Post Observation #3 Reflection

1. Did the lesson unfold as you (or your CT) had planned? If not, what changed and why? If
yes, what was the #1 aspect of the lesson that went well? Cite specifics from your
TeachScape video to affirm your response.
The lesson on February 25
th
did not go like I had planned for it to go. We had been
working on making combinations of numbers that add up to ten. The Investigations
lesson had students play a game called Making Tens. Students had to lay out rows of
cards and take turns picking up two cards that they could add together to make ten. I
thought this game would be fairly easy for students because we had been working on
making combinations of ten and my class was getting really good at that. My students
understood the concept of the game and were able to make combinations of ten. Even
though they did a good job with the game, they were very loud while they were playing
the game. You can see this throughout the entire lesson on my TeachScape video.
The lesson on March 5
th
went more like I had planned. In this lesson students had
already played the games that they were playing so they did not struggle with the games.
They were also quieter during this lesson. I told students in this lesson not to let their
voice get above a level 2. I also gave the consequence of losing a dojo point. I believe
that this helped them stay calm as well because they did not want to lose a dojo point.

2. Did the students learn what you had established as the essential understanding(s) of the
lesson? How do you know? Refer to any data or students' work on the video that helped you
to determine the students' progress.
I believe that students did learn what I had established as the essential understanding of
the lesson. For both lessons, students were supposed to be able to make combinations of
ten. I moved around the classroom during both lessons to observe how students were
able to make combinations of ten. In both lessons I saw that students were correctly
making combinations of ten. During the lesson on February 25
th
, students wrote down
number sentences that showed their combinations. I took these up and checked them.
All of my students were also able to write correct number sentences.

3. Briefly describe (include evidence from your TeachScape video) the extent of your students
engagement during the lesson. If you were not satisfied with the level of student engagement,
what could you have done differently to improve the engagement of the students? Refer to
any classroom management changes/strategies that could have improved the engagement of
the students.
February 25
th
Lesson I do not feel like most of my students were engaged during this
lesson. Many of my students were playing the game like they were supposed to but many
of them were doing other things with the cards. Students were also very loud while I was
teaching. I should have taken dojo points away from students that were talking way
before I did. This would have helped with the amount of talking that was going on. At
29:09 in my video I used the phrase 3, 2, 1. Talking is done. Eyes on me." to get
students attention. I had to say it twice to get them to be quiet. Even after the second time
I still had a few students moving around. I should have waited until everyone was still
and quiet before I moved on.
March 5
th
Lesson I felt like this lesson went much better. Students played the games
and were much quieter during this lesson. At the beginning of the game portion of the
lesson I told students that they would lose a dojo point if their voice went above a level 2.
This seemed to help some with the amount of talking that occurred. I still used 3, 2, 1.
Talking is done. Eyes on me." to get students attention during the lesson. Students still
talked after I said the phrase. I am going to start taking away dojo points from students
that continue to talk after this phrase. This should help students understand that they
have to get quiet when I say this.

4. At what point during your lesson did you realize the students were/were not understanding
your instruction? What did you do to compensate? Cite specifics from your TeachScape
lesson.
February 25
th
Lesson During this lesson I saw that some of my students did not
understand what they were supposed to be doing with the game. This was the group that
was off camera. I worked with this group many times during the lesson, trying to help
them understand what they were doing. I played one round of the game with these
students to help them understand the game. After I did this they understood what to do. I
cannot cite specific examples of this in the video because I could not see at which points I
was working with those specific students.
March 5
th
Lesson During this lesson I saw that students did understand the instruction
when they were able to quickly complete the games they were playing. Some students
completed the games more quickly than others. For the groups that completed the games
quickly, I gave them a challenge. I had them try to make groups of twenty instead of
ten. This helped keep these students more engaged.

5. If you could teach this lesson again to the same group of students, what changes would you
make and why? Include specifics from your TeachScape video with your answer.
February 25
th
Lesson I felt like the lesson went well content wise but if I could teach
this lesson again to the same group of students I would change when I began taking away
dojo points. I did this at 46:52 in my video. I should have started taking away points as
soon as I saw that students were not paying attention. This would have helped the lesson
go much better.
March 5
th
Lesson If I could teach this lesson again to the same group of students I
would change the way I handled transitions between activities. It took me a good amount
of time to hand out and pick up the materials from the classroom routine activity. This
gave students time to lose focus. If I would have had the materials in a bucket or
something I could have just given each table one bucket. This would have cut out a lot of
time where students werent doing anything. I would also bring up all of the students
doing one activity up to the front at the same time to review directions instead of doing it
with each group individually. This also would have cut out time for students to act up.

6. Based upon your reflections and your post-conference with your university
supervisor/cooperating teacher, what have you learned about your teaching strengths and
weaknesses? What are some steps that you could take before your next observation that could
strengthen your teaching skills? List specific North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards
in your answer.
I believe that one of my teaching strengths is knowing about the developmental stages
that most of my students are in. This goes with standard 4A. Through STAR Math and
mClass data I have been able to learn more about the academic level of my students.
This helps me a lot when planning my lessons. I have also tried to get to know my
students on a personal level. This helps me know more about where they are in their
social development. This helps me when planning groups for activities. I think knowing
some about the academic and social development of my students helps me when I am
teaching them in the classroom.
I believe that my teaching weakness is still behavior management. This goes with
NCPTS 1A. During the observation on February 25
th
, the behavior of my students was
out of control. They would not listen while I was teaching and got very loud while
playing the game. I knew that something had to change. The next day I began to take
away dojo points after one warning. I believe that this has helped some. During the
observation on March 5
th
I believe that I had less behavior problems than I did during the
first lesson. I still had students talking but they lost dojo points. This has helped my
students understand that they have to stop talking when I am talking. The behavior of my
students is still not where I want it to be but it has gotten much better than it was over the
last few weeks.