Critical Reflection

STUDENT TEACHERS EVALUATION

To what extent did the learners achieve the intended learning
outcomes?
In terms of content, the students did not complete the syllabus outcomes
to a satisfactory level. The intent of the lesson was to complete an activity
that would help their comprehension. This is an activity that should be
completed in English classes, rather than Technology classes. The end of
the lesson was intended to be spent evaluating their Textiles bag design
projects from Term 1. Due to the extensive amount of time spent on the
literacy task, evaluations were not completed, therefore syllabus
outcomes were not achieved.
Describe the evidence you have for this.
The worksheet given was not related to Food Technology and while
walking around the classroom, I noticed the majority of the class were
taking an excessive amount of time to answer simple questions. They
showed little effort in completing the activity, and time was spent
socialising within their groups.
Once the lesson was completed, answers were shared with the class.
Serious attempts were only made with two of the five groups and it
appeared as though the activity was irrelevant to other students.
Outline the follow-up to this lesson for the learners.
The follow up lesson consists of obtaining their marks for their textile bag
assessment and evaluating their result.

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EDFD270 The Lesson Plan

Amy Lee

Evaluation of Teaching
Identify the teaching strategies / learning experiences that were
most effective. Explain why.
Allowing the students to work in small groups was most effective. It
enabled them to share their ideas with each other. Working with their
friends seemed to make them more comfortable with expressing opinions
amongst themselves. The observation showed that students interacted
well with each other when allowed to choose their own groups. Also, when
the teacher moved around the room to observe their progress, students
appeared more willing to participate in discussion.
Identify the teaching strategies / learning experiences that were
least effective. Explain why.
Disruptive students should have been separated from each other, which
would limit further conflict. There were a few students who were
continually disrupting others, who swung on their chairs and talked quite
loudly. The teacher warned them of consequences if they continued, and
they ignored her. The teacher separated the two students by positioning
them on either end of the table. This was effective in the short term only,
as they quickly resumed their disruptive behaviour.
This teaching strategy was ineffective as the students were not far enough
apart to not talk to each other. The pair should have been placed on
separate tables.
The learning experience of the group work was overall effective, although,
because they were working with their peers, this did result in an excessive
amount of general conversations. If students were given a specific time
frame to complete the activity, they would have been much more focused
within the group.
How appropriate was the timing throughout the various sections
of the lesson? Why?
The timing of the lesson was not appropriate. Too much time was lost
waiting for students to write answers down. The teacher gave the
students fourteen minutes to write down a two-sentence answer. From
what I observed, the students had finished writing the answer down in a
few minutes, and then began talking amongst themselves, making it look
like they were still writing. Too much time was wasted on waiting for
students when the next question could have been started.
The teacher also allowed a student from each group to write their answer
on the board. This was a very slow process, resulting in a lot of wasted

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EDFD270 The Lesson Plan

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time.
If the teacher had allocated a shorter amount of time for the
question/answer section, the entire activity could have been completed.
Describe how the selection and use of resources supported
learning in the lesson.
The selection of the Literacy-Comprehension activity was appropriate to
their age group, but unfortunately inappropriate to the Technology area of
study. The activity, based on plastic bags in landfill, was not related to
their previous topic of Textiles, or to their new topic of Food Technology.
Because of this, students felt as though this activity was not relevant to
their class, therefore did not focus. This activity was intended to improve
their literacy skills for their upcoming NAPLAN testing, and though this
activity may have helped, a topic that was more relevant could have
resulted in more participation from students.
Identify what motivated the students. Explain why.
Working in table groups with their peers motivated the students. It was
observed that the students were more engaged in the activity as a group,
rather than individual work that was observed last term. Collaborating
with their peers allowed them to share ideas with one another and
promoted teamwork.
Working in groups helped them finish the task quicker.
Identify the classroom management strategies that were most
effective. Explain why.
The teacher walked around the classroom, helping students with
questions and reminding students of the consequences of bad behaviour.
The teacher did stand at the front of the room to focus their attention,
though during the activity, walking around was effective, as many
students wanted to ask a question personally, rather in front of the whole
class.
What was most satisfying about the lesson?
Observing how well the students worked together in groups of their own
choice was most satisfying, as the students were much more enthusiastic
about completing the task. Working in their own groups gave them more
motivation to engage and participate.
Based on these reflections, outline the steps you should now take
to improve your teaching in future lessons.
All activities, even basic literacy skills, should be relevant to the
subject/topic. For example, comprehension activities should be on the

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EDFD270 The Lesson Plan

Amy Lee

subject of Food Technology, rather than plastic bags in landfill. The

students should also be aware that these types of activities are to help
them during their NAPLAN exams, as most students believed it was
pointless.
Instead of writing their answers one-by-one on the whiteboard, students
should either type them up onto an overhead projector screen on the
computer, or verbally to the class. This will save time and ensure the
lesson progresses through the plan.
The comprehension activity was quite simple, so if teaching this lesson
again, a more detailed worksheet should be provided.
As a whole, the students responded well to the teacher, even though too
much time was allocated to class discussions on each questions.
Colleague teachers comments: (Reference could be made, for
example, to planning and preparation, knowledge of curriculum,
organisation, motivation of pupils, strategies used, interaction
with students, classroom management, catering for individual
needs, use of resources, etc.)
Lesson was observed and not taught, therefore no colleague teachers
comments could be recorded.

S00161033

EDFD270 The Lesson Plan

Amy Lee