Supervisor Observation 1 Level 2 Reflection
Video Time Chart
Reflection
Questions to Consider
1. What aspects of your lesson/task were implemented differently than you planned? Why did that happen?
The lesson was designed to have students move from using snap cubes into using drawings to understand the concept, but after I tried transitioning the students into using drawings, they were getting too confused, so I switched back to using snap cubes at 19:55.
2. If you were going to teach this lesson/engage in this task with the same group of students, what would you do differently? Why? What would you do the same? Why?
To better this lesson, I would try and incorporate sample drawings for each problem, so the students have a visual of what drawings should look like. Students had a hard time comparing the numbers to see how many more with drawings because their drawings were disproportional so when it came time to circle the pairs to see how many more, students were confused where to circle. Having example drawings will help assist them in visually seeing how to set up the drawings, and to help them focus on the content of the questions, instead of having the students focus so much on their own drawings. I would keep the snap cubes involved in the lesson. The students worked best with the snap cubes, and I would keep more snap cubes involved the next time I were to repeat this lesson with the same group of students to reinforce what they know.
3. What surprised you?
The thing that surprised me the most was how the students would understand the concept, but then when I would try and switch to using a drawing model (9:35), the students did not understand how to find the answer.
4. Describe an instance or particular moment in the video that comes to mind. Why did you pick that instance? What is so perplexing about that particular moment?
At 11:15, I did not notice this in person, but one of most students is watching me model the drawing method and slowly becomes more confused. He looks at my drawing with big eyes and stops his own drawing. This moment stood out to because he was having a hard time using the drawing method and focused too much on making his own drawing compared to focusing on just the content.
5. What connections can you make to your lesson today from your coursework, the literature, and any previous lessons or experiences?
I can make connections from this lesson to a previous experience I have had in internship. My CT from level one and level two have both told me that if a student does not understand, you must go back and try to connect what they do understand. If you try to move on without the students understanding, there is no point. This advice can be connected to this lesson because the students were not understanding how to use the drawing method to find the answer, so I had to go back and try again with only using cubes (19:55).
6. What connections can you make to your beliefs as an educator?
It is also my belief as an educator that when students are struggling, you must help get the students to understand. If you move on without their understanding, your instruction is pointless.
The Analysis
1. To what extend did the students learn/do what was intended? How do you know?As part of your answer, please indicate:
In what ways were your teaching actions effective? How do you know?
My teaching actions were effective in the beginning when I modeled how to use the snap cubes to see how many more, and all the students modeled their answers just like I did (7:52).
In what ways were the instructional materials effective?
The snap cubes were effective in that students were able to use them appropriately when asked and were able to model the answer. The drawing boards were not as effective because students kept getting confused when asked to use the drawing method.
How did any special considerations of accommodations affect the lesson?
Instead of having word problems on a worksheet, I read aloud to the students the questions and this accommodation really helped the students who had language impairment. They also did not feel left out that they had difficulty reading problems because all problems were read full group.
2. Identify an individual or group of students who had difficulty in today’s lesson/task? How will you help this (these) student(s) achieve the objectives? In what ways might the learning environment play a role in the response of (these) student(s)?
IS and KH had difficulty in today’s lesson/task. They had difficulty pointing out how many more a number had. They would count the bigger number and say the big number is the answer, when the answer was “how many more does the bigger number HAVE?”. I plan on assisting the same small group again to reinforce the content and help them slowly work their way into using the drawing method. They had difficulty seeing how many more a number would have, so a new strategy I will use, is to try and implement using the connecting method. With this method, the students will not have to focus on drawing proportionally and focus on partnering up the numbers. Then the students will see that the leftover amount between number is how many more. The learning environment plays a role in the response of the students because if they feel intimidated by their peers, they will be less likely to answer. Since the other two students were quick to answer most questions, IS and KH had difficulty speaking up.
3. Identify an individual or group of students who did especially well in this lesson today. How do you account for this performance?
GA and LO did better in this lesson. They answered probing questions that I addressed to the group, and when asked to explain their answer, they were able to show with their cubes how they received the answer they did. Even though they performed well, they still need assistance moving from using cubes to the drawing method.
4. Based on what happened with this task, what are the next steps? Be sure to explain how you will use information from this action in the future?
Based on this lesson, I will need to look at what went well, and what went wrong to plan my next small group. Overall, the students worked better with cubes. Later, past the thirty-minute mark, the students became restless and had difficulty staying focused. I will keep this in mind for my next small group, to try and keep it under thirty minutes. I will also use new strategies to help students understand using the drawing method. I plan on using connecting method to help students connect numbers instead of drawing to circle the pairs. It will be easier for students to see the leftover number when the other numbers are paired up.
Differentiated Instruction
1. What specific differentiated instruction strategies and assessments are used in this lesson? Be specific.
The specific differentiated instruction strategies and assessments that are used in this lesson are using smaller numbers and reading word problems aloud. The rest of the class were working within the number twenty and reading their own word problems. The students in my group have trouble working within twenty, so I differentiated the lesson to have numbers within ten. The students in my group also have a language impairment and have difficulty understanding what they read. I differentiated the lesson further to read aloud the word problems to the group, so the students can focus on content.
2. Describe how you assessed how the lesson impacted student learning? What worked? What would you change?
I assessed how the lesson impacted student learning with a formative checklist to see what students were understanding. I also used an exit ticket to see where all students’ understanding was. At the end, the students were becoming confused and I had them fill out the exit ticket to have evidence of their learning. The exit ticket showed consensus that all students did not know how to use the drawing method to answer the question of “how many more?”. I would change this exit ticket for next time to ask students to use whatever way works best for them to answer the question. This will show me what they work best with, and what they need assistance in.
3. Identify an individual or group of students who had difficulty in today’s lesson.
How do you account for this performance? KH and IS had difficulty in today’s lesson. I will account for their performance with the checklist and the exit ticket.
How will you help this (these) student(s) achieve the learning objectives? I will take the formative assessment tools to use the results to plan my next lesson to help them achieve the learning objectives.
4. Identify an individual or group of students who did especially well in this lesson today.
How do you account for this performance?
I account for this performance from LO and GA using the same method of the formative assessments.
5. If you were going to teach this lesson again to the same group of students, what would you do differently? (Consider: grouping, methods, materials, evaluation, activities)Why? What would you do the same? Why?
I would start off differently and have students practice more with the cubes, before transitioning between the drawing method. I will also have worksheets for the students to see the drawing method models proportionally for students to see the benefits of drawing proportionally when it comes to comparing numbers. I will also use a paper/folder to cover the pairs, so the students focus on how many more the bigger number has. I will continue to read aloud the questions to students, and I will continue to keep the number within ten. All these strategies should help the students achieve the learning goal.
6. Based on what happened in this lesson, what do you plan to teach next to this class? Be sure to explain how you will use information from this evaluation in future lesson planning.
Based on what happened in this lesson, I plan on reteaching this lesson next to the class to help the small group that struggled, and help strengthen the rest of the class’ knowledge of comparison problems.