Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

Elementary Education Program

Formal Observation Reflection

Directions: Complete the reflection questions and submit your response to your observer prior to having a post-
conference to discuss the observation. If a conference is held immediately after the observation you will submit
your responses to the observer the following day via email.

Name: Bridgette Bryson Date: April 5, 2017

1. To what extent were learning outcomes appropriate and achievable to your students?
The learning outcomes were appropriate for the lesson and students were able to
define different types of bullying, steps to stop bullying, and how kindness can be a
powerful tool to promote a healthier classroom environment. The high expectations
were achievable by all students, and is evident in the student letters that we had the
students complete as a type of formative assessment.
2. How effective were your instructional strategies? What changes would you make in
your instructional approaches if you taught this lesson again? Why?
Beginning the lesson with a certain number of students standing up out of the whole
class to represent the statistic of 70.4% of students who have witnessed bullying was
a strong start to the lesson, and really put into perspective for the students the number
of young adults who experience bullying by fifth grade. The crumbled paper activity
was engaging and reflected the feelings of being bullied and bullying. We had the
students give their papers to any one in the class, but if I were to do this lesson again I
would take up the papers and pass them out myself to help with classroom
management. The compliment party was a great way to show the power of kindness.
The students really liked this activity and one even said, It feels good to write
something nice. The whole group discussions after each activity could have been
stronger had I asked more questions or gave time for student-to-student discourse. If I
were to teach this again I would prepare more questions that would make the students
think critically about the topic and incorporate turn-and-talks.
3. Evaluate the effectiveness of your oral and written communication with students.
(Consider how well you communicated learning objectives, clarity of directions, use of standard English, quality of
questions and effectiveness of discussion techniques.)
The learning objectives werent specifically stated, but the students were told at the
beginning of the lesson that we were talking about a sensitive subject, bullying, and
that we needed to keep that in mind throughout the lesson. The directions for each
activity were explained using kid friendly language, and we also modeled what we
were going to be doing. During the whole group discussion I would have liked if more
students shared out, but I think the reason they were hesitant is because the questions
were very straight forward. For example, one question I asked was, How can bullying
affect someone?; but instead I should have said, turn and talk with someone at your
table about at time when youve been hurt by someone and how it made you feel, then
we will discuss it as a class.
4. Evaluate the level of student engagement in your lesson . (Consider how you presented the
content/skills, the activities and assignments for students, grouping of students, and structure and pacing of the
lesson.)
The students were engaged throughout the whole lesson. We had two activities and
two whole group discussions, one of each being done in a circle on the carpet. The
 students enjoyed both activities and were able to understand the message of each, i.e.
bullying can hurt both people involved and needs to be stopped, and the power of
kindness. The students worked at their desks for the crumbled paper activity and
discussion; and the compliment party, as I said before, was done in a circle on the
carpet, which is a great way to build the classroom community. The lesson went over
the estimated time so we didnt get to the assessment, so for morning work the next
day we had students write a letter to a friend informing them about bullying.
5. How effectively did you use instructional materials, resources, and/or technology?
For the lesson we wanted to be sure we hit every talking point, so we printed copies of
our lessons to reference as we taught. Classroom resources such as markers,
crayons, pencil and paper were used for each activity. A book would have been a good
way to introduce the topic and if I were to teach this lesson again I would find a good
thought provoking narrative about bullying.
6. To what extent were your assessment strategies effective? What changes would you
make in your assessment approach if you taught this lesson again? Why?
For our assessment, we had the students write a letter to a friend informing them of
bullying. The writing prompt was: Write a letter to a friend informing them about
bullying and the possible ways to stop it. Include a P.S. (post script) about the power of
kindness. (These are usually short). This was an effective strategy because we left it
open-ended and the students were able to respond in any way. While analyzing
student work, it was apparent that the lesson was effective because the majority of the
class discussed bullying, steps to stop it, and included a post script about kindness. If I
were to teach this lesson again, I would connect it to more literacy standards, and
have the students work in a group to give a quick 2 minute promotion about being
kind. Doing this would promote a stronger classroom environment and be a good way
to promote collaboration amongst peers.
7. To what extent was your feedback to students accurate, substantive, constructive,
specific, and/or timely?
Throughout the lesson I asked questions at the appropriate times, i.e. to open up
discussion, to redirect students, or to reword another question. When a student shared
out I would respond to them to let them know that I was listening to what they were
saying and to show that I valued their ideas. Feedback was timely when I would ask
clarifying questions when a student wasnt clear.
8. To what extent did the classroom management and environment contribute to student
learning? (Consider your classroom procedures, your use of physical space, and the students conduct.)
When we asked questions during the lesson, students who wanted to share had to
raise a silent hand; this minimized the number of shout-outs, though not completely,
and gave students time to think about the question because we gave an appropriate
amount of wait time. Doing the compliment party in a circle on the floor helped with
classroom management because we were all facing each other and in closer proximity,
lessening the urge to shout out or act up.
9. Did you make modifications to your lesson plan during the lesson? If so, what were
they and what motivated these changes?
Because of time, we ended the lesson after our kindness discussion. The students
were originally supposed to write their letters at the end of the lesson but there simply
wasnt enough time because the compliment party activity took longer than expected.
Students completed their letters during morning work the next day.
10. Was your Teaching Behavior Focus goal met?
Yes, but always room for improvement.