Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

Elementary Education Program

Formal Observation Reflection

Directions: Complete the reflection questions and submit your response to your observer prior to having a post-
conference to discuss the observation. If a conference is held immediately after the observation you will submit
your responses to the observer the following day via email.

Name: Ashley Holland Date: 4/7/2017

1. To what extent were learning outcomes appropriate and achievable to your students?
Learning outcomes were appropriate and achievable to my students as evidenced by
their comments in discussions and their responses on the worksheets provided to
them. Throughout the discussion, the students were engaged and provided valuable
input around stereotypes and themes of different texts. After browsing through the
responses on their worksheets, students were able to determine the problem in the
story, the characters response to the problem, the mood, the lesson(s) that a
character learned, and the thoughts and feelings of a character which helped them
identify the theme in the story. Each partner group had a different text so the theme
provided by each group varied but they were able to identify the theme of the text and
justify why they chose that theme with evidence from the text. During our whole class
discussion, students also respectfully contributed gender stereotypes they had heard
of and then connected those stereotypes to characters in the text they read. For
example, one partner group read Morris Mickelwhite and the Tangerine Dress, which is
about a young boy who likes to wear a dress and high heels and gets picked on at
school until students realize he is the same fun, imaginative boy as he was before.
This group was able to communicate that Morris defied a male gender stereotype and
how he did so based on what they read while also pointing out the theme of Be true to
yourself. Each partner group was able to articulate the theme for their text, use
evidence to support the theme, and also connect gender stereotypes to the main
characters of each text.

2. How effective were your instructional strategies? What changes would you make in
your instructional approaches if you taught this lesson again? Why?
My instructional strategies were pretty effective, in my opinion, based on the worksheet
responses and the discussion we had as an entire class. If I was to teach this lesson
again, Id like to provide each partner group with the same text because some of the
texts took longer to get through or had themes that were a tad difficult to distinguish. I
could also split the class in half and while students still work with a partner, one half of
the class reads a text about a character that adheres to gender stereotypes and the
other half reads a text about a character that defies gender stereotypes. I think this
would provide richer conversation and everyone would be cognizant about what
happened in a certain text. When I implemented this lesson, we had to sometimes
devote time to summarizing what happened in a text so everyone understood what
was being discussed.

3. Evaluate the effectiveness of your oral and written communication with students.
(Consider how well you communicated learning objectives, clarity of directions, use of standard English, quality of
 questions and effectiveness of discussion techniques.)
I began the lesson by stating that we would focus on theme and gender stereotypes,
but I think I could have done a better job of explicitly stating the learning objectives to
students. Based on the responses given by students on their worksheets, it seems that
my directions were clear. Before dispersing to work with a partner, I also reviewed
group work expectations and outlined what students should be doing when working
with their partners. I used Standard English throughout the lesson, with the exception
of the word yall, which I used when addressing both boys and girls in the class. I
believe the questions I utilized during discussion were high quality since students
offered rich input and ideas revolving around gender stereotypes and the themes of
the text they read. Some students decided to talk while someone else was talking
during discussion, but I made sure to address that and redirect the attention to the
speaker each time.
4. Evaluate the level of student engagement in your lesson . (Consider how you presented the
content/skills, the activities and assignments for students, grouping of students, and structure and pacing of the
lesson.)
Students were very engaged with this lesson, which I was very excited about! The
initial activity of students listing gender stereotypes really hooked them and led to a
fruitful discussion about the origin and validity of these stereotypes. Instead of
beginning with the I Do stage when presenting how to fill out the theme worksheet
after reading Amazing Grace, I decided to skip to We Do so students would feel
involved in the process and engage with the activity. I did allow students to choose
their own partner, which worked well for the most part, but I think it may be worth
assigning students a partner in the future since some groups needed to be redirected
a few times. The lesson began smoothly and ended right on time, so I think pacing
was good! Again, some of the texts were longer so some groups either didnt finish or
finished right at the end of class, but I would address this problem by providing
everyone with the same text.
5. How effectively did you use instructional materials, resources, and/or technology?
I used the document camera in Mrs. Oberdorfs classroom to display a graphic
organizer worksheet that would help students organize what they were reading to
determine theme. I also had students use different childrens picture books when
working with their partners. The students had no issue using the picture books or filling
out the worksheet. I did struggle initially with the document camera since it was stuck
on freeze but after we figured that out, we picked up with the activity and the rest of
the lesson went smoothly.
6. To what extent were your assessment strategies effective? What changes would you
make in your assessment approach if you taught this lesson again? Why?
My only assessment during the lesson was the theme worksheet that I collected at the
end of class. However, this single worksheet allowed me to study what a student was
using to determine theme and what evidence from the text he/she was using. If I was
to give this lesson again, I would use a checklist when circulating among the groups to
make sure students can identify the theme and tell me how they arrived at this
conclusion using evidence from the text individually. I could even add a formative
assessment at the end of class, such as a Kahoot, to revisit what a theme is, what a
stereotype is, what the theme of the read aloud text was, and so on. The students love
Kahoot and I believe this might be a good way to gather some data on what students
are thinking in an enjoyable way!
7. To what extent was your feedback to students accurate, substantive, constructive,
specific, and/or timely?
When selecting students to talk during whole group discussion or talking with students
while circulating among groups, my feedback was accurate, timely, and constructive.
Because I was face to face with students, I was able to offer quick feedback on what
they had on their graphic organizers at that point. If I noticed a group had chosen a
theme that wasnt the main theme of a text, Id have students explain their thinking and
then praise their thinking before encouraging them to revisit the boxes they had filled
out before identifying the theme in their graphic organizer (i.e. problem of the story,
mood, characters response to the problem, lesson(s) the characters learned). I could
have provided more specific feedback, though, by pointing them to specific points in
the text when considering stereotypes or themes.
8. To what extent did the classroom management and environment contribute to student
learning? (Consider your classroom procedures, your use of physical space, and the students conduct.)
Students sat at their desks, which were separated from other desks, but were still
close by. Thus, when students worked with two or three other students during the initial
activity, they could just turn around or pull desks together to converse with one
another. During the rest of the activity, students and their partners were allowed to
situate themselves around the classroom wherever they chose as long as they were
productive. Circulating among groups was easy since they were spaced out around
the classroom. If I needed to make an announcement or lower the volume, Id do Give
Me 5 or clap a pattern that theyd clap back to me. These were techniques used by
both Mrs. Best and Mrs. Oberdorf so it was well-established within this classroom.
Students knew to give me their attention and to stop talking when I did either of these
so I could relay information to them. If I noticed students exhibiting off task behavior
during whole group discussion, Id ask them to reiterate what a classmate was saying
and if they couldnt do that, Id ask them why they didnt know and what could they do
to ensure they dont miss any more information, to which theyd start focusing on the
lesson. Conduct overall went well and the only issues I had revolved around students
talking while other classmates were talking, but after I addressed this a few times, it
was no longer an issue.
9. Did you make modifications to your lesson plan during the lesson? If so, what were
they and what motivated these changes?
I didnt make any modifications to my lesson plan during the lesson.
10. Was your Teaching Behavior Focus goal met?
I would say my Teaching Behavior Focus Goal was met since I called on every student
at least once and each worksheet was filled out effectively (unless the group had a
longer text and hadnt quite finished before the end of the class). I made sure to call on
a variety of students rather than just the same few volunteers to engage all students
and praise them for their participation and ideas. I also modeled how to fill out the
theme graphic organizer worksheet after I read Amazing Grace aloud to the class with
the input of the students. This proved beneficial when I was reviewing students
graphic organizers since they were able to identify the different elements of the text as
well as the theme and they could tell me whether or not their character(s) adhered or
defied gender stereotypes.