Effective Lesson Reflection Paper

There are many different types of attachments that I have observed in the Magnolia classroom. Some are attachments to the children’s personal belongings and others are attachments to people, such as the teachers. Growing out of these attachments is good for the children’s social-emotional development.

As an educator and lifelong learner, it is beneficial to engage in professional development that analyzes my ability to interact with my students and my strategies to create lessons that promote critical thinking, engagement and motivation. All of these are crucial points of an effective lesson. My teaching behaviors, both verbal and nonverbal, are important to analyze since they play a critical role in my lessons. Although using the SATIC sheet to evaluate my teaching behaviors is tedious and difficult, it opens a brand new lens to my teaching that I have never seen before. This lens provides plenty of opportunities to make improvements and find room for growth.

This reflection focuses on ELCC Standard 4.1, due to the fact that I had to collaborate with administration, teachers (regular and special education), board members, facilities, parents, and students in order to develop a topic, plan, and carry out a Parent University. After discussing topics with my mentor, we decided that the topic for this Parent University should be the new PowerSchool Unified Classroom Program. The purpose of getting this new PowerSchool program was to improving the overall educational experience for students and parents by having one program that parents, students, and teachers can use to access grades, attendance, discipline, and teacher websites/homework information. The district transitioned to PowerSchool Unified Classroom as a result of parents and students complaining about having to go to five different sites just to get homework (Moodle, Schoology, etc.). Parents and students can not only view all of these components, but this program also streamlines communication between the school and home. In order for the use of Unified Classroom to actually improve the educational experience, parents need to know how to use the program.

One of the most important things teachers should do is try their best to get along with the parents of their students. This weeks readings were related to the importance of healthy and positive relationships in order for a child to feel a sense of belonging and to feel secure. The textbook stated, “A child’s family is the first and most important place where a feeling of identity and belonging start.” (Bilmes J, 2004). Once a child finds their sense of belonging in their family, not only do they start to understand their cultural identity, like the textbook mentioned, but they also learn about trust. From a very early age, children establish their trust in the grown ups around them, (aka their parents), and from forming trust first, it is easier to then feel a sense of belonging. This is also how teacher student relationships form. When a child knows they can trust the teacher, it is easier for them to find their place in the classroom. The easiest way for a teacher to help a child establish their trust in you is to get their parents to trust you first. In a way it is like that quote “monkey see monkey do”. If a child can see that their parents trust a teacher and see that they have a healthy and good relationship, then the child will be more open to having a relationship with their teacher.

The instructional setting I work within is set in a rural community, northeast of Indianapolis, IN. This community is made up of mostly farmers and factory workers, so the majority of the students are in the “free and reduced” system for tuition and lunches.

Over the years, I have worked closely with children in various settings from babysitting to the actual classroom, and each time I gain new understanding of children which has allowed me to grow more patient about their behavior. Additionally, I must add that most of the children I have worked with have all come from low Socioeconomic status families which has been proven to be the cause of major behavioral issues. The way I have witnessed the behavior of these children be managed varies between each of the locations. Some teachers and caretakers are quite harsh in their discipline while others are much too passive. In essence, as learned in the Environment and Programs as well as the Discipline and Limits unit, there are several key elements that determine the behavior of children in the classroom. As it relates to Preston Taylor Ministries, behavior management is sometimes ineffective especially when dealing with certain children; however, for the most part, I believe this center handles behavior in an efficient manner.

Everyday teachers make decisions that influences student’s opportunities to enhance their learning through different content areas. Thus, it is essential as a teacher to draw upon the content knowledge you want your students to take away from your class but it is also equally important to equip your students with skills that will help them outside of the academic realm as well.

To begin the Faculty assignment I first started by trying to email professors using the faculty information document provided. Of all the specialties available under the Business degree, management and marketing most interested me. This is due to the fact that I have an ample amount of experience working in restaurants. Often while performing tasks such as endlessly sweeping floors, scraping gum off tables, talking down agitated customers and so on, I found my mind wondering. Aside from thinking about how much I was utterly and wholly adoring my tasks, I thought about what it would be like to run the establishment. I wondered what it would be like to manage others and plotted ways in which I could improve upon my manager’s skills in the area of management. Because of my curiosity for management I really wanted to speak with someone who is knowledgeable in the area. After sending a few emails to multiple instructors and not receiving any reply I decided it was time for a face to face interview.

My lesson was based upon the spelling words for the week. I enlarged the letters of each word i.e: make.

For this assignment I was unable to ask the teachers at my normal school setting questions due to them being on vacation all this week. That being said I asked one of my favorite teachers who works at the high school I go to. This teacher's name is Claire Hickman, she is the art teacher at Bayshore High School. One of my questions asked how many years she has been in an inclusive learning environment and her answer was 13 years! That’s just 5 years short of my life time so I am sure I can learn a lot from her. I had also asked the overall composition of her classes she mentioned that each class had about 35 students ranging from grades 9 to 12. Of these 35 students 11 would be ESOL, 5 V.E. students, and 1 gifted student. I had even asked if she makes changes on her lesson plans depending on the type of student that are coming into her classroom she said yes. I asked her questions mainly pertaining to students who are ESOL and students who have disabilities. She is extremely open with her views and I knew she would make the perfect candidate to interview.

In our classroom my mentor and I have tried and are still making adjustments to create a learning environment where our students feel safe and are able to speak their minds. I think over all we have done a good job in creating a safe environment where our students can speak freely without judgment or teasing from other students. What I have learned when working with students with English Language Learners on IEP’s is that small groups really benefit their learning, giving them the opportunity they need to express their ideas. Having smaller groups allows each student to have a voice, and gives a chance for others to find theirs. It’s hard for some students to speak out in class especially when learning a new language so having a more intimate setting allows them this opportunity. Being able to work with groups of two to five students at a time allows us to really listen to what students have to share and letting them get their entire thoughts out, not cutting them off or manipulating their words into what the teacher thinks is the right answer. This is not what I want to happen, I want all of our students to share their ideas and help one another build upon them. As their teacher we will have to facilitate more and make accommodations for our student learning a new language so they understand the content of the lesson and are able to take this knowledge with them into their future.

I have learned a lot for the short period of time that I have been in school in Guadalajara. Thanks to the ten teaching practices I have had lots of hours to practice my teaching. I went from knowing absolutely nothing about teaching, to feeling like I can teach any subject in English at ease. I understand what to do, and what not to do in a classroom setting. My observers helped me improve my teaching from adequate to a professional standard.

Walking into the first two weeks of the EDU program I desired to experience what it would be like to be a future educator and have a grasp of how to help the molding of our youth and giving them the possibility to become future leaders. Doctor dresser was able to bring in a Concordia alumni who had just begun to experience his professional education, career and is teaching multiple different grade levels as a young teacher. When he first walked into the classroom my first impressions were that unfortunately he looked very inexperienced and unsure of what was to be expected of the lecture I thought to myself in the position of a younger student in his classroom this is a person I would not take seriously. He then proceeded to communicate

unanticipated issue into the classroom – that is simply a fact of teaching. A good teacher can

I was given a year 10 BTEC IT&C class to teach. This class has a mixture of abilities and behaviour. Talking to the students over the term the students that could be said to be “disruptive” would happily tell me that they “did not want to pick this option” and felt they had no choice but pick the subject. This gave an interesting challenge of trying to engage these students with the subject and improve behaviour and the environment of the class in general.