Prompt for ED 201 Lesson Self-Assessment

Name: Andrea Bowhall

Lesson Topic: Language Arts
Date Observed: 4/18/13
School/Grade Level/Number of Students Taught: Alcott/2nd grade/4 students
Cooperating Teacher Name: Jenell Krause
Planning and Preparation:
How did your lesson design reflect what actually happened in the lesson? What did/would you
have changed? Were you able to teach the lesson in the allotted time? Why or why not? Were
your lesson objectives clearly stated and describe what your students actually learned?
I believe my lesson reflected what actually happened pretty well. I did not get to do a group
discussion as I would have liked because we spent more time in the beginning than I had
anticipated. The discussion is the part I cut out, but I wish I would have actually cut out the
students typing their sentences because then we would have brainstormed as a group about facts
and opinions on the topic of Spring. I was able to squeeze in the lesson I had planned for, but
again I had to make some adjustments because of spending more time on the intro than
anticipated. My objective was clearly directed to what my students were going to learn or further
their knowledge on.
Learning Environment:
How did you encourage student participation and elicit responses from all students? What
strategies did you use to manage and monitor student behavior? How did you engage them in
responding to you and each other?
I would either call specifically on a student if I noticed they have not answered in awhile. Also,
there was a time I even asked them to collaborate with a partner to come up with an argument of
why an example was a fact or opinion. I used the strategy of simply calling on a student when
you feel their attention needs to be pulled back in. Also, just making sure they stay on the topic.
I feel if a student wants to share something, as long as it is about the topic, it is okay. I had them
collaborating to figure out which example would go under what column. I had them respond to
me when asking them how they could come up with a fact or opinion statement by using some of
the key words we had discussed in the beginning.
Classroom Instruction:
What strategies and/or procedures did you use to assist students in learning the lesson content?
How effective were those strategies/procedures in helping students learn? What changes or
adjustments did you need to make during the lesson?
I had a visual aid/resource for the students to create and be able to use/see throughout the lesson.
I believe this was very effective because even I could go back and reference this aid when helping
a student, or I could just point a student back to the aid when they needed direction. I had to
change how much discussion we did as a group when I had them share their facts and opinions
they came up with due to time, but again, I wish I would have cut the typing rather than the
discussion because students can gain more perspectives by talking with their peers and through
discussion.
Assessment:

How did you know if the students learned what you taught them? What did you learn from
listening to student responses, examining their work or observing their interactions? How well
did your assessments connect to the lesson objectives?
I knew the students understood what I had taught them when they came up with their own fact
and opinion statements. I learned that the chart we created in the beginning really helped them
see the difference between a fact and opinion. They struggled with making the chart, but I feel
when they were sharing their sentences, they nailed fact vs. opinion. The assessment was
displaying that they could write a fact and an opinion statement; therefore, showing they knew
the difference between the two.
Professional Responsibilities:
How did you seek feedback from your cooperating teacher? What did you learn from his/her
feedback and how did you apply it to your lesson?
I was able to discuss my lesson with my CT before hand, and she told me that I had it all put
together well and it sounded fine. I took this feedback and made sure through my lesson I stayed
with the organized way I had it planned out.
Reflection:
What did you learn about teaching, student learning and assessing from this lesson? How would
you use what you learned for future instructional experiences? Based on this lesson, what
Wisconsin Teaching Standard represents your area of greatest growth this semester? What
standard represents an area of further development for you? Why?

I learned that you can write out a fully, detailed lesson, but it can all change in the matter
of seconds if your students are not responding how you planned for your lesson. In the
future, I would make sure not to worry if I have to cut certain parts out of a lesson I had
planned due to students taking longer on a section. If they are struggling on a part, do not
just move on, but take the time needed to make sure the students truly understand. One
grow I saw in this lesson was Standard #2: The teacher understands how children learn
and develop, and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social,
and personal development. I did an activity that is can build personal development
because they were practicing their typing skills which will benefit in the future. Also,
intellectually, they were being challenged with their knowledge of facts and opinions, but
I believe they did grow. Lastly, I developed their social skills by having a bit of group
work to do and they had to work and talk with other peers. A standard that could use
more development is Standard #3: The teacher understands how pupils differ in their
approaches to learning and the barriers that impede learning and can adapt instruction to
meet the diverse needs of pupils, including those with disabilities and exceptionalities. I
felt when I was helping students; I tried helping them all in the same way. I never
stopped to think that well this student may not understand it this way, and now think of
another way to explain. I need to develop more strategies of helping a struggling student
because they all do not learn the same way and understand the same things.