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: Hannah Smith Date: 05 April 2017

1. To what extent were learning outcomes appropriate and achievable to your students?

The learning outcomes related to reading that tied into the culturally relevant topic of bullying
for the students were: I can argue how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and
interact throughout the text; I can identify tough questions in a text where a character
asks herself a very difficult question and ask myself, what does this question make me
wonder about? and I can compare and contrast two texts that share a similar topic or
theme. These learning outcomes were appropriate and achievable to my students because
they are specific and use verbs that are measurable in nature as opposed to just saying the
students will understand These learning outcomes tied into the reading standards that are
covered in fourth grade, which made them appropriate for the students to learn in relation to
the topic of bullying since it was being integrated within the reading lesson. The learning
outcomes related to the overall practice of students being able to argue with evidence in the
text why certain things happen in relation to talking about the bullying, which was the topic or
theme used in both texts.

2. How effective were your instructional strategies? What changes would you make in
your instructional approaches if you taught this lesson again? Why?

Overall, I think my instructional strategies were pretty effective in terms of student learning. I
started the lesson with engaging the students in a short discussion centered on bullying,
which was the culturally relevant theme of the lesson. The students were able to share what
they thought bullying is, what it means to be a bully, as well as share experiences they know
of where someone was bullied, without naming any names. I reminded them to not share
anything inappropriate to avoid any detours the topic of conversation could have gone to.
After allowing time for the students to discuss and argue what they think bullying is, I
transitioned the lesson into the read aloud of two texts that have a topic or theme around
bullying, or going against it. I used the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) approach by
first modeling how to analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop throughout
the text as well as how to identify tough questions in the text where a character asks
themselves a difficult question that makes us wonder something. After modeling using the
text Enemy Pie, I read the text Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun for the WE DO portion of the
lesson. I had guiding questions to get the students to analyze how and why things were
happening as well as have the students raise their hands when we reached a tough question
being asked in the text. At the end, the students compared the two texts and for the YOU
ALL DO portion of the lesson they were split up into partners and given a what would you
do? scenario centered on bullying. They were given time to discuss what they would do and
then they read their scenario to the class and argued what they would do and why. I think the
activities and order of how the lesson progressed was effective as the students were slowly
gaining more responsibility of their learning throughout the lesson. I tried to include everyone
in the conversation and call on a variety of students. At some points I used the sticks with the
students names on them to call on them so that they did not think I was biased towards any
one student. I think a change I would make is having a smoother transition from one activity
to the next throughout the lesson. Sometimes the transitions seemed to get students talking
and not fully engaged to start out. Secondly, I would provide more think time and guiding
questions for students after they gave an incorrect answer to a question. Instead of asking
another student or providing the answer, it is important to probe the student and guide their
thinking towards the correct answer. Lastly, I would make more of an emphasis to engage the
students while individual groups were sharing out. I asked and told the students to be
focused and paying attention to the group sharing, but I think maybe having the group coming
to the front to share or stand up may have put more attention on them and helped the other
students remained focused on the conversation or activity. Overall, I think my instructional
strategies were effective in allowing the students amble time to discuss the topic of bullying
and guide their thinking through varying ways including the discussion, read alouds, and
bullying scenarios that all helped the students reach the overall learning goals.

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.)

Overall, I think my oral and written communication with my students was effective towards
their learning. After asking the students guiding questions to get them talking about what they
think bullying is and providing examples of it, I clearly defined bullying on the white board for
them to see and refer back to. Additionally, I reminded students of our practice of evidence-
based argumentation that we were continuing to focus on as well as stated the I can
leaning objectives that I had for them for this lesson. While the students were discussing and
talking about bullying, I asked additional questions to get them thinking based on the answers
they provided. During the lesson I asked the students questions related to analyzing the texts
and had them make connections to the text, which I think was beneficial to their overall
understanding. By stopping at different points in the text, it helped the students remain
focused and thinking about what was happening in the text, why it was happening, and how it
related to bullying. I think by having the students discuss the bullying scenarios in pairs, it
helped them formulate their thoughts and ideas better than if they would have had to think
about what they would do on their own. I think when discussing whole group, I could have
brought them back to the carpet so that they would be closer together and less likely to be
distracted or working on something else when other groups were presenting or arguing their
ideas.

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.)

In general, I think the students were pretty engaged throughout the lesson. Since the lesson
was fairly long and in the latter part of the day I think they had a hard time staying focused
through the entire lesson; however, I do think for the most part they were participating and
enjoying the varying activities I had planned for them. When focusing on the reading skills
through the read alouds, I think the texts I chose were engaging and allowed them to make
connections to things they may have seen before. Also, by asking them questions along the
way it helped them remain engaged and want to contribute to the conversation. I think the
YOU ALL DO activity of the bullying scenarios was engaging as the scenarios were real
situations that could happen or could have happened to any of the students. After the
students shared what they would do in regards to the scenario they were given, as a class we
came up with ways to be an up-stander to bullying and they all signed it as a class promise. I
think by having them each contribute and sign the chart paper, it helped engage them and
remind them of their contribution and role to stand up against bullying. In terms of grouping
students, they mostly worked either as a whole class or in partners. When grouping them for
the bullying scenarios I put them in pairs depending on who was sitting near them; however, I
could have allowed them to pick their partner and find a spot in the room to work to better
engage them I think. The overall pacing of the lesson went pretty smoothly; however, I would
try to condense the longer parts of the lesson if I were to teach it again to ensure that
students were focused and engaged throughout the entirety of the lesson.

5. How effectively did you use instructional materials, resources, and/or technology?

As a whole, I think I effectively used the instructional materials, resources, and/ or technology.
I used the read aloud texts to teach the reading objectives, by having the students sit on the
carpet where they could see and have access to the text. I used the white board to write
down the definition of bullying so that students could refer back to it throughout the lesson as
well as used it to write down the students comparisons and contrasts of the texts. I printed off
the bullying scenarios and had one per slip of paper to hand out to the students so that they
could read it and discuss/ argue what they would do if they were in that particular situation.
For the class chart, I used chart paper to write down the students ideas of ways they could
be up-standers to bullying and had them use a marker to sign their name. I used chart paper
so that it could be hung up in the room somewhere for students and my mentor teacher, Mrs.
Cosetti, to refer back to if needed. At the end of the lesson and during the social justice action
plan extension; I used the smart board to show a five-minute video that shows students
talking about bullying and ways to leave a positive footprint instead. For the implementation
of the plan, I had pre-cut footprints on construction paper for the students to use and write
positive messages that go against bullying on that I later put around the bulletin board outside
the classroom for others to stop and see. Each of the resources had a specific purpose and
was able to assist the overall effectiveness of the lesson.

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 this specific lesson I used formative assessment of listening to how students responded
during discussions around bullying, the texts, and the scenarios. During the Gradual Release
of Responsibility (GRR) portion of the lesson, I was looking for students to raise their hands
and point out when a tough question was being mentioned in the text as well as have them
discuss how and why they think certain things are happening in the text. I was looking for
them to provide evidence from the text. Additionally, when comparing and contrasting the two
books, I was looking for the students to accurately give examples of ways the texts are
similar and ways they differ. When looking to see if the overall practice of evidence based
argumentation was being used, I walked around and listened to the different small groups as
they argued what they should do with their given bullying situation. During the lesson I was
able to gauge student understanding in relation to the learning objectives as a whole and for
some students; however, I do not think I was able to specifically pinpoint whether the
outcomes were met for each individual student. If I taught this lesson again I think I would
have them complete an exit ticket having them explain how or why they thought one specific
thing in the texts happened, write a tough question mentioned in either text and what it
made them wonder about, as well as maybe a comparison and contrast between the texts.
By getting written work from the students, I would be able to better judge if they met the
learning outcomes. I do think having the students argue what they would do in the bullying
scenarios and why was effective in terms of determining how they argued their point. I also
think having the follow-up extension activity of the students creating positive footprints to go
against bullying was an effective strategy because I was able to see what each student
thought was a message that could go against bullying. Overall, the discussions the students
had helped to assess what they thought and understood in terms of the learning outcomes;
however, having more written work from students would be helpful as well to guarantee the
learning of each individual student.

7. To what extent was your feedback to students accurate, substantive, constructive,

specific, and/or timely?

I think my feedback to the students was for the most part, accurate, substantive, constructive,
specific, and timely. When students were responding to questions or discussing the text I tried
to guide them or ask follow up questions for greater understanding. I think I could have
probed certain students more or allowed them more time to answer questions again before
moving on to another student to see if they had any ideas or contributions. As a whole, I think
I helped guide students with further questioning and really get them thinking about the
importance of going against bullying, putting themselves in someone elses shoes, and
understanding how to argue their point based on how they analyzed the text. In the future, I
want to be more specific in my feedback to students and help scaffold them more to the
correct answer instead of providing it for them. Feedback is a crucial part of learning and is
something I think will be improved the more I teach and work with students.

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 the classroom management and environment contributed a lot to student learning. I
think since the students have worked with each other the whole year, and with me most of the
semester they felt comfortable enough to openly share their thoughts and ideas. This makes
me believe that the classroom is a safe space where they feel they can share and discuss
even serious matters such as bullying. I think having the students transition from their desks
to the carpet for different parts of the lesson was beneficial as it broke up the lesson and
allowed them to refocus in a different location. I found it especially beneficial to have the
students sit on the carpet for the read alouds as they were closer to me, better able to see
the text, and more focused on listening to what their peers had to share. I think by having
them work in partners as well as the whole group allowed them to talk and hear ideas from a
variety of people, overall contributing to their understanding of the topic and learning
objectives. For the most part the students were engaged and focused; however, I tried to
bring attention back to students who were disengaged at a particular time and make sure all
students were engaged and participating throughout the lesson.
 9. Did you make modifications to your lesson plan during the lesson? If so, what were
they and what motivated these changes?

For the most part, I did not make any modifications to my lesson plan during the lesson.
Before teaching the lesson I planned out how the lesson would flow, the order of it, which
activities I would do and how I would do them, as well as what questions I would ask to the
students along the way. The only modification I made to the lesson was some of the
questions I asked to the students. Especially in regards to their discussions on bullying, I
came up with questions along the way as the students contributed. In order for them to get
the most out of the discussion, it is important to ask questions that are relevant to their
contributions that get them to continue thinking about the topic instead of simply only asking
the pre-planned questions I had on my lesson plan.

10. Was your Teaching Behavior Focus goal met?

For this lesson plan, my teaching behavior focus goals were that the classroom management
is positive and appropriate as well as having an appropriate wait time for students throughout
the lesson. After teaching the lesson, I do think that these teaching behavior focus goals were
met. Especially through the student discussions around bullying I made sure that the students
felt comfortable sharing and emphasized that the students should respect each others ideas.
I tried to always make sure the students were being positive and contributing ways to help
bullying instead of getting side tracked and telling stories that would be hurtful or
unproductive to the conversation. For my other focus of wait time, I tried to wait a few
seconds before calling on any student, or once I called on them, allowed them a few seconds
to gather their thoughts and ideas. I found it beneficial to sometimes use the sticks to pick
students to call on to help ensure I was not always calling on the student who raised their
hand the fastest. I think the goals were met; however, they are both goals I want to continue
to strengthen and improve in future lessons.