CI 406 JOURNAL PROMPT #8 Reflecting on Teaching & Growing and Developing Professionally

Name: Morgan Schertz Date: November 30, 2013

Cooperating Teacher: Lindsey Little School Site: Jefferson Middle School Grade Level: 7th Grade Danielson Framework Component: Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities4a- Reflecting on Teaching 4e- Growing and Developing Professionally

For this journal you are to take a deeper look at what it takes to be a professional educator. The truly professional teacher looks back at his/her instruction through self-reflection. What was good/bad about that lesson, day, month, unit instruction, semester, and/or year? So, not only do good teachers look back, they also look forward through goal setting. What type of goals do I want to set for myself, my practice, and/or classroom? Why am I setting these goals? How am I going to know if I reach my goals?

A good teacher learns lessons each time they teach by evaluating what they do and adjusting what they do next time. The ability to reflect on what, why, and how we do things and to adapt and develop our practice within lifelong learning is one quality that all successful teachers must possess. Reflection is used to consider what the teacher is doing in the classroom, why they are doing it, and if their instruction is effective for student learning. This reprocessing of knowledge, understanding, and emotions can help teachers determine if a lesson went well, if the students understood the material and what the students behaviors were like and why. This process can be accomplished through observations, recording lessons, keeping a journal, or asking for student feedback. Reflective teachers use a process of self-observation and self-evaluation to make improvements to their instruction. Without this continuous analysis and evaluation of classroom practice, teachers will be unable to adapt to their students learning needs. For this reason, self-

reflection should be used constantly. In the future, I plan to practice reflective teaching through the use of formative assessments. As a new teacher, it is important for me to evaluate my instruction and lessons for students throughout the entire year. I plan to consider what I am doing, why I am doing it, how effective it is, if the students are responding, and how I can do it better. By answering these questions, I will be able to consider new ways of instructing my students and evaluate my teaching techniques. Checking for student understanding of important concepts helps teachers to gauge what students are getting and what they need to review. It is important for a teacher to continuously and immediately reflect on student understanding because it demonstrates the success or failure of the curriculum being presented. Teachers may think that their instruction is going very well, but it means nothing if the students do not understand the important concepts of a lesson. Formative assessment can be used as a reflective tool to guide planning and instruction. Student feedback is often the greatest indicator of student understanding and should be used to help teachers reflect on their instruction. Teachers can use exit slips, individual white boards, thumbs up/down, observations, questions, and discussions to quickly assess student understanding during a lesson. Student responses to these activities should be used to determine any challenges or changes that need to be addressed by the teacher. Learning how to become a reflective teacher is an ongoing process that will only improve with experience, practice, and by continuing my education as a teacher. My first goal to improve my reflective teaching is to examine, observe, and analyze how students behave during my lessons and why. I chose this goal because I have noticed that I am sometimes more focused on what I am supposed to be doing than on what my students are doing during a lesson. I would like to evaluate why students behave in different ways and consider how I can improve instruction to

keep students engaged. I will be held accountable for this goal by keeping a chart for each lesson plan that reflects on what the students behaviors were like during the lesson (engaged, passive, or disruptive) and notes about the parts of the lesson that these behaviors showed most prevalent. My second goal to improve my reflective teaching is to examine the physical and socialemotional environment of my classroom. I chose this goal because the classroom environment can dramatically affect student learning if students do not feel safe, comfortable, or welcomed in the room. I want to continuously reflect on this component of my instruction because I feel that it is one of the most important aspects of any learning environment. In order to hold myself accountable to this goal, I will alter my classroom in at least one way at the beginning of every month. These changes should positively influence peer relationships, engage students with change, and provide a creative learning space for all students. Lastly, my third goal to improve my reflective teaching is to join a professional organization, such as ASCD, in order to keep myself informed on reflective teaching strategies and methods for improving instruction. I chose this goal because I think that continuing my education as a professional educator is the best service that I can do for myself and for my students. I will hold myself accountable to this goal by subscribing to ASCD before I graduate from college and will update my subscription every year. By joining and participating in a professional organization, I will be more informed about current trends, as well as ways to reflect upon and improve my instruction.