overall reflection
I think the lesson I taught was very successful. I was teaching students the difference between a map and a globe. I wanted students to not only visually see the differences but to understand how they were different. I first explained all the concepts and key features that a globe and a map had. I then had the students work in pairs to complete a Venn Diagram comparing the two. Lastly, the students completed a short summative assessment that consisted of 5 questions based on what they learned.
The students were very interested and engaged. Whenever I'd ask them a question, all of them would be eager to answer. I tried to make it so that the activity was hands on and they could see the differences. I made sure each child had their own copy of a map that they could refer to. Because there were fewer globes than students, I had students share the globe between each other so they could interact with that as well.
The students understood what was being taught. This is evident in their assessments. If students correctly answered 4 out of 5 questions on the assessment, they mastered the content. Students demonstrated their knowledge by completing a Venn Diagram together and by answering the questions from the worksheet individually. I collected the work and examined it to see if students truly understood what they were taught. Seventeen out of the nineteen students mastered the content.
Because students already had previous knowledge about what a map was and what a globe was, this lesson was a little difficult to construct. This lesson was just constructed to show the differences between the two. I asked students very basic questions such as, "What is a map?" and "What is a globe?" to begin the lesson. I then asked students what the importance of using a model was. We discussed this for a bit and I explained that it was due to its size and proportion that we have to use a model.
I had very few classroom management issues mostly because the students would get so excited that I was teaching. I used the "1-2 eyes on you" strategy to make the kids calm down. I also made sure I let them know that I was only going to call on those students that were sitting down and raising their hands. I think there were very few classroom management problems because my cooperating teacher has set such high expectations for her students. She expects them to be good listeners not only for her, but for any guest speaker as well.
I think the lesson was very successful! The lesson plan went much better than i envisioned it. The Venn Diagrams were very successful. Each pair of children did a great job completing their Venn Diagrams with accuracy. I think next time, I would extend the lesson so it would be longer because it didn't take much time at all to do all the activities. I would also try to have more student interaction instead of just me talking the entire time. I would also try to ask more higher level thinking questions.
If I were to teach this lesson to a younger group, I would keep it the same because it was pretty straight forward. If this lesson was being taught to an older group, I would make it a little more complex and have the students complete the Venn Diagram and assessments on their own.
I want to improve on being more assertive. I think that most students see me as a friend, rather than a teacher. I think there has to be that boundary that needs to be set when going into a classroom that students can talk to me but they also have to be good listeners as well. I also want to improve on constructing more creative lesson plans. I think it's very difficult to create creative lesson plans without having a lot of experience. I would improve on this by taking training classes that are available, going to conferences and talking to other teachers who have wonderful ideas. I think using other teachers would be the best way to learn new techniques and strategies to make my lesson plans more creative and hands on.
The students were very interested and engaged. Whenever I'd ask them a question, all of them would be eager to answer. I tried to make it so that the activity was hands on and they could see the differences. I made sure each child had their own copy of a map that they could refer to. Because there were fewer globes than students, I had students share the globe between each other so they could interact with that as well.
The students understood what was being taught. This is evident in their assessments. If students correctly answered 4 out of 5 questions on the assessment, they mastered the content. Students demonstrated their knowledge by completing a Venn Diagram together and by answering the questions from the worksheet individually. I collected the work and examined it to see if students truly understood what they were taught. Seventeen out of the nineteen students mastered the content.
Because students already had previous knowledge about what a map was and what a globe was, this lesson was a little difficult to construct. This lesson was just constructed to show the differences between the two. I asked students very basic questions such as, "What is a map?" and "What is a globe?" to begin the lesson. I then asked students what the importance of using a model was. We discussed this for a bit and I explained that it was due to its size and proportion that we have to use a model.
I had very few classroom management issues mostly because the students would get so excited that I was teaching. I used the "1-2 eyes on you" strategy to make the kids calm down. I also made sure I let them know that I was only going to call on those students that were sitting down and raising their hands. I think there were very few classroom management problems because my cooperating teacher has set such high expectations for her students. She expects them to be good listeners not only for her, but for any guest speaker as well.
I think the lesson was very successful! The lesson plan went much better than i envisioned it. The Venn Diagrams were very successful. Each pair of children did a great job completing their Venn Diagrams with accuracy. I think next time, I would extend the lesson so it would be longer because it didn't take much time at all to do all the activities. I would also try to have more student interaction instead of just me talking the entire time. I would also try to ask more higher level thinking questions.
If I were to teach this lesson to a younger group, I would keep it the same because it was pretty straight forward. If this lesson was being taught to an older group, I would make it a little more complex and have the students complete the Venn Diagram and assessments on their own.
I want to improve on being more assertive. I think that most students see me as a friend, rather than a teacher. I think there has to be that boundary that needs to be set when going into a classroom that students can talk to me but they also have to be good listeners as well. I also want to improve on constructing more creative lesson plans. I think it's very difficult to create creative lesson plans without having a lot of experience. I would improve on this by taking training classes that are available, going to conferences and talking to other teachers who have wonderful ideas. I think using other teachers would be the best way to learn new techniques and strategies to make my lesson plans more creative and hands on.