Bri Changela

Final Reflection
ELED 3111
I spent most of my time this semester working with a first grade class as well as tutoring
a fifth grade student. They are two very different grade levels, so I had a variety of students. Both
teachers integrated Smart board technologies into their daily lessons.
My first grade teacher incorporated many videos into her lesson plans, whereas my fifth
grade teacher mainly went off of her PowerPoint slides. One main difference I observed between
the schools, is that Devonshire elementary used iPads on a daily basis. The kids loved them and
they would take turns using them. At Reid Park, the main use of technology that I observed was
the smart board. This difference could be due to the different locations of the schools as well as a
lack of resources.
I went to tutor every Wednesday morning at Reid Park. For the first part of the morning I
would observe the teacher during the morning math warm up. The teacher had a specific
structure she followed. She stayed somewhat aligned with the direct lesson plan set up during the
math lesson. Class started with a focus and review from the previous day and then moved on to
the teacher input where she would either review in depth or teach a new lesson. The objectives
were stated clearly on the board. The only thing that was different from our six point lesson plan
was the placement of the guided practice and the independent practice. After she taught the
lesson, she would give some independent practice problems, which were called the ticket to
workshop. Workshop was when the students broke up into groups and completed different
problems at each station.

My other teacher was very different. She was a great teacher and was able to keep control
over her class however her lesson plan methods were not like what we have learned in class. She
always had her objectives written on the board. She always had steady transitions from one
activity to the next, however, I was never able to figure out exactly how the lessons were laid
out. I was able to hold small group meeting in the back to work with the students who struggled
with the current lesson.
I was able to participate in a variety of experiences this semester. Among observing in
two different classrooms, I was also able to work consistently with a fifth grade student. After
observing the lesson every morning, I would take my student out of class to go read in the
library. He understood math very well and struggled with reading so they had me work with him
on his reading. I worked with him on his comprehension and his pronunciation throughout the
semester. When I first met with him, he was at the remembering level of Blooms Taxonomy, and
by the end of the semester he was at the understanding level. We really worked on
comprehension. I asked him questions based on what had happened every two pages or so and
we made predictions before we read. He really struggled with pronunciation so I had to really get
him to stop and slow down on his words. He got into the habit of reading a little slower and
stopping on words he did not know. I encouraged him to break up the words he did not know and
try rereading the section. He improved as a reader and hopefully he will become more confident
when it comes to reading.
We have learned about direct and indirect lesson plans throughout the semester, however
it was very beneficial to actually observe the different lessons being taught. I enjoyed working
with both grade levels and each teacher. I have learned more this semester than any other
previous semester.