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: Madison Cosby Date: 11-14-17

1. To what extent were learning outcomes appropriate and achievable to your students?
I think the learning outcomes were very appropriate and achievable for the majority of
the students. By the end of it I could tell that the students were excited about the
uniqueness of their name and they were all such wonderful listeners when others were
sharing their name. In class the students had just recently touched on how everyone is
unique, so doing this lesson right after was a perfect way to tie in what they had
learned with our focus.
2. How effective were your instructional strategies? What changes would you make in
your instructional approaches if you taught this lesson again? Why?
I think the instructional strategies went really well. The only part I would change when I
teach this lesson again would be collecting the papers before sharing. We had the
students sit down in a half circle and share their paper with their name, and what it
meant to them. I would call up one student at a time to share, and they were all
holding their own paper, and I think it was a distraction to them. For next time, Ill keep
hold of the papers, so that the students have all their eyes and ears on the speaker.
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 thought that both the oral and written communication with the students was very
effective. During the read aloud Maura did a good job of reiterating the purpose in
reading the book, and constantly reminding the students to imagine how it would feel
to be Unhei in the story. When doing the activity, we did a good job of making the
purpose clear. All students stayed on task, and were engaged throughout it. We
reviewed with them the main question of why are names important, and other themes
they learned from the story throughout the lesson, not only at the end of it.
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.)

The level of student engagement was very high. The book was long, but important.
The way we planned the read aloud allowed for many breaks where students had
opportunity to talk and answer questions. We then had them invested in the activity.
They were all so excited to learn the meaning of their name. I went around with the
iPad and helped them learn about their name. Each one of their faces lit up when I told
them what it meant. They were interested to learn about their peers names. We had
them all repeat the speakers name back to them to emphasize the importance of
pronouncing names correctly. I think this also help keep them engaged. Overall the
students seemed very engaged.
5. How effectively did you use instructional materials, resources, and/or technology?
We had all materials needed for the hook ready at the beginning, as well as the book
and questions prepared for the book. When looking up their names, we had all four
teachers (Ms. Mack, Ms. Young, Maura, and myself), walking around with the iPad,
which was an appropriate use of technology. We also used the timer on the smart
board so that the students knew how long they had left, so that they would be able to
manage their time, as us as teachers could manage our times.
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?
We had planned to have a discussion at the end of class as well have them answer
the question, why do you think names are important. We didnt end up doing the
written portion of it, but next time I would make sure to do that. Also, I think next time I
would have more student to student discourse opportunities and use observation to
assess their knowledge, instead of having the teacher ask questions and the students
answer, I would have more students talking to students about what they learned.
7. To what extent was your feedback to students accurate, substantive, constructive,
specific, and/or timely?
During the activity where they were writing on the paper with their name, I walked
around and helped them look research and made sure the students were on task, and
gave positive feedback on how they were doing. During the sharing time, I made sure
to comment on specific parts of their drawings or writings, and give them feedback
about what I thought. I didnt do any constructive feedback because I dont think there
was opportunity. This activity was about a childs uniqueness, and not about doing it
right.
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.)
When we needed to talk to the students besides a time update, we had them gather
on the carpet. This helped the students stay focused on what we were saying. I also
tried to make an environment where children felt comfortable sharing about
themselves. I believe this helped students be more open to what was being learned,
instead of closing themselves off because they were nervous. We also had a very
calm environment, which helped set the tone for classroom management. Because we
are always in the classroom, managing them was easier because they know us, and
the lesson was a lot calmer than other ones, so I think we had the students attention.
Every step along the way was also clear, so there wasnt confusion among the
students, which prevents chaos from happening.
9. Did you make modifications to your lesson plan during the lesson? If so, what were
they and what motivated these changes?
I dont believe we made any modifications during our lesson, at least not intentionally.
We didnt do the assessment portion where they wrote down why names were
important, but that was accidental. For the most part, everything went the way we
expected it to.
10. Was your Teaching Behavior Focus goal met?
My teaching behavior focus was to make classroom management positive and
appropriate. When the kids were sharing I made sure to comment on the positive
things they did well, and we always clapped at the end of it, which showed our
appreciation for what they were saying, helping the classroom. We did meet our goal.