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: Erin Sweeney Date: November 7, 2017

1. To what extent were learning outcomes appropriate and achievable to your students?
I think the outcomes were achievable to the students. They enjoy coloring and I think it was
good for them to represent something using both words and pictures.
2. How effective were your instructional strategies? What changes would you make in
your instructional approaches if you taught this lesson again? Why?
I think my instructional strategies were good at the front, however, I get a little less in control
when they break off into different parts of the classroom. They really like participating, so I
was sure to let them know that I was only calling on quiet students. They also respond well to
clapping, and counting down from 5. A change I would make would be having more spots for
students to paint, I dont like having students finish too early with nothing to do. I would also
be more clear that if they cant get their work done while talking, they have to be completely
silent. There were a few specific students I had to redirect multiple times.
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.)

I think I was pretty clear with directions. I wanted to introduce each part of the quilt all at once
because I knew it would be harder to get their attention once they were off the carpet. They
did well turning and talking with a partner, and it was not too hard to get them refocused on
the story. I knew that I wanted to say more about how we all celebrate Thanksgiving
differently, so even though it was in the plan to do that after the book, when I did it at the end
I think it still worked out alright.
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.)

Students were very engaged on the carpet, and there were minimal side conversations. I
think letting them turn and talk with a partner helped get some of their comments out at an
appropriate time, rather than while I was reading. They were engaged during the drawing and
painting, however once they were told to write they seemed more off task. I could tell that
wasnt as fun and exciting for them.
5. How effectively did you use instructional materials, resources, and/or technology?
Because the book was switched so last minute, I was able to find it online. I read that on the
smartboard, and used the doc cam so that students were clear what a quilt looked like. I then
used paper to put together a quilt for our class. They were able to use crayons, paint, and
pencil (for the writing) so they experienced many different writing utensils.
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?
I think the drawing was effective, but I definitely had to circulate and ask them to explain their
pictures to me. The writing was somewhat effective, but not all students had time for that if
they spent more time drawing or painting. If I taught it again I would have had more paint
stations, and I would have made the writing necessary before painting. I would also set time
limits for each part of the lesson.
7. To what extent was your feedback to students accurate, substantive, constructive,
specific, and/or timely?
I tried to ask a lot of questions when reading the book, but once the students answered I
could have better explained or clarified what I was expecting and fully wanting for an answer.
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.)
The students know how to behave when they come to the carpet so they were good for me
up there. They dont have assigned seats so there are a few that get chatty when sitting near
each other. I just had to circulate often so that they knew to be on task. I was sure to only call
on quiet students, and because they like answering or helping me with tasks, they were quiet
when I asked them to be. I liked that they were able to see their classmates quilt squares,
because it showed how different Thanksgiving is for each of them.
9. Did you make modifications to your lesson plan during the lesson? If so, what were
they and what motivated these changes?
Originally, right after reading the book, I had planned on talking about how we all come from
different backgrounds and that it is okay that we all dont do the same thing for Thanksgiving.
I got kind of flustered after the book so they went straight to their drawing. So instead, we
came together at the end and I held up the quilt to show them how different each of theirs
squares were. This may have even turned out better than what I planned so I was happy I
could think on my toes of how to still incorporate differences.
10. Was your Teaching Behavior Focus goal met?
I would say yes, aside from a few students having to be redirected, the class was on task and
materials were handled well. My TA really helped me out by pulling them aside to paint so
that I was able to circulate around the classroom and keep an eye out on the majority of the
students.