Running Head: REFLECTION JOURNAL 1

Reflection Journal

SPED 875: Advanced Practicum with Exceptional Children and Youth

University of Kansas

Dr. Martha Elford

Brent Seager

February 11, 2018

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Reflective Journal: Lesson Plan One

Classroom Environment

There were several different instructional strategies used during lesson two, including

whole group discussion, skill review using an interactive game, and social skill modeling

strategies. The whole group discussion went alright, it did take some additional time and

redirecting to get the students on-task and involved, but the students did participate and engage

in the whole group discussion. The skill review with the interactive game was great, the students

could see how the skills related to their lives and how the usage of these skills. The social skill

modeling strategies used in the classroom allowed the students to determine appropriate and

inappropriate ways to begin conversations. While I did experience some difficulties with getting

the students on-task, providing a safe, caring, and emotionally stable classroom environment

helped me to get the students on-task and to participate in the lesson/activities (McCreery, 2016).

Instruction

The students did grasp several big ideas of the lesson, appropriate and inappropriate

methods to beginning a conversation with peers and adults. The evidence that I have for this is

in the questions from the game review activities that were completed towards the end of the

lesson. Even though some students struggled with some of the questions, I explained to them

why the answers were correct or incorrect, which helped aid in comprehension of the concepts.

While the students may have struggled with some of the skills and concepts reviewed in the

game, these questions were challenging and allowed the students to engage in critical thinking

and application of the skill learning. I believe that the students saw this activity as relevant,

which is one of several reasons why they were confident and participated in the lesson. For this

lesson, I wanted to take gradual steps towards the big idea, as this an essential element in long-
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term and short-term memorization processes, which allow the students to learn and use the skills

that were taught during the lesson later (Cirik & et al., 2016).

Planning and Preparation

The use of technology in the form of the computer and overhead projector worked well,

as the students participated in a Kahoot review game of the social skills and elements of

beginning a conversation with others. The students do not have many opportunities to

participate in interactive games, and this was a great opportunity to implement new engagement

techniques and assessment tools within the classroom. To improve upon the usage of these

resources in the future, I will provide the students with more options for authentic learning and

assessment, as I believe having more choices in the learning process will benefit all students. I

might also consider using paper or digital surveys to evaluate authentic learning experiences

during the lesson, as authentic learning experiences are essential elements in allowing the

students to learn and implement new skills and ideas within a variety of settings (McManus,

2014).

Professional Responsibilities

There were several opportunities in the lesson to promote Universal Design for Learning

(UDL). The use of fostering collaboration and community in the whole group discussion

provided multiple means of engagement for the students to see how the skills are used in a

variety of environments. The use of feedback and the social skills modeling strategy helped the

students to activate and supply background knowledge by providing multiple means of

representation. The use of the Kahoot game allowed for support optimizing access to tools and

assistive technologies using multiple means of action and expression. While there were other

times during the lesson that UDL was used, these three examples provide some of the strongest
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evidence of UDL usage in the lesson and activity (National Center on Universal Design for

Learning, 2017).
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References

Cirik, V., Hovy, E. & Morency, L.P. (2016). Visualizing and understanding curriculum learning

for long short-term memory networks. Cornell University Library. Retrieved from:

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1611.06204.pdf

McCreery, M.P. (2016). Temperament as a Behavioral Construct. Intervention in School and

Clinic, 51(4), p. 239-240.

McManus, J.M. (2014). Planning for the twenty-first century classroom: Teacher preparation

and technology. Retrieved from: https://search-proquest-

com.www2.lib.ku.edu/docview/1651236146

National Center on Universal Design for Learning. (2017). Retrieved from:

http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines_theorypractice