Formal Observation Reflection

Lesson Reflection (TPE 2.1, 6.1)

What do you think were the strengths and weaknesses of your lesson?
I believe my strengths in this lesson were providing students with organizers and prompts. Having
the students be able to focus on the topic more so than how to take notes was very beneficial. I
believe by allowing the students break down the activities into two seperate parts allowed them to
focus on the different aspects of the lesson I was teaching.
I believe my weakness with this lesson was having students collaborating with one another. I think
that I could have provided more opportunities for students to discuss with one another. I also feel that
I could have utilized the document camera more so that students could see examples of their peers
work. I also felt that some of the leading questions I asked could have been rephrased. I feel that
some of my students did not understand what I was asking.

How did you use interactions in your lesson to promote multiple perspectives and equitable
participation? Give specific examples.
I use randomizers in my class on a daily basis and by using this strategy I can promote participation
from all of my students. I also provide 1 additional name card in my randomizer stack for students who
are identified as English Language Learners. That way my students who need more practice with their
speaking skills can receive appropriate opportunities to do so. An example I have would be when I
chose my first student after activity #1 and he was hesitant to stand and share his response. By using
randomizers as part of my classroom routine he was encouraged to share his response with the class.
This allowed him to share his information and practice his speaking skills. Any student who shares an
answer may not always be correct, however in this lesson I was able to redirect an answer by asking
students how their peer could change their statement or talk about a different topic. I specifically asked
in my lesson if someone had an answer that did not include burning fossil fuels in their answer to direct
other students to share their perspectives on a variety of topics.

How effective were these interactions in promoting student learning? On what evidence do
you base your conclusion?
I believe having students randomly chosen promotes acceptance of all students in the classroom.
It also encourages students to become more comfortable with their listening and speaking skills
through practice. By having students become more confident in their abilities they are more likely to
continue putting effort into their classwork. At the beginning of the year one of the students who was
called on to share in the front of the class would refuse to stand and share any answer he had
whether it was correct or not. By having all students share their responses aloud and building the
students up by seeing how their peers can help them instead of point out they are incorrect has
served as a beneficial tactic for me to use.