Teaching Reflections
Here, I reflect on the lessons I have taught in the classroom.
Andy Warhol: Pop Art Lesson
What went well in this lesson? Why?
I feel that the whole lesson went pretty well. The students were well behaved and they all participated in the discussions, shared their thoughts and opinions. They all understood the activity and completed it perfectly. They seemed to enjoy the lesson, creating their own pop art, as well as looking at the rest of the class’ art.
What problems did I experience? Why?
I did not really experience any problems with my lesson. I just stumbled over my words a couple of times, and would correct myself instantly. I also tripped over the power cords for the smart board twice.
Was it “student centered”? Should it have been?
I feel that it was “student centered.” Throughout the lesson, I was constantly asking the students questions about the information on the slides. I would ask them to share what they thought pop art was, or what they thought about the various works of art on the slides. I feel that the lesson was engaging for the students.
What could I have done differently?
I think that I could have asked the students to draw their own face with the emotion that relates to the color of the paper – this was suggested to me by Amanda E. in class. I could have asked them to draw how pink makes them feel on the pink paper; how green makes them feel on the green paper, how yellow makes them feel on the yellow paper, and how orange makes them feel on the orange paper.
What did I learn from this experience that will help me in the future?
I learned that it is important to give the students clear instructions and provide visual examples of what their work should look like. I think that the students easily understood the activity because of the visual example I provided. Also, I instructed the students to not touch the paper in front of them until I told them to, and informed them that it is for the activity we will be doing later on in the lesson. The students obeyed my instruction and paid very good attention to me as I taught the lesson.
Preparation and research - Was I well prepared? - What could I have done differently?
I feel that I was well prepared. I pre-cut all the paper the day before, and bundled them together (1 pink, 1 green, 1 yellow, and 1 orange sheet) so that I could pass them out quickly and easily right before starting the lesson. I also provided a blank white sheet for them to glue the four sheets onto.
I did a lot of research on Andy Warhol to find information about him, pop art, as well as many examples of his art work that I thought the students would enjoy.
Written plan – Was I organized? Did the written format work? Is there a better form?
I actually wrote my lesson plan after making my PowerPoint presentation. The curriculum map helped me create my lesson. I think though, that if I had started off with the lesson plan, it would have helped me a lot. I would know exactly what to do, step by step. If I had typed up and written out the lesson plan before teaching the lesson, it would have been very helpful.
Presentation – Were the students involved? Was I clear in my presentation? How was the pacing?
Yes, the students were engaged in the discussions as we went through the PowerPoint presentation. I took my time with each slide to allow the students to share their thoughts. They all raised their hand when they had something to say.
Assessment – Does my method of assessment measure what I want? How did the class do? What should I change for next time?
I wanted the students to understand what pop art is by creating their own pop art, which is exactly what they did. They all did a wonderful job creating different expressions for each face. Next time, I should have then incorporate color, instead of using only pencil and sharpies. My intention was for them to use colored pencils or crayons, but all of them used a pencil, so my mentor suggested that I tell them to outline it in sharpie so it stands out more against the bright background.
I feel that the whole lesson went pretty well. The students were well behaved and they all participated in the discussions, shared their thoughts and opinions. They all understood the activity and completed it perfectly. They seemed to enjoy the lesson, creating their own pop art, as well as looking at the rest of the class’ art.
What problems did I experience? Why?
I did not really experience any problems with my lesson. I just stumbled over my words a couple of times, and would correct myself instantly. I also tripped over the power cords for the smart board twice.
Was it “student centered”? Should it have been?
I feel that it was “student centered.” Throughout the lesson, I was constantly asking the students questions about the information on the slides. I would ask them to share what they thought pop art was, or what they thought about the various works of art on the slides. I feel that the lesson was engaging for the students.
What could I have done differently?
I think that I could have asked the students to draw their own face with the emotion that relates to the color of the paper – this was suggested to me by Amanda E. in class. I could have asked them to draw how pink makes them feel on the pink paper; how green makes them feel on the green paper, how yellow makes them feel on the yellow paper, and how orange makes them feel on the orange paper.
What did I learn from this experience that will help me in the future?
I learned that it is important to give the students clear instructions and provide visual examples of what their work should look like. I think that the students easily understood the activity because of the visual example I provided. Also, I instructed the students to not touch the paper in front of them until I told them to, and informed them that it is for the activity we will be doing later on in the lesson. The students obeyed my instruction and paid very good attention to me as I taught the lesson.
Preparation and research - Was I well prepared? - What could I have done differently?
I feel that I was well prepared. I pre-cut all the paper the day before, and bundled them together (1 pink, 1 green, 1 yellow, and 1 orange sheet) so that I could pass them out quickly and easily right before starting the lesson. I also provided a blank white sheet for them to glue the four sheets onto.
I did a lot of research on Andy Warhol to find information about him, pop art, as well as many examples of his art work that I thought the students would enjoy.
Written plan – Was I organized? Did the written format work? Is there a better form?
I actually wrote my lesson plan after making my PowerPoint presentation. The curriculum map helped me create my lesson. I think though, that if I had started off with the lesson plan, it would have helped me a lot. I would know exactly what to do, step by step. If I had typed up and written out the lesson plan before teaching the lesson, it would have been very helpful.
Presentation – Were the students involved? Was I clear in my presentation? How was the pacing?
Yes, the students were engaged in the discussions as we went through the PowerPoint presentation. I took my time with each slide to allow the students to share their thoughts. They all raised their hand when they had something to say.
Assessment – Does my method of assessment measure what I want? How did the class do? What should I change for next time?
I wanted the students to understand what pop art is by creating their own pop art, which is exactly what they did. They all did a wonderful job creating different expressions for each face. Next time, I should have then incorporate color, instead of using only pencil and sharpies. My intention was for them to use colored pencils or crayons, but all of them used a pencil, so my mentor suggested that I tell them to outline it in sharpie so it stands out more against the bright background.
Magic Mud Lesson
What went well in this lesson? Why?
The students really enjoyed the lesson and they were so eager to bring their “Magic Mud” mixtures home. They really enjoy hands-on activities, and they loved mixing their own “Magic Mud” and mixing colors to dye it. The lesson was really engaging. I had them predict what they thought might happen when we added cornstarch to the water, which caught their interest because they wanted to see whether or not their predictions were accurate.
What problems did I experience? Why?
It was difficult to get their attention during the lesson because they enjoyed mixing and playing with their “Magic Mud.” I also ran short on time and had to rush towards the end because the distribution of materials was not well thought out. I had one student helping me pass out the materials one by one and it took up a lot of time. I didn’t have a lot of time to set up the materials because my mentor had me doing other tasks prior to teaching my lesson.
Was it “student centered”? Should it have been?
I felt that it was “student centered” because the students were making their own discoveries, while I just guided them with questions and prompts. They were engaged throughout the whole lesson and were pretty much free to do as they pleased with the “Magic Mud” as far as mixing and coloring it. I gave them a lot of time to make observations about their “Magic Mud.”
What could I have done differently?
I could have taught this in a two-part lesson to give information before doing the actual activity so that they have a better understanding about the science behind why the “Magic Mud” acts the way it does. It was my intention to do both during this lesson, but time was running against me. When I realized I was running short on time, I decided to focus more on the activity than the actual scientific terms.
What did I learn from this experience that will help me in the future?
It is really important to set ground rules from the beginning to prevent things from getting out of hand. I clearly instructed the students to follow directions and informed them that things could get messy if they didn’t. I also learned that it is essential to use attention cues that the students are familiar with or else it won’t work. During this lesson, I used attention cues that the students didn’t really respond to probably because they were unfamiliar with it.
Preparation and research - Was I well prepared? - What could I have done differently?
As for materials, I was well prepared and had all the materials I needed. I felt unprepared time-wise. I wasn’t sure exactly how long parts of the lesson were going to take and I had more planned than I had time for. As I said in question 4, I could have divided the lesson into two parts: part one being the informational lesson, and part two being the activity, the actual creation of “Magic Mud.”
Written plan – Was I organized? Did the written format work? Is there a better form?
The lesson plan helped me prepare and stay organized, but I didn’t really refer to it as I taught my lesson. Instead, I wrote out an outline / step-by-step of how my lesson would flow and key points of what I was going to say / do. I felt that this was easier for me to follow than the lesson plan.
Presentation – Were the students involved? Was I clear in my presentation? How was the pacing?
Yes, the students were very involved throughout the entire lesson. They were creating their “Magic Mud” the whole time, mixing and feeling, observing, experimenting during the whole lesson. I think that I could have written out the procedures as well as the recipe for the “Magic Mud” and handed each of the students a copy so that they could do it at home. The distribution of the materials was a drag and could have been planned out better.
Assessment – Does my method of assessment measure what I want? How did the class do? What should I change for next time?
I had the students fill out a worksheet as we progressed through the lesson so that I had a written form of their thoughts in addition to the discussions. This lesson was taught to a SpEd class with students in grades 3, 4, and 5, so we worked on the questions as a class and each student wrote their answers based on the class discussion. I wanted them to see that the “Magic Mud” could act as both a solid and a liquid and the class discovered and understood that if you mix it slowly, it acts as a liquid and if you mix it quickly, it acts as a solid.
The students really enjoyed the lesson and they were so eager to bring their “Magic Mud” mixtures home. They really enjoy hands-on activities, and they loved mixing their own “Magic Mud” and mixing colors to dye it. The lesson was really engaging. I had them predict what they thought might happen when we added cornstarch to the water, which caught their interest because they wanted to see whether or not their predictions were accurate.
What problems did I experience? Why?
It was difficult to get their attention during the lesson because they enjoyed mixing and playing with their “Magic Mud.” I also ran short on time and had to rush towards the end because the distribution of materials was not well thought out. I had one student helping me pass out the materials one by one and it took up a lot of time. I didn’t have a lot of time to set up the materials because my mentor had me doing other tasks prior to teaching my lesson.
Was it “student centered”? Should it have been?
I felt that it was “student centered” because the students were making their own discoveries, while I just guided them with questions and prompts. They were engaged throughout the whole lesson and were pretty much free to do as they pleased with the “Magic Mud” as far as mixing and coloring it. I gave them a lot of time to make observations about their “Magic Mud.”
What could I have done differently?
I could have taught this in a two-part lesson to give information before doing the actual activity so that they have a better understanding about the science behind why the “Magic Mud” acts the way it does. It was my intention to do both during this lesson, but time was running against me. When I realized I was running short on time, I decided to focus more on the activity than the actual scientific terms.
What did I learn from this experience that will help me in the future?
It is really important to set ground rules from the beginning to prevent things from getting out of hand. I clearly instructed the students to follow directions and informed them that things could get messy if they didn’t. I also learned that it is essential to use attention cues that the students are familiar with or else it won’t work. During this lesson, I used attention cues that the students didn’t really respond to probably because they were unfamiliar with it.
Preparation and research - Was I well prepared? - What could I have done differently?
As for materials, I was well prepared and had all the materials I needed. I felt unprepared time-wise. I wasn’t sure exactly how long parts of the lesson were going to take and I had more planned than I had time for. As I said in question 4, I could have divided the lesson into two parts: part one being the informational lesson, and part two being the activity, the actual creation of “Magic Mud.”
Written plan – Was I organized? Did the written format work? Is there a better form?
The lesson plan helped me prepare and stay organized, but I didn’t really refer to it as I taught my lesson. Instead, I wrote out an outline / step-by-step of how my lesson would flow and key points of what I was going to say / do. I felt that this was easier for me to follow than the lesson plan.
Presentation – Were the students involved? Was I clear in my presentation? How was the pacing?
Yes, the students were very involved throughout the entire lesson. They were creating their “Magic Mud” the whole time, mixing and feeling, observing, experimenting during the whole lesson. I think that I could have written out the procedures as well as the recipe for the “Magic Mud” and handed each of the students a copy so that they could do it at home. The distribution of the materials was a drag and could have been planned out better.
Assessment – Does my method of assessment measure what I want? How did the class do? What should I change for next time?
I had the students fill out a worksheet as we progressed through the lesson so that I had a written form of their thoughts in addition to the discussions. This lesson was taught to a SpEd class with students in grades 3, 4, and 5, so we worked on the questions as a class and each student wrote their answers based on the class discussion. I wanted them to see that the “Magic Mud” could act as both a solid and a liquid and the class discovered and understood that if you mix it slowly, it acts as a liquid and if you mix it quickly, it acts as a solid.
"Join the Tree Team" Lesson
What went well in this lesson? Why?
I think the creating portion of the lesson went really well. The students created their own “My Tree & Me” posters and really put a lot of effort into it. They all seemed to enjoy drawing and/or writing about what they get from trees and why trees are important. They were all engaged throughout the creation part of the lesson. Some did not get a chance to finish coloring and asked if they could continue working on it later in the day.
What problems did I experience? Why?
A problem I experienced was getting the students’ attention. The class had a substitute teacher the day that I taught my lesson, so the students were a little more rowdy than usual. I had to use attention-getters multiple times to get the students to stay focused. There were also lawn mowers going on outside, so there was more noise in the environment than usual. The doors were closed to help block out some of the noise.
How did I engage and involve the students?
I engaged the students with discussions and drawing/writing activities. We made observations about a tree, and discussed about what we could get from trees, how we can save trees, and why trees are important. Students then created their own “My Tree & Me” posters where they wrote and/or drew about things they can get from trees and why they think trees are important.
What could I have done differently?
I could have gathered the students on the carpet to explain directions about the first activity, which was making observations about a tree and writing/drawing about it. It was difficult getting their attention, so having them close to me could have making direction giving easier and it would have been more controlled.
What did I learn from this experience that will help me in the future?
I learned that all students express themselves in different ways. Some students started off their posters by drawing, while others started off their posters by writing. Some students express themselves better with words, while others through art and drawing. One student who always has a difficulty getting started on daily journals really took off on this assignment and filled his poster with drawings. He really enjoyed the assignment and his enjoyment was really noticeable.
Preparation and research - Was I well prepared? - What could I have done differently?
I felt that I was well prepared. I prepped all of the materials the week before, and reread through my lesson plan the day before and the morning I taught it. I created picture cards that show some of the things we get from trees, printed out a picture of a tree for each table, created a tree poster template, and did a little research on things we can get from trees to help students with their posters. I could have found old magazines that students could have used to cut and paste things onto their posters in addition to drawing and writing.
Written plan – Was I organized? Did the written format work? Is there a better form?
I felt that I was organized. The written format did work. It helped the lesson flow smoothly. I did refer to the lesson plan as I was teaching.
Presentation – Were the students involved? Was I clear in my presentation? How was the pacing? How did I engage all of the students and allow as many as possible to answer questions?
The students were very involved. They were constantly engaged in discussions and creating their posters. I felt that I was clear because the students were answering my questions and participating the discussions. The pacing went really well. The first part took a little bit longer than I had planned for, but the rest of the lesson flowed smoothly. A few students could have used a few more minutes to finish their posters, but majority finished on time.
Assessment – Does my method of assessment measure what I want? How did the class do? What should I change for next time?
My method of assessment did measure what I wanted for the most part. I wanted to see if students could realize all the many things we can get from trees and also why they thought trees are important. All of the students drew and/or wrote about things we can get from trees, but not all wrote about why they think trees are important. I could have made it clear that I wanted them to write a couple of sentences about why they think trees are important and maybe have added a few lines on the poster for them to write on.
I think the creating portion of the lesson went really well. The students created their own “My Tree & Me” posters and really put a lot of effort into it. They all seemed to enjoy drawing and/or writing about what they get from trees and why trees are important. They were all engaged throughout the creation part of the lesson. Some did not get a chance to finish coloring and asked if they could continue working on it later in the day.
What problems did I experience? Why?
A problem I experienced was getting the students’ attention. The class had a substitute teacher the day that I taught my lesson, so the students were a little more rowdy than usual. I had to use attention-getters multiple times to get the students to stay focused. There were also lawn mowers going on outside, so there was more noise in the environment than usual. The doors were closed to help block out some of the noise.
How did I engage and involve the students?
I engaged the students with discussions and drawing/writing activities. We made observations about a tree, and discussed about what we could get from trees, how we can save trees, and why trees are important. Students then created their own “My Tree & Me” posters where they wrote and/or drew about things they can get from trees and why they think trees are important.
What could I have done differently?
I could have gathered the students on the carpet to explain directions about the first activity, which was making observations about a tree and writing/drawing about it. It was difficult getting their attention, so having them close to me could have making direction giving easier and it would have been more controlled.
What did I learn from this experience that will help me in the future?
I learned that all students express themselves in different ways. Some students started off their posters by drawing, while others started off their posters by writing. Some students express themselves better with words, while others through art and drawing. One student who always has a difficulty getting started on daily journals really took off on this assignment and filled his poster with drawings. He really enjoyed the assignment and his enjoyment was really noticeable.
Preparation and research - Was I well prepared? - What could I have done differently?
I felt that I was well prepared. I prepped all of the materials the week before, and reread through my lesson plan the day before and the morning I taught it. I created picture cards that show some of the things we get from trees, printed out a picture of a tree for each table, created a tree poster template, and did a little research on things we can get from trees to help students with their posters. I could have found old magazines that students could have used to cut and paste things onto their posters in addition to drawing and writing.
Written plan – Was I organized? Did the written format work? Is there a better form?
I felt that I was organized. The written format did work. It helped the lesson flow smoothly. I did refer to the lesson plan as I was teaching.
Presentation – Were the students involved? Was I clear in my presentation? How was the pacing? How did I engage all of the students and allow as many as possible to answer questions?
The students were very involved. They were constantly engaged in discussions and creating their posters. I felt that I was clear because the students were answering my questions and participating the discussions. The pacing went really well. The first part took a little bit longer than I had planned for, but the rest of the lesson flowed smoothly. A few students could have used a few more minutes to finish their posters, but majority finished on time.
Assessment – Does my method of assessment measure what I want? How did the class do? What should I change for next time?
My method of assessment did measure what I wanted for the most part. I wanted to see if students could realize all the many things we can get from trees and also why they thought trees are important. All of the students drew and/or wrote about things we can get from trees, but not all wrote about why they think trees are important. I could have made it clear that I wanted them to write a couple of sentences about why they think trees are important and maybe have added a few lines on the poster for them to write on.