Lesson Reflection

I taught my first lesson at Fossil Ridge High School on October 14th, 2014. It
was first period Economics and the topic was Keynesian vs. Hayek economic
theories. In this reflection I will address such aspects as the extent to which my
objectives were addressed, the extent to which the lesson achieved the mission of
the Agenda for Education in a Democracy, as well as consideration for what changes
I would make based on hindsight and feedback from my professor, teacher, as well
as the students.
As I stood in front of the classroom, something I have done many times
before as a substitute teacher and segment instructor, I felt much more nervous
than I have ever felt in a classroom; something about teaching my own lesson in its
entirety made the moment seem heavier, more daunting. Although the nerves were
there, I was able to maintain my composure and present myself in a confidant
manner, as was observed by my professor, Karen and my match-up teacher,
Andrew. Once I began to teach the nerves subsided and I began to enjoy being in the
position of a teacher.
I flowed through my lesson with relative ease, having the lesson plan as a
guide was extremely beneficial. While my opening anticipatory set seemed
engaging for the students both my professor and my match-up teacher felt that it
had no relevance to the subject of the day. I must agree that the debate between
chocolate and vanilla was off topic, but the idea was to get the students thinking
about debate and opposing points of view. The activity could have been delivered in
a more relevant manner, or better explained to raise relevance.

Other than this I received positive feedback about the lesson. The students
were moving about the classroom, engaged, and collaborating together to create
their arguments. As was pointed out by my professor my transitions were sloppy or
non-existent which affected the flow of the lesson. If I were to teach this lesson
again, I would definitely alter the anticipatory set to be more relevant, focus on my
transitions, as well as use a shorter video clip, as some students noted it was a bit
long and they lost interest. I would also preface the video with some questions or
prompts for the students to engage in during the clip, some rationale for watching
the video; without these prompts it was difficult for students to understand the
point or significance of the video.
I believe the lesson was able to achieve the objective for the day. The
students did compare and evaluate opposing points of view. That said, I could have
done a better job of asking higher order questions to really drive home the objective
of the lesson. Students were engaged in the lesson and were able to prove their
grasp of concept in their ticket out the door. I could have been better planned for
my assessment and my ticket out the door questions.
In considering the agenda for democracy I believe students were indeed part
of the mission as they were encultured in a democratic society through
collaboration for a common purpose. In several instances students were asked to
work collaboratively in a group to formulate a piece of persuasion based on a given
topic. While the group activity was engaging the majority of the students, some may
have been left out. As my professor pointed out, smaller group sizes or individual

accountability within the groups could have promoted a better learning

environment for all.
In considering the lesson as a whole, I believe it went well with much room
for improvement. While I believe the objectives and agenda were achieved they
could have been more blatant and directly addressed. The feedback from the
students was great, they seemed to have enjoyed the lesson and offered some useful
criticism. As was noted by my professor, I did many things well, but still have things
to work on; among these things were transitions, group management, time
management, and addressing higher order questions. My match-up teacher liked
my presence and confidence and appreciated that I knew each student by name. He
raised some concern with my ability in assessment and did not like my anticipatory
set at all. I was also advised to present more wait time for student processing and
again, really consider assessment, how I will know that the students have grasped
important concepts? More checking for understanding would be beneficial.
After teaching the lesson I was immediately stricken with the spirit of the
staircase, all the things I should have done and said came rushing to my head. I
believe that if another opportunity arose to teach this lesson I would be able to fine
tune it and make it the lesson it was intended to be. Even though the lesson was
well received I know that I am capable of better and the students deserve such. This
was a learning experience that I am grateful to have had. It is important that I am
learning each time I am in front of a class, not only now, but throughout my career. I
strive to be excellent and this lesson helps me to realize that I must keep striving.