Clay Blackwood

Lesson Reflection

This observed lesson was the second one in my 5th grade brass class. This one occurred about

two months after the first one observed in this class. On this particular day, we were learning the Bb

major scale. I felt much more comfortable on the podium, but there is still much room for

improvement.

In terms of classroom environment, the children were a bit more rowdy than they were the first

time. However, I felt as if I did a good job reeling in the students if they began to get off topic.

In the area of instruction, I'm still struggling a bit with teaching wind players as opposed to

teaching percussion. I am more comfortable in front of them now than I was in the last lesson,

however, I still feel out of my element. I'm sure that this will remedy itself with time, research, and a

great bit of trial and error. There were a few points in the lesson where both the students and I were

frustrated. Reflecting back, this was because my instructions were not as clear as they need to be. I've

noticed lately that when I am giving directions, I need to be way more specific than I have been in

order to avoid any confusion on behalf of the students. I have seen teachers blame students for missing

directions, when there directions were not clear to begin with. This causes frustration for both the

teacher and the students. I do not want this to be the case in my classroom, so I need to do a way better

job of giving clear directions.

Another area I could improve in the area of instruction is by becoming more methodical in the

way I approach teaching a certain topic, especially with wind players. Up until this point, I have just

been getting up on the podium and assessing problems as I go. I need to take more time to think ahead

and brainstorm what problems that my students could have with the new skill in which I am

introducing.

I also need to do more to keep the students engaged. Because I am so worried about instructing
students in the correct way, I do not let my personality spill into my instruction. This results in robotic

teaching that is no fun for me or the students. I also need to have more activities that will allow the

students enjoy playing rather than just drilling them on running up and down the scale.

All things considered, I thought the lesson was just okay. It definitely was not my best ever and

I could have been a lot more prepared to teach it. Hopefully, through time and practice, I will become

more comfortable teaching wind players. I have already learned and grown through my student

teaching experience, so I can imagine having my own classroom will help me grow even more.