Week 4: Final Reflection

LESSON REFLECTION


Candidate: Katie Taylor

Lesson Topic: Math

Taught: I taught place value. I taught how to change numbers in standard form to expanded form. I had students use place value blocks to see expanded form in a concrete and visual way. 

What went well: I really loved how engaged the students were during my lesson. I know that most of the students really enjoy math and they also really enjoy using the place value blocks. As I was passing out the blocks they were telling me how much they enjoy using the blocks. I loved the game we played all together as a class. While it was on the easier side, I think it was fun for the students to get to build a number and then write a number. I also know that students really love to get an opportunity to come to the board. When I gave students the change to come and write their answer on the board they were very engaged and really wanted to participate. I also liked how the students were all working together. 

Date: 7/25/22 

What did not go as planned: When breaking off into small groups my small group lesson with the younger kids was more difficult for them than I intended. I had to change the lesson on the fly, which happens at times. I was surprised that they were struggling with a topic that I believed they would know. In Miss M’s group they went really quickly through the activity I had planned. I think I could have done a better job preparing my small group lessons and timing them together so that students could be successful in them. 

How to change for subsequent lessons: In my next lesson I will make sure to be more thorough when planning small groups. I want to make sure they fit student’s needs and they are truly assessing and teaching them a skill they know. I do not want it to be too easy or too hard. I want the students to feel confident and growth to occur for everyone. 


Personal Goal Reflection: 

My goals: 3 goals for myself: 

1. I would like to work on integrating different types of reading assessments into the classroom. I typically just use running records. As a teacher I feel that I struggle the most with reading instruction. I would like to spend more time focusing on integrating different types of reading formative assessments into the classroom. This will help my students grow and help me better understand their places of strength and need. By having diverse assessments it will give students more opportunities to show understanding in unique ways. 

2. I would like to be more confident in my small group instruction. In a special education classroom, students are typically doing a variety of things. It is not common for students to all be participating in the same lesson. I would like to feel more confident working with small groups and having multiple small groups at one time all working on unique assignments and lessons. In my small group instruction I want to be able to tailor it to specifically fit the needs of the student who is doing it. 

3. I would like to work on making sure my directions and instructions are clear and direct. I can at times be long-winded or not clear enough. This can cause confusion for the students. I would like to work on offering the most explicit and helpful directions and instructions when I am explaining a task. 

I think when creating these goals I was think about myself as a teacher. I still struggle with teaching reading instruction the most and I am still figuring out differentiated instruction when it comes to small groups. I think this practicum has given me some real life experience when it comes to achieving these goals but overall it will be a long-term goal of mine as an educator as something I want to grow at. I think Miss M and I did a great job catering our lessons to our student’s needs and putting them in small groups so that they could achieve their goals. I still think I could grow in how I deliver my instructions and be more direct. I think this could help limit the confusion in my lessons during independent time for some of my children. 

Since week one we have really seen the children grow and come out of their shells. I think that I have gained a lot more confidence as well. We began to get in a flow of how our day would run and it made everything run very smoothly. I think I have developed much more confidence in differentiation. It can sometimes be hard changing lessons to fit all student’s needs but with practice it becomes much easier. It is also much more beneficial for the students. 

This course has met my expectations. It has given me real life experience about what it would be like to have a self-contained classroom.


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