5401 CBUP Final Reflection

As I write this reflection and look back on the semester, I am struck by just how much has
happened! Through Curry alone, I planned and wrote twelve lessons for the first days of a
hypothetical ninth grade ELA class, I taught four lessons in a seventh grade ELA class, I
constructed a personal behavior management philosophy and plan, and I received my match to
teach at Monticello High School in the fall. I am the kind of person who is practiced at focusing
on my weaknesses and imperfections, but even I have to be impressed with myself (and my
cohort) for all we have accomplished this semester; all that we have accomplished this whole
year, really. I can speak personally with a huge amount of gratitude for all I have learned,
experienced, and accomplished this year. I am mindful of the many things on which I have to
improve (with time-management being paramount in the improvement department), but I am
thankful that, even though I am far from perfection as a teacher, there has been growth.
Specific to our EDIS 5401 English Methods class, I can attest that I have made progress
toward the first objective of our course, Cultivate an imaginative practice that leads you and
your students to create original, artful, and multi-modal self-expressions. Through many of
our course readings (namely, Campbell and Gallagher), I have been challenged to provide
students with unique learning opportunities to grow and create. I love the many creative writing
prompts which Gallagher suggests, and I also love the creative texts Campbell suggests assigning
to students. This year, I have really learned that it is important to keep students on their toes,
providing them with new experiences and texts, and to always keep them imaginative and
creative. I have learned that one of the best ways to do this is to provide students with
cognitively demanding tasks (especially tasks in which they create something), and so I have

tried, especially towards the latter end of this semester, to remember to keep my instruction
challenging (but within the students ZPD, of course).
I feel I have made significant progress toward the second objective of our course:
Design concept-based instruction using the Backward Design Framework and by
employing evidence-based practices in English, creating authentic learning
experiences that build upon students varied backgrounds, language varieties, goals,
and motivations to enrich and individualize instruction.
After Dr. Peases class last semester, I thought I had Backwards Design down. My natural
perfectionist tendencies proved that I could write and align objectives very well, but I did not,
until after this semester and this CBUP project, have what I now believe is a full(er)
understanding of Backwards Design. Now I am able to understand Backwards Design within the
context of a unit (not just a lesson), and this is significant because most lessons do not occur in
isolation. I have also learned (quite by trial and error with my Backwards Design plan) that unit
skills are explicitly taught, and then built-upon and assessed throughout the unit. This became
especially evident when I was trying to account for pre-assessment, formative assessment, and
summative assessment of each of my objectives.
Learning about concept-based (and not just standards-based) instruction has been a really
beautiful experience through which I have better understood the idea that intentional planning
can yield extremely meaningful learning. Also in line with the second course objective, I feel I
have internalized a fair amount of evidenced-based practices (the biggest one, for me, is keeping
students actively engaged at the center of learning). I have learned about keeping students at the
center of my instruction in two ways: 1) planning instruction so that students are active in,
connecting with, and cognitively challenged by a lesson; and 2) planning instruction with

specific students and class contexts in mind. I am still growing in the latter of these two areas,
but I have been encouraged by how my 4882 field placement has especially made me aware of
the importance of planning a lesson with specific students learning needs in mind. I hope this
will become easier in the fall, when I spend all my time with the students I am teaching and can
get a better idea of how to plan with specific student strengths and weaknesses in mind.
I will mention that I have made some good progress toward our fourth course objective,
Develop the habits of a reflective practitioner. I think my progress toward this objective is
somewhat simple: I have recognized the great importance of self-reflective practice! As I passed
through this semester (one of the busiest I have ever had at UVA), I often thought that, even
though I was learning and experiencing so much, I never had (or took) the time to really process
through what I was learning and experiencing. As the semester progressed, all my lessons
learned, experiences, areas for growth, etc. filled my brain; but because I did not give myself
time or space to process through them, I felt them tumble out of my head without adequate
closure. This happened time and again, and has resulted in one of my biggest takeaways this
year: I must build in time to my life to reflect on the experiences I have. As I know from
Gallagher (and my unit!), reflection can help an individual unlock new realizations and
understandings. In the fall, it will be most helpful for me to pick a day of the week on which to
reflect on the previous weeks lessons learned and opportunities for growth. I think the blog we
will keep in the fall will help me approach my teaching (and more of life, in general!) with this in
mind. There will be so much to process through in the fall, and I know I will make the most of it
if I practice reflection.
This semester has allowed me to recognize the need for and develop my assessment
philosophy, which has been most enlightening. Reading Tovanis many assessment practices, as

well as articles on grading, rubrics, and homework, I have learned that assessment is about both
the practice of measuring (in every possible way) students growth, as well as the methods
through which student growth is measured. I am inspired by Tovani to incorporate more
formative assessment in my teaching practice, and to be an avid note-taker on students
throughout the school day. I like Tovanis practice of constantly assessing students, taking note of
how to support them individually. I am also challenged to ensure that I have a pre-assessment,
formative assessment, and summative assessment of every objective I teach. With that said, I
have learned that students must be supported when they learn and practice a skill, so that they are
equipped to succeed on their summative assessment. Additionally, I have learned that summative
assessments are not only performative tasks: my unit allowed me to explore other, lower stakes
ways in which a summative assessment can take place (ex: summatively assessing students
progress toward small group objectives through student self-reflections).
The element of my CBUP project of which I am most proud is my Backwards Design
plan. As I have alluded to, I worked really hard on this plan, and as a result I feel I have a much
better understanding of how all the little components of a unit should fit together. I still have a lot
of growing to do in terms of fitting everything together gracefully, but I feel my Backwards
Design plan for this unit strongly aligns and sets me up for quality instruction and assessment. I
am proud of my performative task and how it truly is a summative assessment of most of my
objectives. Though I am a little concerned that I have not given students enough time to work
with it, I believe my performative task is engaging and exciting for students, and I would love to
see students grow and demonstrate their understanding based on this task.
The lesson plan component of my CBUP project demonstrates a large amount of personal
growth. Though I am still finalizing some of my plans, my lessons illustrate my growing

competency with planning quality, best-practice instruction. My lesson-specific assessments are

more focused than they have ever been, and my understanding of the actual workings of lessons
(ex: bridging from lesson to lesson, transitioning, and providing closure) is quite developed.
Additionally, my grasp on the importance of certain elements of instruction (ex: planning a
reading experience instead of just planning how to discuss a text) has grown a lot and is reflected
in my plans.
This semester and year, as well as planning my CBUP unit, have taught me so much
about what is truly the craft of teaching. Daily I am reminded that I still have so much to learn,
but as I stop and reflect now, I am empowered to realize that I have come a long way and can
look forward to growing even further.