Lauren Gonzaba

11/30/2014
UTL 640EHaug
Final Reflection

Final Reflection
My last two lessons with Mrs. Lawrences English IV seniors focused on creating
annotated bibliographies for their Senior Capstone Projects. These two lessons taught me a lot
about how to deal with dry material needing to be delivered in a lecture form, as well as what to
do when presented with major last-minute changes. Though I preferred all my lessons to be
spectacular UTeach-worthy marvels, I realized through these teaches that some material just has
to be given to the students in a mostly teacher-based lecture. As for the last-minute changes, this
class in particular has been great practice for adjusting lesson plans on short notice, so at least I
wont leave this 640 semester completely unprepared to deal with the unexpected.
My final observation with my field observer was so supposed to be a fun revision activity
involving Read Alouds with the students and their completed annotated bibliographies. With
very little notice, I was informed that the students would not have even been taught about
annotated bibliographies by the time my lesson came around, so I was going to have to change
my plans. Thankfully, Mrs. Lawrence gave me a PowerPoint her student teacher last year made
that I could make some revisions to and show the class. Since this was the first lesson I was
actually going to be presenting the entire class, I wanted to try something more exciting than just
a plain PowerPoint so I experimented with Prezi. When I submitted my 10 slide Prezi to
Mrs. Lawrence Monday morning (for my Tuesday lesson), she sent back an email stating I
needed to break down my Prezi a bit more, since students from her previous classes were not
grasping the concepts as well as shed hoped. I was very impressed with my ability to not only
put together a brand new Prezi presentation (a completely new technology for me), but I was also
impressed by how I made those 10 slides magically become 19 slides. This was definitely a

Gonzaba 2

challenging task for me as I had to really focus on how else I would word the material so
students would understand better. How else could I break up the concept of annotated
bibliography? What key words could I use to help the students remember what the three parts of
an annotated bibliography are? As I remembered all Mrs. Lawrence told me about challenging
myself to break down my own thought process and verbalizing it to the students, I ended up
putting together a pretty great Prezi. I was also proud of how much student-centered activity I
was able to incorporate into my presentation by having the students get up and discuss what they
just learned with each other. Though the students had a lot of information they needed to digest,
they remained engaged throughout the lesson as they took notes, discussed with partners, and
answered all my questions. Both Mrs. Conquest and Mrs. Lawrence admired how I presented the
information to the students, only suggesting I provide an entire example of an annotated
bibliography for the students if I were to reteach the lesson.
My last lesson ended up being a review of annotated bibliographies and a workday for
the students, so I was able to implement Mrs. Conquests and Mrs. Lawrences suggestion about
showing the students an example annotated bibliography. Instead of finding a sample annotated
bibliography online, I decided to actually type up my own, in order to make the content relevant
to the students research project. The students seemed to appreciate this model annotated
bibliography, though Mrs. Lawrence did suggest I stop periodically while reading the sample to
the students, so they are able to ask and answer questions as I go through it. For my engagement
during this lesson, I decided to incorporate even newer technology than Prezi text-in quizzes! I
take their annotated bibliography review quiz by texting their answers to polleverywhere.com, so
their results would automatically show up on the screen. While all the students who texted their
answers had no problems, the students who needed to use the computers in order to answer were

Gonzaba 3

unable to get the program to work. Other than that minor glitch, the lesson went well and the
students seemed to understand what they were supposed to do with their annotated
bibliographies. Mrs. Lawrence specifically liked how the students felt comfortable asking me
questions as I walked around the room and conferenced with them.
Overall, my last two lessons went extremely well, considering the last-minute changes
and technology challenges that arose. I have become much more comfortable with dealing with
unexpected conflicts and changes since starting at Round Rock High School, so Im pretty proud
of myself for that (I dont usually handle sudden change too well). Some weaknesses I need to
focus on as I head into next semester are breaking down my thought process as I model
examples, asking higher-level questions, and making sure my technology works before I present
in front of a class.
My 640 semester as whole went a lot better than I expected, as I was exceptionally
nervous about taking on a classroom full of high school students. I am very grateful that Im
given these opportunities to get into actual classrooms every semester; I couldnt imagine going
through an entire education program and only seeing a classroom in my very last semester. Not
only does our program give us the opportunity to decide if we even like teaching before we get to
the make-it-or-break-it semester, this also helps us grow as teachers and hone our skills.
Throughout this semester Ive noticed my strength in being able to develop relationships
with the students, which leads to gaining their trust and respect, making my lessons run a lot
smoother. Though my last lesson didnt reflect this, I actually do a pretty good job of asking the
students higher-level questions, not just Does everyone understand? I also feel like I bring a
fun energy to all of my lessons, which helps the students relax and want to learn and do their

Gonzaba 4

activity. Going into my student teaching semester I would like to continue strengthening these
skills and creating a fun, trusting, and sophisticated classroom environment.
Some weakness I need to work on for next semester are consciously breaking down my
thought process, providing sufficient examples for students, and being aware of the types of
questions I ask students. Now that I know the method to walking students through annotated
texts is to break down my natural though process, I feel I will be able to do this more effortlessly
in the future. In order to help all my students grasp the material Im trying to teach, I have to first
understand how I would learn a concept, then assume none of my students will learn it the same
way. My cousins student once told her, I give all my teachers a test. I ask them to explain a
concept again in class, and if they teach me in a different way, I know theyre a good teacher. I
guess we really dont give students the credit of actually caring this much about their education,
but this student had an excellent point. As a teacher, I need to understand that all students learn
differently, as I work on my weaknesses going into my next semester, I will focus on the various
ways I can teach the same material to students. Working on breaking down these lessons for
students leads right into providing more examples for students and asking deeper questions, all
of which I will work on as I head into my student teaching semester. Overall, this 640 semester
was a great experience for me as I recognized my strengths, identified my weaknesses, and
confirmed my decision to become an educator.