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: Rachel Cummins Date: 11/06/17

1. To what extent were learning outcomes appropriate and achievable to your students?
I think all the students were able to meet my learning outcomes. The students learned
about timelines and understood why and how we can use timelines. From the arts activity at
the end of the lesson, I could tell that the students understood how timelines are used
because they organized themselves in chronological order when they were performing their
tableau. They were also able to help me conclude why timelines were important and how we
could use them in real life.
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 worked very well. I scaffolded the students when we were
making our timeline as a class about Helen Keller. I also made sure to ask students questions
during instruction and reading that had the students engaged. The only change that I would
make in my instructional strategies was my handwriting. When I was writing on the board for
the timeline activity, my handwriting was a little sloppy and hard to read. If I were to teach this
lesson again, I would either type up my timeline or take more time to slowly write the words
on the timeline so the students could see and understand.
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.)

My oral communication skills with the students were effective. They understood the
questions that I was asking and were then able to respond to them with correct answers.
When we were reading the book together, I would stop at specific points when I knew we
should add something to our timeline and ask the students if they think it is important enough
to include on our timeline. I also walked through the directions for the tableau to help the
students understand what was expected of them. For every activity they met my learning
outcome and understood my directions and instruction.
I think my written instruction was effective, but I could have worked on it a little better. My
handwriting was a little sloppy, making it hard for the students to read it. I need to practice
writing on the board so I can better model good handwriting, so my students will do the same.
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.)

My students were engaged throughout the entire lesson. The book that I chose was child-
friendly and kept the students engaged and interested throughout the whole story. I read a
book about Helen Keller and a lot of the students havent heard of her before so they were
interested in learning about a new, unique person. While I was reading the book, I would stop
at certain points to discuss the events and vocabulary with them to make sure they were
understanding. During the tableau activity, the students were engaged and interested in
working together to create their tableau to then later perform in front of the class. Even at the
end of the lesson, when the groups took turns performing, the students were still engaged in
the other groups performance and applauded when they were finished.
5. How effectively did you use instructional materials, resources, and/or technology?
The resources and technology that I used were very effective. The book, I Am Helen
Keller by Brad Meltzer, was very engaging and the students loved the book. I also used the
SmartBoard to show examples of timelines and also the directions to the tableau. This
redirected the students attention to different parts of the classroom to always make sure they
were paying attention and were focused.
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?
For assessing the students I was able to see that they understood what timelines were at the
end of the lesson. Each group had to create a tableau of different events in Helen Kellers life,
when they went up to perform they got in the order of when the events happened. They
created a human timeline and performed in chronological order of Helens life. This showed
that they understood simply how timelines work and are structured.
7. To what extent was your feedback to students accurate, substantive, constructive,
specific, and/or timely?
I think the feedback that I gave the students in their group work was constructive. One of
the groups was having difficulty getting along, so I went over to them and helped the student
sort out their issues as a group with me mediating it. With this feedback, I was able to get this
group of students back on track to be successful in the activity. After the students performed
their tableaus, as a class we all applauded for the students to give them positive feedback on
their group performance.
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.)
I think I did a good job at managing the classroom. The students were extremely engaged
in the lesson, so I didnt have to stop a lot for outbursts and misbehavior. When students
would call out I would just ignore them and call on someone who was raising their hand and
following directions. During group work, one of the students had a meltdown because they
werent getting along with the other students in her group. I was able to talk to the students
and get them focused again on their work and then helped guide them to success. The
students were very engaged in the lesson and activities, so I didnt have to manage much of
their behavior which was awesome.

9. Did you make modifications to your lesson plan during the lesson? If so, what were
they and what motivated these changes?
No modifications were made to my lesson plan during the lesson.

10. Was your Teaching Behavior Focus goal met?

My teaching behavior focus was making sure that student engagement through
discussion is fostered. I think my focus was met because the students were extremely
engaged in my lesson and were very successful through their group work and instruction.