Lesson Self- Assessment #3

Name: Haley Williams

Lesson topic: Science Experiment- Magnets
Date: 10-7-15
School/grade level/ number of students: Rawson Elementary/2nd/25
Name of Cooperating Teacher: Laurie Nicholson
Planning and preparation: Describe how your plan provided opportunities for active
engagement. How did you provide for the needs of diverse learners? Did you adjust your plan in
any way? Describe how and why if you did.

This lesson had many opportunities for active engagement. In the intro of the lesson the
students were given time to recall their previous knowledge about magnets including
everything that they had been learning about magnets in the science lessons leading up to
this one. This recall of info was done through a turn and talk, so the students each had an
opportunity to voice their knowledge as well as be reminded of what else was learned
about magnets from their partner. Doing this helped to facilitate our class discussion
about the things the students already knew about magnets that would help them in the
experiment that day. The experiment itself was a huge mode of active engagement in this
lesson. The students were able to work with a whole array of manipulatives in order to
collect and display their experiment data on the provided worksheet. This experiment was
completed at each table. The students were expected to share the materials and work
together, (like real scientists would) in order to successfully complete the experiment
and gather the data that they needed. Finally, in our conclusion we wrapped up the lesson
with a large group discussion that allowed students to explain what happened during their
experiments, why that happened, and what new information we learned about magnets as
a result of that experiment (which was written on a KWL chart).

I tried to have various ways in my lesson to provide for diverse learners. For this lesson
there was another worksheet that was attached to the initial data collection sheet. On the
second worksheet it had a question that asked the students why the magnet may have
attracted through some items and not others. I know that there are a group of students in
this room who are not strong writers. For this reason, I encouraged students to answer
this question in a way that they felt comfortable. For example, I told them that they could
simply take a moment to think about the answer, write down one word or two, or answer
the question in a full sentence. The goal of this lesson was not writing full and complete
sentences, so I did not want to take away from the students work with the experiment if
they were struggling to write out an answer. I served as additional assistance for students
who needed clarification on the steps/procedures for the experiment. I also worked to
prompt students to think about their work as they were collecting the data. I encouraged
the students to work together so that the experiment became less intense for students who
could not comprehend the procedure as quickly or as easily.

There were a couple of small ways in which I adjusted this lesson plan. After I introduced
the experiment to the students I planned to just tell them that they would find all of the
materials necessary that were on their worksheet in a bag on their table. Instead of simply

just saying that, I actually went down the list of items on the worksheet and named each
one individually. I did this because when I got to the classroom that day I had the chance
to see the materials the students were going to use and found out that not all of the
materials looked like the picture that was presented on the worksheet. For example, one
material on the worksheet was a tin can. Many of the material bags had a tin lid of a can,
but not the can itself. I just wanted to make sure that the students would be better aware
of what was in their materials bag to prevent confusion when the experiment began. For
this lesson I also refocused some of the discussion on some key ideas that I wanted the
students to get from the experiment. I noted in my lesson that I was focusing largely on
students recognizing that magnets have an invisible force. This was a part of our
discussion, but I also wanted to reiterate that we learned about what items magnets attract
through as well as some key vocabulary like attract and repel. I made sure to include
those points in the lesson because my cooperating teacher gave me the magnet
assessment that the students would be taking soon and it specifically questioned those
things. I made the change in an effort to better prepare the students for what was to come
in their future. One more thing that I changed about this lesson was the way that I
informally assessed the student discussion. I planned to use a specific anecdotal note
taking chart, however, I found that the discussion went at a much quicker pace than
expected, so I found it more beneficial to take quick notes on a blank piece of paper, then
take the time to fill in the spots on the chart.
Classroom environment: Evaluate the ways in which you encouraged student participation.
How did you elicit student responses? How did you engage them in responding to you and each
other? Evaluate your plan for individual, small group and/or whole class work. How effective
were these different organizational techniques for keeping students involved in your lesson?

The introduction of the lesson provided a comfortable environment for the students to
participate in, simply because they were recalling information about magnets to one
another. The students respond really well to one another when they have the opportunity
to have simple one-on-one conversations. This strategy is also what allows me to elicit
responses from the students. Once they have those peer conversations they are prepared
and confident to share what information they now have/remember with the entire group. I
also made sure that the students were aware that it was important for us to have a
discussion about what they knew about magnets before the experiment could start. This
made them even more eager to participate, mostly because they were excited to be able to
start the experiment. Once the experiment was over the students had all of this great data
and many experiences from their experiments that they wanted to share. This motivated
the students to participate in the closing discussion to draw conclusions on and think
about what happened in the experiment. I allowed students to tell me what data they
collected, which then gave me the opportunity to go a little more in-depth and ask them
why certain things happened in the experiment and why some things did not happen. I
also encouraged students to compare their results to other students results. These
responses also came easily and quickly as students wanted to share the differences they
were noticing with each others data.

My lesson consisted mainly of small group and whole class work. The discussions that
we had as a whole group were very effective in that they were lively and full of relevant
information that pertained to our overall topic of magnets. In the closing of the lesson,
which was a whole group discussion, the students were able to successfully build off of
each others responses and thoughts. This is what allowed me to simply facilitate the
discussion and call on students with hands raised because ultimately they were having a
discussion amongst one another. I was left interjecting the higher order thinking questions
and sometimes directing the conversation to those specific learning targets that would
allow us to fill in more of the Learned part of our KWL chart. The students small
group work consisted of them working on the experiment with one another, which also
ultimately was an effective mode of organizing the experiment. Because this lesson did
involve doing an experiment, which is an extremely exciting experience for young
students, there were times when groups were arguing over whose turn it was to use the
magnet. These arguments were quickly dissolved by myself as well as the other adults in
the room. It was just a matter of reiterating the idea that we do have limited supplies, but
we all need to work and learn together, as scientists, to get the data that we need to
learn more about magnets.

Instruction: Evaluate your choices of instructional strategies. Did they have the effect you
intended? Were the needs of all learners met? What changes would you make if you repeated this
lesson?

For this lesson, I once again chose to have the whole group instruction on the carpet in
front of the board in the classroom. Bringing the students in to a closer space not only
allows for those turn and talk conversations, but it also allows me to monitor student
behaviors more easily, and creates more focus for the students overall. I chose to have
whole class discussions in both the opening and the closure of my lesson. I find that this
group of students participates in whole group discussions consistently and they enjoy
having their knowledge reaffirmed by both myself and their peers. The whole group
discussions also allowed all of the students to participate in learning and understanding
some of the main ideas of this lesson. It was important that we recalled together what
information they knew about magnets and then came back together once again at the end
to share what was learned about magnets and put in on the KWL chart. Each student has
access to that information which is important for their future assessment about magnets.
Not only this, the large group discussion helped students to grasp the idea that real
scientists share the results of their experiments with the scientists who are also doing that
experiment. It was essential for them to see the differences in each others data and to
think about and discuss why that was. The choice to have the students work together on
the experiment was also essential to the lesson, not only because we were limited on
supplies, but because doing this allowed the students to work through the steps of the
experiment together which included guessing what would happen and why, doing the test
and seeing what happened, and then thinking about why that happened. They were having
little discussions right at their own tables which was also preparing them for the large
group discussion.

I do believe the needs of all of the learners were met. During this lesson and experiment
a classroom aide was present and the students requiring special education intervention
were able to work one-on-one with her, which allowed their needs to be met, while I took
the time to work with other struggling students. As I stated earlier, the students working
together in groups was a great way to end confusion as well as facilitate discussions
among students who understood what to do and other students who may not have been
sure. I also think it was an appropriate choice to allow the students to answer the written
question on the back with an answer that was comfortable for them (one word, a full
sentence) because then they did not have to feel pressured to write a long and precisely
written response, which may have taken away from other learning objectives of the
lesson.

The only change that I would make if I repeated this lesson would be to have the magnet
assessment in my possession before giving the lesson. As I stated above, the cooperating
teacher was able to give me a copy of the magnet assessment that the students would be
receiving in the future on the day of my lesson, so I could gear some of the class
discussion towards responses on the assessment. It would have helped to see that
assessment prior to the planning, however, it worked out fine to incorporate what was
necessary, in the lesson that day.

Assessment: What assessment processes did you plan and how did they work? What did you
learn from listening to student responses, examining their work or listening to their interactions?
How well did your assessment procedures inform you about student attainment of your lessons
objectives?

For this lesson I planned to informally assess our whole group discussions with a
discussion checklist that listed specific ideas that we would be talking about in our
discussions. These included, recalling information of magnets, discussing experiment
results, and understanding why what happened in the experiment, happened, as well as
what was learned today as a result of the experiment. First, I found out immediately when
our introduction discussion began that it was going to be hard to write down what the
students were saying in this chart. For this reason, I found it much easier to simply write
out some of the discussion ideas and points the students were making on a blank piece of
paper. I was able to write down the names of some of the students who participated in
those discussions as well as what they contributed to the group discussion. This helped
me to see what students were understanding and gave me an opportunity to talk to, listen
in on, or call on other students to assess their understanding. It also provided a way to
gauge overall class understanding. Listening in on these student responses in the
discussion proved to be a very effective way to inform me of the students attainment of
the lesson objectives. From listening to those responses I learned that the students had a
lot of previous knowledge on magnets, and could in fact talk on some of the important
learning ideas that I planned to talk about in preparation for their future assessment. I
found out that the students had a good idea of what some of the vocabulary associated
with magnets is, like attract and repel. I also had a group consensus of magnetic poles and
which ones attract to each other and which ones repel (N & S, N &N, S&S). This is
where I used a quick thumbs up to see that the students knew what magnetic poles were

and their properties. In the concluding discussion I also learned that students gathered a
lot of information from the experiment, which meant that they were meeting the objective
of drawing conclusions on why a magnet attracts a paper clip through some items and not
others. The students talked about the thickness of an item, or if the magnets force was
interrupted by another metal, the size of a magnet, etc., as to why it attracted the paper
clip through some things and not others. They also talked about magnets being an
invisible force because throughout the experiment they could feel the attraction, but not
see it. The students discussion was productive in that it showcased their meeting of the
lesson objectives as well as allowed us to fill in more of their KWL chart to help prepare
them for their more formal assessment on magnets. Also, even though the data collection
sheet for this experiment was an instructional task that served as a place to record
information, it allowed me to see that the students were meeting the objective in that they
were collecting and displaying data on if a magnet attracts a paper clip through certain
items. Not only did this worksheet help to meet this objective, but it also showed the
students how important it is that as a scientist, they write down what happens in their
experiment so they can look at that information again later when they need it.
Professional responsibilities: What did you learn from your cooperating teachers feedback on
this lesson? How will you apply it to future lessons?

My cooperating teacher commented on my use of vocabulary throughout the lesson,

which is something that I try to focus on in all of my lessons. I want the students to be
able to walk away from the lesson using the relevant vocabulary in a confident and
accurate manner. My teacher also noted how wandering around the room and reminding
the students of the experiment procedures was effective because it helped students who
were off task to refocus. I want to make sure that when teaching I always take time to
restate directions because I know that students can often forget a lot in transition time or
in overall excitement to begin an activity. Laurie wrote that it is important that when I am
at one table discussing with a group that I am always looking at the entire class, which is
a hard task. I want to remember in future lessons that even though I may be having
individual or group conversations at one table that I need to continually look around to
observe and monitor other students behavior in an effort to keep the students on task and
focused. My CT commented on the importance of rephrasing some of my questions
during the discussion time so that I could get an answer that probed and required a higher
level of thinking. I think that this is something important to remember for future lessons.
Instead of just giving up on a question, I will continue to find ways to rephrase it so that
students can answer it in a different way or give an answer that requires more critical
thinking. Finally, she noted the importance of giving a quick review of the lesson at the
last minute. It is important that at the closure of any lesson the students understand where
they have been, what they did, and what is coming in the future for them.

Reflection: What did you learn about student learning and assessing from this lesson? How will
it affect your planning for future teaching?

From this lesson I learned that not all modes of informal assessment that are planned may
work for a given situation, but that it is important not to give up on trying to assess in that
situation. For this lesson I had planned to use a discussion checklist, but I found it just as
effective to take quick notes on student discussion. I ultimately got the information I was
looking for, but it happened to be in a different and more suitable way for what was going
on in the lesson at that point. From this lesson I also learned that students learn well from
engaging and thoughtful discussions among one another. In the discussions that were
done throughout this lesson the students continually built on one anothers responses and
found ways to compare and contrast their experiment results with one another. It was a
great way for the students to learn from one another, rather than having to listen and learn
from me. It was interesting to see how the students successfully used the vocabulary of
the lesson, especially after one of their peers used it. I know that student conversation and
discussions will remain a part of my future lessons. These discussions not only helped
with student learning, but I also gained crucial information that allowed me to take those
quick informal discussion notes on student understanding. I know that it is not always
possible, but having some kind of piece of paper to write notes on during a student
discussion, (when appropriate) can be helpful. I can use those notes as talking points for
future lessons, as review points for what was discussed during a lesson, and to gauge
student understanding. I want to work to have these discussion notes be a part of future
lessons.