Lesson Reflection

The introduction of the Robust Vocabulary Reinforcement Walk was a

success! With partners, students were to rotate through ten stations. Each
station highlighted a specific vocabulary word. A photograph, word,
definition, example sentence, and discussion prompts were at each station.
Students rotated at the sound of a chime. Bounce Cards, a Total
Participation Technique, were available at each station to help discussions
flow.

Learning Goals
The objective of this lesson was: Students will identify definitions and
match them with vocabulary words. Finding a measurable way to see if the
objective was met was challenging. There was a lot of discussion that
showed evidence of understanding, but it was not measurable. In order to
address this, I incorporated Hold Up Cards. Using scrap paper, students
wrote the word that fit the definition I read. Seeing individual responses
was a great opportunity for me to see their understanding. Also, at the end
of the lesson, I provided an exit ticket. The students were to use context
clues from two sentences on the board to decide which vocabulary word
would correctly complete the sentences. The word bank was available for
the assessment. Additionally, the students were to underline words they
used that helped them decide which word would be correct. This
assessment showed me their understanding of the terms, definitions, and
context clues.
In addition to meeting the measurable objective, this lesson was an
opportunity to strengthen participation skills. With the goal of every
student participating, I incorporated several Total Participation Techniques
into lessons. In this particular lesson, I was able to use Bounce Cards and
Hold up Cards. The Hold Up Cards showed individual understanding and
the Bounce Cards helped students have deeper discussions. With prompts
to help guide them, I heard conversations that included, “I remember one
time that happened to me!” and “I know what you mean.” I had Bounce
Cards available at each station. Most students used them, at least for
reference.

Feedback Redirection
As I continue to receive feedback, I work to adjust my approaches to
accommodate the suggestions. For example, I now work more closely with
Support Staff to make lessons more applicable for all learners. In this
lesson specifically, I chose to use a chime signal to direct students to move
to the next station. This supported my new stronger classroom
management approaches. Additionally, I was able to use the Teacher vs.
Students bean jars during the lesson to reinforce good choices and redirect
other choices.

Application of Domains
Using the Danielson Domains as a resource has been very beneficial for my
teaching. Applying goals from each domain continues to be important as I
plan, teach, and reflect on my lessons. I was excited to see that many of the
domains I featured in other lessons are continuing to reflect in my current
lessons. Additionally, I was able to put into practice some new domain
features that I may have missed in the past.

Domain One
My feedback to my students is prompt. I continue to reinforce their
answers with immediate encouragements like “I like how you thought that
through!” and “That’s an interesting perspective ” This style of feedback
encouraged further thinking and participation. This feedback helped
further their learning as well.
Also, I have included stronger essential questions in my lessons. This has
helped students explore different thinking paths. For example, at each
station, I provided a “Time to Chat” section that had discussion prompts.
Some of those question prompts included: How would you explain heaving
to someone? What would be more of a din—pans dropping on a kitchen
floor or someone whistling? What do you think is wrong with the car? Why
do people write songs? What is something fortunate that you would like to
have happen to you? What do you think the people in the car are thinking?
How can this problem be fixed? These questions allowed the students to
explain their thought processes during the conversations. The questions
also encouraged them to make personal connections to the content. The
stronger questions created deeper discussions. I used similar questions
throughout the entire lesson.
Also, with the photographs, I purposefully chose images the students would
be interested in. These pictures would repeat throughout the entire unit,
which was a benefit because it offered consistency. While I chose animals
because this class really likes animals, I changed some of the photographs
in other parts of the unit to show the same vocabulary words in different
scenarios. According to Danielson’s Domain 1b, “student interest and
needs learned by the teacher for use in planning” is essential (Danielson,
2014, page 11). According to Danielson’s Domain 1b, “student interest and
needs learned by the teacher for use in planning” is essential (Danielson,
2014, page 11). Finding outside resources that create interest are very
helpful!

Domain Two
Domain Two expresses the importance of “Respectful talk, active listening,
and turn-taking” (Danielson, 2014, page 33). Respect continues to be very
important to me as I grow as a teacher. When I teach, I work to be
encouraging and respectful. I engage in active listening often. I continue
to lean down to make direct eye contact. I want them to know I am
listening and what they are communicating is important. I have noticed
when I take the time to stop what I am doing and give them more
concentrated attention, they respond better overall.
Danielson 2b mentioned an indicator of success would include:
“Expectation and recognition of effort and persistence on the part of the
students” (Danielson, 2014, page 37). I also love to encourage my
students. I continue to use politeness and encouragement to help build
relationships with the students. I continue to add in humor as well. They
find the humor funny and make references to it throughout the day.
With directions, I do not hesitate to ask students for answers or to repeat
what I stated. I continue to praise efforts often. I still try to avoid phrases
such as “You are so smart” and use other phrases such as “I really like how
you explored several options before coming up with that answer.”

Domain Three
During this lesson, I purposefully explained what they would be learning at
the beginning of the lesson. I have been using the outline approach on the
board. I clearly list our goals for the class. This clear explanation helped
students know what direction the lesson was going and allowed them
opportunities to look for the expectations coming to fruition. This also
includes students in the process by letting them know the expectations in
advance. While I do have the list on the board, I remind them that things
may change as we proceed, but the list is our intentions. This helps them
to see plans and flexibility in action.
I really enjoy when the students participate and are actively engaged.
Sometimes when I prepare for a lesson, I purposefully plan for times of
regulated chaos. I know that the students will talk-and-turn, so discussions
will be exciting and I encourage that. For example, in this lesson, the
students were in partners and encouraged to talk. The discussions were
exciting to watch develop. I expected some distractions, but overall, there
were few. Not being completely tied to a rigid amount of time per station
allowed me to be flexible if I saw they were finished before I planned or
needed a little more time if the discussions were going strong. I was able to
circulate during the activity as well so I could encourage discussions. I
expected more off topic talking, but with the photographs, provided
questions, and bounce cards, the students stayed on topic. Danielson
mentions the importance of “Students actively ‘working,’ rather than
watching while the teacher ‘works’” (Danielson, 2014, page 67). I enjoy
when students are busy working and learning together.

Domain Four
Reflecting on lessons is important. My cooperating teacher and I continue
to communicate a lot. I also talk with my university supervisor to get
feedback. I am open about my concerns. Setting and reaching goals are
important parts of my teaching. They help me continue to grow as a
teacher. One particular goal I set was to have the confidence to stop a
lesson when time was short instead of trying to cram it in because it was in
the lesson plan. I am doing much better knowing when to stop and
adjusting the following lessons to accommodate the changes. To add to this
goal, I want to be more diligent about placing an appropriate amount of
expectations in the lessons. The more experience I have, the more clear my
understanding and expectations of participation and completion become.
Finding the right balance of content with the allotted time is a goal.
Additionally, I want to work more closely with Support Staff to create
materials for my students that will help them succeed. After seeing them
successfully use some of the resources I prepared, I am encouraged to find
more resources in the future. For example, using word banks, and limiting
questions are some options I am using. Additionally, for a Powerpoint
interactive study guide I filled in the blanks ahead of time for some
students. I provided highlighters to use as I went over the information.
This worked really well! I am looking forward to finding other ways to help
all students learn.
Additionally, I plan to use more motions in my instruction. For example,
for dodging we lean to the right then to the left. For heaving, we count
back from three and “heave” a pretend heavy object. I also have
incorporated some sign language in to lessons. I look forward to using
more of these types of elements.
Finally, I want to increase student participation. I will continue to
introduce Total Participation Techniques and practice those I have already
been using. However, I want to keep working to help them be able to have
flowing conversations and discussions with less teacher participation. For
example, when I call on my first student, I have been giving that student the
authority to call on the next. They can indicate a desire to participate by
showing one finger. The students like calling on each other. I am working
with them to be able to flow from one participant to the next without my
involvement. My goal is to have them see that this will become a discussion
rather than traditional turn-taking .

Conclusion
This lesson really allowed me to take some risks with providing students
with independent discussions. They did an incredible job of staying on
task, showing they can handle this type of activity. They produced deeper
conversations than I have seen from them in the past. Additionally, they
enjoyed the learning experience. They are excited to have motion during
the lessons and I see them practicing the sign language in more social
environments. The more I teach, the more I am excited to explore different
ways to enrich the students’ learning opportunities.

References
Danielson, C. (2014). The Framework for Teaching: Evaluation
Instrument. Teachscape.