STEP Standard 7 – Reflecting on Instruction to Improve Student

Progress
Improved Practice Based on the Unit of Study
Based on the experience of developing and delivering your instructional unit, list three short-
term goals to improve specific areas of your teaching practice based on the unit of instruction
and describe your plan to reach each short-term goal.

Plan to Reach the Goal (i.e., professional

Short-Term Goal
1. To have smoother transitions
throughout the course of each lesson.
development, research on the Internet,
observation of a veteran teacher, etc.)
My plan to reach this is to use the advice
from my unannounced evaluation from my
Master Teacher. This was something he
noticed when he came in and observed and
he has given me resources and ideas to
implement. I am going to start small this
week by having my Display up for Do Now
Activities and then having a Reflection slide
up for end of class activities. From here I
will start to pay more focus on in lesson
transitions (distributing paper, transitioning
from group to partner work to independent
practice).

2. Looking at the lesson I would like to
incorporate more DOK level 2 and 3
questions into my lesson.
To start, I will research exactly DOK
questions, the different levels and what
questions stems I can use. Next, I will
discuss with my master teacher who did my
evaluation to discuss ways of
implementation. Right now, I am using our
Do Now activities as a way to incorporate
higher level thinking. I am using an AzMerit
style question or a harder question for
students to wrestle with. After a given
amount of time, we first break down the
question (finding other words or simplifying
what the question is saying) and then solve.

3. Organize student area for folders. Within my classroom, my students have

notebooks and folders that they use in
different subjects. While the area isn’t
necessarily labeled, the students know where
they can find theirs. However, looking at the
instruction, it was clear to see that students
were searching for their things on the

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 bookshelf, taking away from class time. I
would like to spend time with an established
Resource teacher and discuss ways of
organizing the classroom so students are able
to access material quickly. From there I
would implement it, explain where their
things are located and visible and then keep
it that way for 1 or 2 weeks. If it works I
could keep that, but if not, I would find new
ways.

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