Running head: REFLECTIVE PLANNING AND INSTRUCTION 1

Reflective Planning and Instruction

Jessie Caprio
Regent University

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Reflective Planning and Instruction

Few aspects of teaching rise to the level of importance of proper planning. This,
of course, is not complete until the plan is executed and reviewed. Reflective planning and
instruction is a powerful tool all teachers should use in their classroom. In doing this, teachers
examine student learning outcomes and identify whether or not the learning objectives were
reached. Teachers also analyze their instruction while considering its effectiveness (Josephson,
2014, p. 39) If done properly, teachers will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their
plans, increase their understanding of the class, and give positive input for future lessons.
Rational
The artifacts chosen this week demonstrate the importance of reflective planning in
lessons. The first of the artifacts is a lesson plan I taught earlier in the week. The plan was based
on the classs English lessons and included direct instruction, guided practice, independent
practice, and a closure. I spent a large portion of time adapting the given curriculum and
building the lesson plan in a way I felt would be most effective for the class.
The second artifact is my notes and reflections I wrote after completing the lesson for the
class. I chose this lesson plan over the others because of the positive input I received from the
class and the ample instances I was able to adjust or correct my plan. The artifact not only
provides reflective actions for me to take with this particular lesson, it provides some instances I
can apply to all future lessons. It also shows my growth as the students teacher and my ability
to understand how they learn as a class.

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Reflection
When I first started contemplating a career in teaching I had a much different opinion of
what a teacher did than I do now. If asked, I would have said teaching was 70% instruction and
30% planning. I now know this isnt the case. Planning and instruction go hand and hand and,
honestly, take nearly the same amount of time. Ive seen the effects of this through my student
teaching experience at Regent University. Many teacher shy away from lesson plans or only do
the bare minimum to get by. They become a burden and requirement more than a necessary tool.
I find this to be a cyclical behavior that only perpetuates the problem.
Often, more organization leads to more efficiency and less time spent with lesson plans. I
found this to be the case with reflective planning. By taking 15-20 minutes on the back side of
each lesson I give, I save myself countless time in the future lessons. I not only find my
preparation times shrinking, I find the quality of the product I produce is much higher. Children
should be in the presence of excellence every day. Classroom and schools, then, need to
surround students with excellence (Croy, n.d., p. 79). This starts with a solid well thought out
lesson plan.
In my reflective planning there are two derivatives I look for. The first is the lesson
specific derivatives. For example, in artifact two page three, all but the bottom reference are
lesson specific derivatives. They only apply to this lesson. They mainly consist with tweaking
how some of the information was presented to the students or reflecting on how a particular part
of the lesson wasnt as effective as hoped. The second derivative, which is perhaps the most
important one, is the non-lesson specific inputs. These are things I can learn from and use in all
lessons. For example, I find behavior and attentiveness in my two classes to be considerably
different. This can be seen on the last page of artifact two. My morning class responded very

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well to partner work at the closure of the lesson. Afterward, they were able to sit down and listen
attentively. This was not the case with my evening class. It was very hard to settle them down
after the exercise. In future plans, I will differentiate between the two classes with partnership
activities.

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References
Croy, N. (n.d.). Introspective Inquiry: Self-study and its relevance in teacher education. Journal
of Purdue Undergraduate Research, 2, 79-80. doi:10.5703
Josephson, J. (2014). Reflection. In Planning, instructional, and reflective practices of
elementary co-teachers (p. 39). Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest LLC.
Ryan, K., & Bohlin, K. (1999). Building character in schools: Practical ways to bring moral
instruction to life (p. 179) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.