TWS 8

Reflection, Self-Evaluation, & Professional Development

Showcase Lesson Reflection of Whole Class:
I taught my second lesson on Thursday, October 9th. I taught my second lesson at Ninety Six
Primary School which consisted of a detailed math test review of Chapter two. This lesson
served as my showcase lesson plan. This particular lesson was a detailed math test review on
Chapter two which consisted of seven different lessons. Up to this point, the students were able
to answer questions throughout the seven different lessons with 100% accuracy. I found that this
lesson was appropriate to use during Immersion Week because the next day the students would
be taking a unit test on chapter two and a test review is just what they needed to practice the
skills that they have been taught. This was also an opportunity to review and catch students up
who were not as strong as others in the class on lessons one through seven. To start the lesson, I
had all of my students clear their desk and to sit with their pencils down and heads up so I knew
that they were ready to begin by being respectful. I then stood in front of the class and introduced
a few pre-assessment questions that would motivate students and grasp their attention on this
particular concept. I wrote different vocabulary words on the board and had a few students who
raised their hands quietly to define the word the best way they could. After the pre-assessment, I
then passed out a detailed math review sheet to have the students begin quietly. As students
completed the first few problems, due to time I went ahead and began going over each of them
individually with the review sheet pulled up on the promethean board. This worked very well
and gave the students a chance to complete the problem themselves before we went over the
correct answer as a whole class.
Overall, this lesson was very successful. 18 out of the 20 students that were present showed a
gain from the pre-assessment to the final post-assessment. 2 out of the 20 students that were
present showed a loss of information from the pre-assessment to the final post-assessment. 18 of
the 20 students remained the same level throughout the lesson as a whole. Only 1 student kept a
score of zero throughout the entire assessment until the very end where they were given the
opportunity to work individually instead of as a whole class. The goal very any review lesson is
to have no losses within the lesson. Because there were 2 students who did not retain the
information fully, they should have been asked to come back and work with me during center or
recess time, but due to math being at the end of the day this wasnt possible. After a final report
from my cooperating teacher, all students except for 1 scored very high on their unit test.
3 Individual Students:
I chose three individual students to analyze their progress throughout this lesson. The high
performing student I choose was Student #20, the average performing Student was #8, and the
low performing Student was #1. It is important to understand the performance and learning
process of these three particular students because they each represent a different level of

learning. Each one of these students learns a different way and at their own pace; although one is
considered a high learner, medium learner and low learner each student is successful in their own
way. It is important to determine these factors so as teachers we are able to help each student and
meet the needs that they possess.
My low performing student scored a 0 on the pre-assessment, a 0 on the during-assessment, and
7 out of 9 (70%) on the post-assessment. Although this student did not do terrible on the postassessment, she still could not answer questions to their best ability during the pre and duringassessments without the help from me or other students surrounding them. This student worked
much better individually and to themselves in complete silence rather than in a whole class group
effort. This student scored the lowest on the post-assessment but I strongly feel that this is simply
because she is not putting forth the best effort possible and isnt as prepared and qualified as the
other students. This student constantly needs special and one on one attention from my
cooperating teacher. This student isnt one to race to raise her hand to answer a question or go
out of her way to complete the assignments that are assigned. This student simply takes her time
and is constantly getting up to get a tissue, throw something away, or even retrieving hand
sanitizer. This student does a very good job when it comes to reading aloud but struggles very
much with class work that is assigned. When I have worked with this student individually
however, she is able to do the work assigned without any problems. This student was somewhat
disruptive during my lesson on Math review and caused a lot of students to remain off task.
My average (medium) performing student scored a 1 on the pre-assessment, a 2 on the duringassessment, and 9 out of 9 on the post-assessment. This student is exactly where they should be
with a little bit of leeway when careless errors appear. Although this student was clearly prepared
due to her scores, she still were not the highest in the class when it came to getting a perfect
score on the pre-assessment, during-assessment, and post-assessment. This student occasionally
asks for assistance during class but is very self-motivated and works very well with others. This
student sits at a line of desks with 4 other low performing students and is at their mercy when
one needs help. The student was able to answer if not one than all questions during the preassessment and during assessment.
The high performing student scored a 2 on the pre-assessment, 2 on the during-assessment, and 9
out of 9 on the post-assessment. This student was expected to succeed further than other students
on the pre, during, and post-assessment than the other students because he is very advanced in
every subject, not just in math. This student was able to help his fellow classmates at their table
along with encouraging other students to succeed further than what they were putting forth. This
student excels in all subject area and really stands out in the classroom. It is very obvious that he
is bored in some of the lessons that are taught and is always the first to shout out the correct
answer or raise his hand when the class is asked a question. During the pre-assessment, this
student was able to answer the definition correctly and even provide an example. The during
assessment allowed him to answer all problems by oneself and be the first one to complete it.
This student answered all the questions during the during assessment correctly and even

branched out to help the students that were also at his particular table. I could definitely tell that
he was well prepared for the test that followed this review the next day.
Reflections on Additional Lessons:
Lesson One: I taught my first lesson on Wednesday, October 1st. My first lesson at Ninety Six
Primary School consisted of a read aloud. I wanted my first lesson to my 2nd grade class to be
simple and somewhat small because of how nervous I was to stand in front of twenty two second
graders. When it came time to begin our lessons in 329, I asked my teacher what she thought my
first lesson should be on and how I should go about creating it. I explained to my cooperating
teacher how nervous I was to teach my first lesson in front of her class and her comfort and
encouragement made beginning this process much easier. My cooperating teacher helped me a
lot with planning my lesson and gave me the type of activities that worked best with my 2nd
grade class. My read aloud to my 2nd grade class consisted of a small lesson on the meaning
behind an Authors Purpose along with a read aloud. After I discussed the definition and the
purposes behind what exactly an authors purpose was, I then began reading The Falling Leaves
and The Scarecrow by Steve Metzger.
The students began the lesson by sitting on the colored square carpet and answering the preassessment questions that were given. I asked students what they thought the meaning of an
Authors Purpose is and how might an Authors Purpose will be used in a given text. They were
asked if they could tell me what they thought the Authors Purpose was based on the front cover
of the given text, The Falling Leaves and The Scarecrow by Steve Metzger. I motivated my
students by asking them, Have you ever seen a Scarecrow? How did it look? Are
Scarecrows supposed to be scary in this story or friendly? Students were asked throughout the
read aloud what they thought was going to happen next and if The Scarecrow was capable of
getting the job done. They were also asked to think about what Steve Metzgers purpose of
writing The Falling Leaves and The Scarecrow was. After the mini lesson and read aloud was
complete, students were asked to write 2-3 good second grade sentences on what they thought
the authors purpose was for this given story text.
If the next or future lesson, I would incorporate technology such as the promethean board or
smart board within my lesson. I would show a quick fun video clip on the meaning of an
Authors Purpose and the key to identifying what exactly it is in a given text.
Lesson Three: On Wednesday, October 15th I did my third lesson with Savannah Taylor and
Heather Calliham. We did a small Science lesson plan using our Project Learning Tree
workbooks for our Science Pedagogy class. The lesson we choose to do was called Schoolyard
Safari. On Wednesday, October 15th, Savannah Taylor, Heather Calliham, and I did a Project
Learning Tree lesson called Schoolyard Safari. To complete this lesson we asked our cooperating
teacher to assign us five students that would be mindful of our lesson and would stay on task to

the best of their ability. At the most convenient time for our teachers, we took our five students
outside and had them help us with an observation activity.
The lesson consisted of observing animals and insects outside along the playground. Our
students were asked to identify signs of animals living in the schoolyard by watching and
listening. Our students were asked in a chart form to ask the following questions: What animals
or signs of animals did you see? Where did you see the animals or signs of animals? What was
each animal doing? Where might each live? There were also an odd number of students so each
one paired up perfectly except for one student. I took the opportunity to stay close by that student
and help her when need be. They were all very excited to complete an activity outside on such a
beautiful day. They all asked a few questions along the way, but completed their activity in a
timely manner and were all able to draw a picture at the very end of the lesson of what they saw.
For the next or future lesson, I would probably ask for more time to complete the lesson. I
absolutely loved completing this lesson with my fellow 329 classmates because I was able to
focus and keep up with my time management. I would also explain the rules to be a little clearer
to keep the confusion of not being able to play on the playground during this activity and class
lesson.
Lesson Four: On Friday, October 31st, I taught my fourth lesson to my second grade class at
Ninety Six Primary School. My fourth lesson consisted of a Halloween book called, Wheres
My Mummy? written by Carolyn Crimi and Illustrated by John Manders, along with a brief
Halloween written response and activity afterwards. Prior to teaching my lesson, I created a
Mummy out of a paper plate and googly eyes to show my class. On the back of the paper plate, I
wrote what my favorite Halloween activity to do with my friends and family was. Before
reading Wheres My Mummy to my second graders, I asked them what holiday took place
today along with what their plans were for tonight. They were all overly excited to share with me
and the class what their plans were and they couldnt contain their excitement for their
Halloween that would take place at 2 oclock that day. At the last minute after talking to my
cooperating teacher, we altered my lesson for the after activity by making it a following
directions activity. The students followed directions perfectly, so my cooperating teaching was
able to report back to the principle on how wonderful they all followed directions.
The post-assessment allowed the students to express what their favorite Halloween activity was
to complete with their friends and family. After reading a few of them, their activities were very
diverse and they all had their own traditions. The only questions my students had were how to
spell trick or treating and activity. They also wanted to have bigger eyes to glue on their mummy
for after the story. I was only able to buy small ones because only two big ones came in each
pack.
For the next or future lesson, I would wish for more time with my students but the amount of
time I had to complete the lesson was very appropriate.

Lesson Five: On Friday, October 14th I taught my fifth and final lesson to my Second Graders at
Ninety Six Primary School. My last lesson that I taught was a lesson on bullying and reflected
off of the book Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell and Illustrated by David Catrow. I
definitely felt like this was one of my better lessons that I have taught this semester simply
because I felt most prepared when Dr. Gilbert observed me. I simply started out by asking my
students if they have ever read this story before, what bullying was to them, and the importance
of being kind to others especially our classmates. After I discussed this with my 2nd graders, I
then began reading the story asking particular questions throughout.
After I did my read aloud of Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon, I called my students back to their
desks quietly and asked them to write three to five sentences on why they thought they were
special. My class struggled for a few minutes because they didnt want to brag on themselves but
after I helped and encouraged them to continue, I believe they felt much better about the writing
response in their writing and response journals. After walking around the room and reading a few
of my students responses, I noticed a large variety of answers and could definitely tell the
difference in the high learners and low learners. I felt like my students were very knowledgeable
on the subject and had very advanced answers when asked.
For the next or future lesson, I would complete a more hands on activity verses just a short
writing response regarding why they are special. Many of the students werent comfortable
talking so highly about themselves, but after encouraging them they felt much better. I would
change the writing response to an exciting class activity.
Reflection on Professional Development:
Throughout teaching my five lessons this semester and completing my teacher work sample to
the best of my ability, I have set two professional development goals for myself that I plan to
work on, if not achieve, during the rest of my clinical time at Lander University. My first goal I
have set for myself is to manage my time when planning my lessons. I have realized the
importance of a well-planned lesson plan over this past semester and have found myself editing
and re-doing things throughout them last minute. I have kicked myself after a lesson because I
have come up with ways that I could have done things differently and I wish I would have had
the time to complete these changes before my lesson was taught. A well-planned lesson plan
takes more than just a few days to complete and I have realized this through sending lessons to
Dr. Gilbert 48 hours prior and Ms. Corley 24 hours prior. My goal for next semester is to think
through each lesson I choose to teach thoroughly and ask for help, guidance, and advice when
need be. My second goal would be to manage my time a little bit better during each of my
lessons. During my first and second lesson, I never had the chance to look at the clock due to my
nerves. I was never given a time limit but Ms. Corley was very understanding when it came to
completing what I needed to complete and the students never complained. After my first and
second lesson, I started wearing my watch and used a timer when it was convenient for my
lessons. When time started to run out, my cooperating teacher would give me a 5 minute or 2

minute warning for when it was appropriate to wrap things up. By my fifth lesson, I was able to
manage my time much better but there is always room for improvement. I will be sure to take the
time and effort to improve on these two professional goals that I have for myself throughout my
next clinical and Student Teaching because I want to be the best teacher that I can possibly be.