraged in this activity.

 

Overall I believe there are some aspects I still need to incorporate into my lesson plans as noted earlier such as peer review, more open ended creative tasks, reflections & varied technology in their lessons to build a more comprehensive learning to prepare them for the 21^st century complex life and work environments.

Bibliography

P21. (n.d.). P21. Retrieved 3 22, 2015, from Partnership for 21st Century Skills: http://www.p21.org/about-us/p21-framework/60

 

Reflection on expectations for clinical practice:

The Teach-Now program thus far has been a grueling ground for me. It has shaped my learning and teaching in a multitude of ways. The technology drive it has created in us 21^st century teachers has been exhausting but rewarding. Having come to the final lap looking at the clinical teaching ahead I am glad I have spent time and effort learning many skills that could be applied in my classes.

In my area of teaching i.e. learning support I’m constantly in touch with the students having being in their classes for co- teaching I’m confident of the students I will be dealing with. The class I will be teaching will be a study skills class that my mentor takes. I have observed him during these lessons and I have an idea of how his lessons flow. Hence the environment I will work in is not new in anyway. During my collaborative meeting he shared that he expected through classroom management I needed to ensure things go smoothly. He suggested taking seating plans into consideration to promote optimal student learning. In order to manage disruptions he shared that it’s important to explain the classroom rules clearly to the students. Use the tally system to let students know what is expected of them and let them know the consequences. He also Indicated that it is important that students are treated with respect when disciplining them ,so that they are not embarrassed in front of others.

He advised that I connect lessons with the previous lesson with previews so that the students will make connections. Having formative assessments at the beginning and end of lesson will ensure their understanding this can be done by way of drawing a picture, acting, writing, and questioning. He stressed the importance of individualized instruction as much as possible.  Differentiating through reading levels using the map and lexile scores will ensure students learn.

My concern for the clinicals will be the time schedule. I need to plan ahead as the interim holidays, summer holidays are coming up. I will have to cover 200hrs of teaching of  six informal and three formal evaluations. In addition my Praxis tests are scheduled for April and May. Hence the work load will definitely increase in order to keep up with the teach-now requirements. Therefore to stay on target I made myself a plan with the lesson plans I’ll teach informally and formally aligning them to the Clinical rubric for Intasc standards along with dates and session times. I believe this will be useful for my mentor as well because he can plan his days and sessions.

My mentor Mr. Wasko has been very supportive. As we all work as a team in our learning support unit we have the opportunity of communicating with each other when needed. He has many years of experience as a Special education teacher and I would look forward to learning more strategies that are practical to be used in classroom settings. He has ideas on varied resources that he uses in class and his suggestions will enable me to expand my teaching. I would reflect on his comments and incorporate suggestions for further improvement in every lesson.

REFLECTION ON IMPORTANCE OF LESSON PLANNING & PREPARATION

The importance of having a lesson plan cannot ever be overstated. Having a lesson plan is the map to achieving the objectives of a lesson. As Gini Cunningham in her book ASCD -New Teacher's Companion says   “Every day is special, every day students need to learn, and every day you must have a plan.” (Cunnigham)

                 I always felt I have this excellent opportunity of supporting students through inclusion, which gives me an opportunity to observe a variety of teachers and their teaching strategies. I have been able to see which strategies and lessons were successful and those that were not. Hence when I chose the teachers for further observation I picked the best that had lesson plans that made a difference in student learning. It was also observed those teachers who did not have lesson plans followed a text book coverage method or worksheets.” Although years of experience can shore up less-than-complete planning, nothing compares to well-planned lessons. Comprehensive plans increase the likelihood that lessons run smoothly, so that students receive quality instruction.” (Cunnigham)

Hence in setting off to do my plans I wanted each class to be an inspirational and motivational experience for the students. Considering the challenges they face in many of the regular subject classes, I wanted to treat each student uniquely for their abilities and make them feel they were gifted. Personally I’m a very detail oriented person, who wants everything planned ahead as much as possible. Thus creating the lesson plans required some extra work. However I must say at one point I enjoyed it so much as great ideas were coming in and I had to restrain myself from trying to do too much!

Although many of the lesson plans I observed did not have any written format for differentiation, the teachers at times differentiated lessons based on learning styles. This enabled all students being able to receive something in that lesson. However when differentiating it’s important consider the product, the technology, the process and student interests wherever possible to encourage maximum learning.

The unit plan being the bigger map of the lesson plans brings all the learning in class to perspective. As it consists of concepts and learning goals over a period of time it can stretch to over two weeks. My lessons I believe will be done over a course of two weeks with the summative assessment. The inclusion of skills and desired outcomes keeps the teaching and learning focused. The school unit planner is in the Atlas Rubicon system where any teacher can access the contents of another teacher’s plan. This enables the school to work cooperatively and design cross curricular units that bring wholesome learning to all students in every subject.

                Overall the most valuable section in lesson planning I believe is the reflection. I noticed that on the Atlas System there is a section for reflection of the unit. The teachers have reflected and thought what additional things would assist to make the unit better. I would add that to every lesson to see how the technology used assisted the lesson, whether materials used were appropriate or changes noted for further fine tuning for the future. “Great lessons and well-planned units increase knowledge and leave imprints of competence and understanding.” (Cunnigham)

 

Works Cited

Cunnigham, G. (n.d.). Lesson Plans and Unit Plans the basis for Instruction. In G. Cunningham, ASCD -New Teacher's Companion. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

REFLECTION ON THE VIDEO-NEW TEACHER EXPERIENCES

This video gave a reality check on what’s in store for every new teacher. I believe having the right philosophy and training sets you on the right path to your teaching career. I agree with Ms. Felix’s attitude that being in this career is about changing lives of many children and I always wish that I could be one who had made that difference in a student’s life.

Setting High Expectations-It was interesting how Mr. Torres wanted to establish the culture in his classroom from the very first day. His acceptance of all students and getting to know them is a crucial step that has to be established on the first day. I like the fact Mr. Torres introduces himself as a nerd. Which shows that he’s acceptable of all students in class and there’s no one atypical student. According to Marzano “changing the teacher behavior that comes with low expectations will most probably produce the desired effect on student achievement.”(Marzano,2007) This shows the reality of how simple but well reflected actions and change in behavior on the part of the teacher has the ability transform students from low achievers to high achievers. His actions  sets the tone for acceptance across the classroom for all types of students. This is also evident in Mr. Torres providing the way of Inclusion of Support Students. Mr. Torres made the effort to explain the math to the special ed student. I’m not sure if there was a teacher aid for him but he managed it well by including him in the lesson. He did not show any kind of differential treatment to a student with difficulties.

Classroom Rules: Mr. Torres did not set out classroom rules at the start.  Marzano states “Regardless of how well behaved students in a given class might be, they still need rules and procedures” (Marzano, 2007).In his class some students were on their mobile phones at the start of the year. Once again as Marzano states “teacher awareness of potential problems and quick attention to those situations are at the core of effective classroom management. Such behavior defines withitness.”(Marzano, 2007)Since all rules and expectations were not stated on the first day Mr. Torres did not appear to students as a teacher who thought that rules were important, hence it left  room for class management issues later on. I would like to implement Ms. Felix’s strategy which gave clear expectations to the students. Posting the agenda on the board and expectations for students to be on task is very important. Her method of motivating them in the classroom the “super star” activity is something I would follow. The fact it’s going to be on the wall for students to recall their abilities is a great motivation strategy when things get tough down the year. Her collaborative stance on building classroom rules and procedures is another great strategy for building accountability in students because “evidence shows that the utility and procedures is enhanced if students have input their design”(Marzano,2007).

Classroom management: Ms. Felix pleading with students at times asking them to be mature, I would say is not something I would do. She could have periodically reviewed the classroom rules as Marzano suggests “even when rules and procedures are well designed initially they must be reviewed and adapted as time goes by.”(Marzano,2007). Similarly with Torres talking students personally is great but I think it would work better if he established rules with the whole class, which would be easier class management than individually reminding them. Something I saw consistently was that Mr. Torres would talk over the student chatter. Personally I would first work on getting their attention first before giving out instructions.

Student Motivation-Ms. Felix had high expectations for her students. “ If a teacher believes that students can succeed she tends to behave in ways that help them succeed”(Marzano,2007).Therefore I agree with her pushing students to be better is important and giving some students to retake the tests that are formative will encourage them further. Mr. Torres using the timer is useful to keep students on track and motivate them to work faster.I would definitely take the tip from the mentor that giving appropriate work that is challenging and hands on enables the teacher to maintain respect.

Planning and Preparation: Planning your work time and prep is of utmost importance. The school meetings are scheduled hence it is important to plan ahead.

 Mentor Relationship: The mentor’s insight into the teacher’s teaching strategy is useful as she feels relieved it’s nothing out of the ordinary. Hence I believe I’ll need that encouragement as well time to time that I do not burn out!

Works Cited: 

Channel, T. T. (n.d.). The New Teacher Experience .

 Marzano, R. J. (2007). Art and Science of Teaching. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Reflection on Standards and Objectives in Effective Teaching

Reflecting on this week’s activities I would say it challenged me to an extent where at a point I was confused about the differences between standards, the objectives & the teaching strategies. Using specific wording appropriately for each was a task.

However as I continued to read through the resources it became clearer. My first task was to understand the Common Core State Standards (CCSS )vs. IB Criteria. My school is an IB school that does not incorporate CCSS. In my research I came across an IBO site that had a report on aligning common core to IB which I think was pilot program. This enabled me to venture further and search for possibilities as to how I could align the two standards.For example, in Language and literature in IB the objective C is about producing text where students will “create works that demonstrate insight, imagination and sensitivity” (IBO, 2013) and the CCSS the writing component of the English language Arts standard I chose for this purpose was CCSS .ela- literacy.w.7.3.d “Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.” (Initiative, 2015) I aligned the ideas of producing text through creativity (IB) to using descriptive language to convey experiences (CCSS).

I understood that a backward mapping standard is the root that sets forth the learning experience for a student. The primary goal of backward mapping should be to develop and deepen the student understanding. When clear priorities, purposes, and assessments are determined we can avoid the regular “textbook coverage” oriented teaching practices where no clear priorities and purposes are stated. In my inclusion classes I have observed teachers who had both the text book method and backward mapping used in their instruction. The textbook method of just following through pages of work had no clear objective of the desired result apart from taking the test at the end of the unit. This did not really deepen the student understanding of the application of the content. However in backward mapping the teacher has a clear goal of what areas should be focused on and brings it into perspective of student learning. Therefore the stages of backward mapping could be summarized as 1.  Identify desired results. -2. Determine acceptable evidence. 3. Plan learning experiences and instruction.

When unpacking the standard what really got my attention was by Sarah Tantillo’s article that said ““simple” standards require extensive scaffolding”  (Tantillo, 2014) When following the steps of paraphrasing, identifying the skills to achieve the standard and brainstorming various methods of teaching it gave a clear picture of where the scaffolding should take place. When designing the teaching strategies zooming in on the student performance requirement was essential to see to what extent the scaffolding needed to happen. For example in the standard ccss.ela-literacy.w.7.3.d “Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.” (Initiative, 2015)

one of the my student performances was “Students will use descriptive sensory language to capture experiences.” Therefore when planning on scaffolding a skill I planned on giving them a strategy that they could use in their future assignments. For ex: Teach students the strategy of adding description in their writing. They use the process as follows:

1) Read over their writing 2) Ask themselves, “Using my five senses, how could I add more detail (sensory language)? 3) Add these details to my writing in order to add meaning.

After unpacking a standard It is important to set specific objectives when planning a lesson. Without a specific objective you could spend your time on something that is not important or it makes it difficult to know whether the whole process was worth it. Therefore without knowing the direction the lesson is heading is like taking a purposeless trip. Hence objectives provide teachers a focal point for planning instruction. It is important that learning objectives should not be too broad which render them meaningless or too narrow that it will limit a teacher’s ability to differentiate. A useful strategy in this process of developing objectives would be to follow the SMART rule as in it being Specific,Measurable,Attainable ,Relevant & Targeted. 

Another essential rule in the  aspect of writing objectives is to have a mix of the varied levels of cognition in the areas of knowledge, comprehension, application,analysis,synthesis and evaluation as set in the Bloom's taxonomy thus covering a range of low to high level of learning in processing information.

It is also important for teachers to communicate these objectives to the students as seen in the video Ms. Noonan’s strategy of SWABAT [Students Will Be Able To] where they will make connections between what they are learning and what they are supposed to learn. Through the learning objective they can determine what they need to pay attention to and where they might be needing help. It could also decrease student anxiety about their ability to succeed. I would use this strategy in my study skill lessons for students needing learning support to help them focus on their learning and build motivation to set personal learning goals.

Works Cited

Heer, R. (n.d.). Iowa State University. Retrieved February 14, 2015, from A Model ofLearning Objectives: http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching-resources/effective-practice/revised-blooms-taxonomy/

Initiative, C. C. (2015). Common Core State Standards Initiative.

International Baccalaureate Organization. ( 2013, July). Connecting IB to the Core.

Noonan, T. C. (n.d.). SWABAT Communicating Learning Goals.

Tantillo, S. (2014, January 31). Tools to Unpack the ELA CommonCore Standards.

Teacher & Educational Development, U. o. (2005). Effective Use of Performance Objectives for Learning and Assessment. Retrieved February 14, 2015, from Teacher & Educational Development: http://ccoe.rbhs.rutgers.edu/forms/EffectiveUseofLearningObjectives.pdf

  

MY BIGGEST FEAR

Looking back on the years gone and looking ahead to becoming a qualified special education teacher I feel I have conquered many fears from the day I set my foot to take this path. I've encountered a variety of students who have had varied learning and behavioral issues. Observing a myriad of teacher strategies I try to implement some of them in my class hoping for change in given situations

However I feel my biggest fear right now would be a student not complying with a assigned task and arrogantly proclaiming it in the class and creating a scene, which might or might not draw in a couple of students into the boycott. However much I know when a situation happens I panic and I'm afraid I'll say something that might escalate a behavior.

Reading through the resources this week has helped me to understand the amount of hours of preparation for a class is worth in the end if it means a great learning experience.Being proactive, organized, and watching out for precursors to varied student behavior will help minimize reactive situations.To be able to step back and remain calm will take some practice,as it would not happen every day! To be conscious not to engage in a verbal battle will take effort because I might just forget what to say when I panic.

I guess I'll overcome these fears just as I did the others in time to come.

Establishing Standards, Procedures & Rules in Remedial Skills- Learning Support Class.

Teachers setting norms and procedures in a classroom environment, no matter at what level or subject they teach bring consistency, order and predictability into a classroom. It is essential for behavior management and smooth academic instruction. I would like to focus on setting the following procedures and expectations in a learning support classroom where students who are receiving pull out and push in support gather for remedial skill support.

Establishing expectations on the first day of school.

-I would welcome students at the door and address them by name.

- Class room should be organized in every aspect. The reading corner, Math material access, silent reading  books , stationery-should  have specific places with easy access for students.- as students should walk into an organized classroom to convey my organizational expectations to them.

-Have allocated seating for each student for the first day. This will change as I get to know the students and what peer seating would support them in their learning.

-Discuss with them their expectations of me and my expectations of the students. This will let them know that I’m interested in what they expect from me as their teacher and that I would co- partner in their learning.

-My Expectations-

Ensure that the Homework Diary is brought to every class

Attendance and punctuality is essential.[Unless communicated in writing by parent]

How to ask for help would be discussed. Raising the hand to answer or seek help would be acceptable behavior. Calling out, shouting out answers will be inappropriate. I would do a mock activity and communicate this by acknowledging those who wait their turn and model positive behavior.

-         Students will be shown how to navigate around the room to access what they need. Every area of the class will be discussed and shown where & when they can get what they need without having to ask the teacher.

-         Modeling respectful behavior, the tone of voice we use, respecting opinions and including all students in activities will be discussed.

Procedures for general classroom room routines:

At the beginning of class:

-Post a schedule for the day and the approximate time on each task will be posted on the board/projected on a screen.

-The task will be briefly introduced and the student queries will be answered.

-All students will begin the class by going through their diaries.

Acceptable use of technology:

The students will be asked to keep all computers and electronics closed or in bags until required.

When working on computers the teacher will be observing whether they are on task.

Consequences of not being on task will be addressed.

Using earphones only for task related activities will be explained

Listening to music will be allowed only for students that the teacher thinks would benefit can use it.

Posters will be posted in class as reminders of laptop usage and reinforced while working on tasks.

 Whole class and small group instruction:

-         Students will be asked to use a quiet voice in discussions.

-         Respecting peer opinions and involving everyone in the group for the task is essential.

-         Raising the hand to signal for attention.

Seat Work

-         State the allocated time for the activity

-         Students will sit in their assigned seats or groups.

-         Due dates and home work will be noted on their diaries and will be checked by the teacher if noted correctly.

Breaks during class:

-Bathroom breaks are allowed only for an absolute emergency.

-The students will have desk caddies with pencils, erasers, rulers for use.

- All students should have portable bottles of water or drink water before coming to class.

-A student feeling unwell can visit the nurse on a teacher note.

Use of Materials

Ensure they are sharpened when students arrive. Sharpening pencils during instruction or activity time is not allowed.

- Students can use other stationery supplies when required in activities.

End of class

- Discuss homework submission and if not done appropriate consequence given.

-Students do not leave or pack up until the teacher dismisses them.

Non Negotiable Rules

-         Fire drill rules have to be adhered to. No talking, walking in a line and assembling in the field is a requirement.

-         Lock down rules- To go into a specified area the teacher directs and stay quiet until called out.

-         Running on wet corridors on a rainy day will be not be acceptable.

Standards

I would like to have the same standards stated by Tory Klemensten-“Be productive from bell to bell, Respect yourself and others, Listen during instruction and discussion."-(Joyce McLeod,2003)to go by in my class.

References

Joyce McLeod, J. F. (2003). The Key Elementsof Classroom Management. In J. F. Joyce McLeod, The Key Elements of Classroom Management (pp. 74-108). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.