INSTRUCTION AND DELIVERY REFLECTION
Directions:
Complete four entries in a reflective log focusing on your instruction and delivery. You will use a variety of strategies throughout the week. Focus on two highly effective strategies and two less effective strategies
For each highly effective strategy:
Effective Log 1: 3/12 Owl Pellet Dissection: The strategy that I chose for this lesson was “chunking” of information and directions. The focal point of the lesson was a lab dissection of owl pellets. Students were assigned to groups of four (each with specific roles), and each group was responsible for the dissection of an owl pellet. The reasons I chose this strategy were that: this was the first time I was leading the class in an actual lab and I wanted to make sure students knew what to do, and when to do it. I wanted to find a balance between holding students’ hands and independent inquiry (which they have neither the experience nor the maturity to do). I first did a demonstration of how to do the dissection. Then I had the students tell me what the instructions were, in their own words, in the correct order. I then showed them where to stop on their worksheets, so that they focused on the dissection and data collection before moving onto analysis. Then I released them to dissect the pellets and record data. Once all students had finished, I outlined what was expected of their groups for the discussion questions, and released them to complete them together. The result was quality student work with thought and time clearly put into the data collection and analysis. Also, during the lab, I circulated to pose further inquiry questions and make sure students were on task, but there weren’t any “helpless hand-raisers” needing me to answer questions about what to do or when to do it. I have found that, the less I talk, the happier the students are; so with chunking the lesson like this, and letting students interact, they responded well, did good work, and achieved their objectives for the day.
Effective Log 2: 3/19-20 The Lion King: The strategy that I followed for these days was informal summative assessment. While not dealing directly with instruction, the delivery of this type of summative assessment was very effective. Over the course of these two days, the students watched the film The Lion King. During this film, students were tasked with thinking critically about scenes and dialogue from the film in which a wide variety of ecological concepts were touched on. The concepts and vocabulary all came from lessons learned in the previous weeks, and were connected and able to be visualized through this delivery. Students who had a firm grasp on the content and knowledge of vocabulary did well on the assessment, and those who didn’t were forced to leave answers blank or only partially answered. To ensure no cheating took place, I circulated the classroom, and collected the assessments at the end of the first day and redistributed them at the start of the second.
Ineffective Log 1: 3/11 Sheep Brain Dissection: On this day, two representatives from the University of Florida came to my class to each about brain anatomy and physiology through a guided sheep brain dissection. I did not need to do (nor could I do) anything in preparation for the class, and thus approached the lesson with a “hands-off” strategy, letting the two ladies take charge almost immediately when the class began. It worked well-enough for my smaller, better-behaved first class, but resulted in a bit of embarrassment during the larger, rowdier second. At the beginning of each class I reminded the students the necessity of acting responsibly and maturely. However, the two ladies (one of which was minimally involved) could not contain the random shouts of answers, misuse of tools, lack of paying attention, and movement around the classroom. I tried to maintain my hands-off approach, but could not for very long. I ended up having to circulate, correct misbehaviors, redirect attention, and use my proximity to keep the class on task, and the dissection smooth. Even still, the rest of the class was less focused on learning and discovery than it should have been. Coming up next week is a talk from a health expert about sexual health. I plan on prefacing expected behaviors and results for the class at the end of the previous day, and reiterating those expectations before class begins the next day. I will also spend more time initially getting the class under control, and introducing the speaker, so that the students are in a more appropriate mind-set for mature learning about a sensitive content area.
Ineffective Log 2: 2/26 Traveling Nitrogen: During this activity, students circulated throughout the classroom, stamping paper “passports” as they moved through different reservoirs of the nitrogen cycle. I had very high hopes for this activity. However, during this activity, students traveled at very different paces, so some students were finished with their passport 10 minutes before the last students were. Also, the students put a stamp or sticker on their passport whenever they left a reservoir, and the focus shifted almost immediately to collecting the “best” or “coolest” stickers. With movement throughout the classroom being so hectic, I could not quell the chaos very well, and learning during this time was minimal, despite the high potential of the activity. Next time I try a similar activity I will chunk the instructions and ensure that movement flows more smoothly around the classroom. I will also make more explicit learning expectations for each station. Also, I will have more poignant and stimulating inquiry/discussion questions to follow it up than I did on this day, so that the students are even more receptive to/engaged in future similar activities.
Directions:
Complete four entries in a reflective log focusing on your instruction and delivery. You will use a variety of strategies throughout the week. Focus on two highly effective strategies and two less effective strategies
For each highly effective strategy:
- Identify the specific strategies planned and a rationale for the strategy,
- Explain how the class went and why you think these strategies helped the lesson,
- Identify the specific instructional strategies planned and a rationale for the strategy,
- Explain how the class went and why you think it was not effective,
- Describe planned changes or alterations of these instructional strategies for the future.
Effective Log 1: 3/12 Owl Pellet Dissection: The strategy that I chose for this lesson was “chunking” of information and directions. The focal point of the lesson was a lab dissection of owl pellets. Students were assigned to groups of four (each with specific roles), and each group was responsible for the dissection of an owl pellet. The reasons I chose this strategy were that: this was the first time I was leading the class in an actual lab and I wanted to make sure students knew what to do, and when to do it. I wanted to find a balance between holding students’ hands and independent inquiry (which they have neither the experience nor the maturity to do). I first did a demonstration of how to do the dissection. Then I had the students tell me what the instructions were, in their own words, in the correct order. I then showed them where to stop on their worksheets, so that they focused on the dissection and data collection before moving onto analysis. Then I released them to dissect the pellets and record data. Once all students had finished, I outlined what was expected of their groups for the discussion questions, and released them to complete them together. The result was quality student work with thought and time clearly put into the data collection and analysis. Also, during the lab, I circulated to pose further inquiry questions and make sure students were on task, but there weren’t any “helpless hand-raisers” needing me to answer questions about what to do or when to do it. I have found that, the less I talk, the happier the students are; so with chunking the lesson like this, and letting students interact, they responded well, did good work, and achieved their objectives for the day.
Effective Log 2: 3/19-20 The Lion King: The strategy that I followed for these days was informal summative assessment. While not dealing directly with instruction, the delivery of this type of summative assessment was very effective. Over the course of these two days, the students watched the film The Lion King. During this film, students were tasked with thinking critically about scenes and dialogue from the film in which a wide variety of ecological concepts were touched on. The concepts and vocabulary all came from lessons learned in the previous weeks, and were connected and able to be visualized through this delivery. Students who had a firm grasp on the content and knowledge of vocabulary did well on the assessment, and those who didn’t were forced to leave answers blank or only partially answered. To ensure no cheating took place, I circulated the classroom, and collected the assessments at the end of the first day and redistributed them at the start of the second.
Ineffective Log 1: 3/11 Sheep Brain Dissection: On this day, two representatives from the University of Florida came to my class to each about brain anatomy and physiology through a guided sheep brain dissection. I did not need to do (nor could I do) anything in preparation for the class, and thus approached the lesson with a “hands-off” strategy, letting the two ladies take charge almost immediately when the class began. It worked well-enough for my smaller, better-behaved first class, but resulted in a bit of embarrassment during the larger, rowdier second. At the beginning of each class I reminded the students the necessity of acting responsibly and maturely. However, the two ladies (one of which was minimally involved) could not contain the random shouts of answers, misuse of tools, lack of paying attention, and movement around the classroom. I tried to maintain my hands-off approach, but could not for very long. I ended up having to circulate, correct misbehaviors, redirect attention, and use my proximity to keep the class on task, and the dissection smooth. Even still, the rest of the class was less focused on learning and discovery than it should have been. Coming up next week is a talk from a health expert about sexual health. I plan on prefacing expected behaviors and results for the class at the end of the previous day, and reiterating those expectations before class begins the next day. I will also spend more time initially getting the class under control, and introducing the speaker, so that the students are in a more appropriate mind-set for mature learning about a sensitive content area.
Ineffective Log 2: 2/26 Traveling Nitrogen: During this activity, students circulated throughout the classroom, stamping paper “passports” as they moved through different reservoirs of the nitrogen cycle. I had very high hopes for this activity. However, during this activity, students traveled at very different paces, so some students were finished with their passport 10 minutes before the last students were. Also, the students put a stamp or sticker on their passport whenever they left a reservoir, and the focus shifted almost immediately to collecting the “best” or “coolest” stickers. With movement throughout the classroom being so hectic, I could not quell the chaos very well, and learning during this time was minimal, despite the high potential of the activity. Next time I try a similar activity I will chunk the instructions and ensure that movement flows more smoothly around the classroom. I will also make more explicit learning expectations for each station. Also, I will have more poignant and stimulating inquiry/discussion questions to follow it up than I did on this day, so that the students are even more receptive to/engaged in future similar activities.
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT CHECKLIST
COMMUNICATES PERSONAL ENTHUSIASM
1. Uses eye contact and facial expressions to communicate enthusiasm.
2. Uses voice inflections to stress points of interest and importance.
3. Has an energetic posture.
4. Uses gestures to accentuate points.
STIMULATES LEARNER INTEREST
1. The importance of topics to the content area or to real life is stated to or by the learners.
2. Interesting or unusual dimensions of the topic are used.
3. Interest in activities is stimulated with techniques such as thought-provoking questions or humor.
4. Personalizes lessons for learners by using learners’ own experiences or providing examples relevant to them.
DEMONSTRATES WARMTH AND FRIENDLINESS
1. Uses a pleasant tone of voice and eye contact to accompany verbal interactions with learners.
2. Uses learners’ names in a warm and friendly way.
3. Smiles, laughs, and displays a sense of humor to demonstrate warmth and friendliness.
4. Sits or stands near learners.
HELPS LEARNERS DEVELOP POSITIVE SELF-CONCEPTS
1. Language is free of sarcasm, ridicule, and derogatory, demeaning, or humiliating references.
2. Treats learners courteously and with respect.
3. Gives learners personalized praise for specific performance when they do well.
4. Gives learners personalized encouragement when they have difficulty.
COMMUNICATES PERSONAL ENTHUSIASM
1. Uses eye contact and facial expressions to communicate enthusiasm.
2. Uses voice inflections to stress points of interest and importance.
3. Has an energetic posture.
4. Uses gestures to accentuate points.
STIMULATES LEARNER INTEREST
1. The importance of topics to the content area or to real life is stated to or by the learners.
2. Interesting or unusual dimensions of the topic are used.
3. Interest in activities is stimulated with techniques such as thought-provoking questions or humor.
4. Personalizes lessons for learners by using learners’ own experiences or providing examples relevant to them.
DEMONSTRATES WARMTH AND FRIENDLINESS
1. Uses a pleasant tone of voice and eye contact to accompany verbal interactions with learners.
2. Uses learners’ names in a warm and friendly way.
3. Smiles, laughs, and displays a sense of humor to demonstrate warmth and friendliness.
4. Sits or stands near learners.
HELPS LEARNERS DEVELOP POSITIVE SELF-CONCEPTS
1. Language is free of sarcasm, ridicule, and derogatory, demeaning, or humiliating references.
2. Treats learners courteously and with respect.
3. Gives learners personalized praise for specific performance when they do well.
4. Gives learners personalized encouragement when they have difficulty.