Kiara Maldonado

11/21/19
LAB D Reflection

I started my lesson by introducing myself, and stating the lesson focus which was

treading water. I explained further what specifically we would be doing in the class by referring

to my visual aid (0:20). I thought I had a strong visual aid because it was simple, but had a lot of

information. My visual aid stated what the topic was, and what skills are needed in order to

perform the main skill of treading water. I also included a safety statement on my visual aid

which was “personal space”. After sharing my visual aid with the class, I announced my signal

for attention. My signal for attention for today was my voice. Throughout the lesson I believe my

voice was loud enough, but could still be louder. In other words, I believe that my voice was

loud enough because all of my students were able to hear me. If my voice was louder, they may

have been able to hear me that much more clearly. This is something that would benefit from

improvement. Next, I moved into my hook.

For my hook, I asked students to guess what the world record was for treading water

(0:35). I thought this was one of my strengths throughout the lesson because it spiked the interest

of the students. The students had smiles on their faces as they were trying to come up with a

guess. This showed me that I had spiked their interest because they enjoyed answering my trivia

question. This hook was appropriate because it was relevant to the skill we would be learning

that day.

Before having the students enter the water, I gave a more detailed safety statement (1:23).

I thought this was another one of my strengths. It’s very important to give a detailed safety

statement before the students participate in any activity. I told the students that there would be no

head entries, and that they could choose to either enter the pool by using the ladder, or sliding in

feet first.
 After reviewing my video, I realized that I failed to mention my expectations in detail. It

was my original intention to tell the students “By the end of the lesson, you will be able to find

the treading technique that works best for you, then accurately and correctly tread water in the

deep end for 2 minutes. During the lesson, you will demonstrate good sportsmanship by giving

positive feedback to at least two peers throughout the lesson.” My lesson could have been

improved if I added this into my lesson.

After students entered the pool in the shallow end, I began to teach the first skill for

treading water (2:36). I began with the basic arm motion which is called “sculling water”. I

referred back to the name of this skill which I believe was a strength of mine. I would consider

this a strength because “sculling” was a key word for academic language for the lesson. I

demonstrated the whole part whole method when teaching sculling water. I began by verbally

explaining the skill. Then I demonstrated the skill fully. Next I broke down the skill by using

cues such as “palms in” “palms out” and also continuing to demonstrate in slow motion for all

students to see. Finally, I finished demonstrating this part by showing it at full speed one last

time. I began giving general feedback in my lesson at this point as the students were practicing

sculling water on their own.

I transitioned to the next skill smoothly verbally. I introduced the first type of kick used

in treading water which was the flutter kick (5:00). The reason why I chose this kick was because

I used the resource https://www.wikihow.com/Tread-Water. I verbally explained the kick, then

I demonstrated it for the class to see in the shallow end against the edge of the pool. After

reviewing my video, and reading my peer assessment sheet, I realize that I could have improved

the demonstration for the flutter kick. I needed to demonstrate it in different ways and from more

angles. Another strength within my lesson showed next while the students were practicing their
kicking techniques. I believe this part was a strength of mine because I used progressions within

my lesson. I had the students practice the flutter kick using their floatation device to focus on

their lower body only (6:40). Then I increased the difficulty of the task by having students

practice their kicking technique without their flotation device (8:15). I did the same thing when I

explained the whip kick. The only difference was I explained and demonstrated this kick a little

better in my opinion. I started the demonstration outside of the pool, then I demonstrated inside

the pool from multiple angles for all the students to see. While the students practiced both

kicking techniques I continued to give general feedback by reminding them of the cues while

they were practicing (8:40). I also gave individual feedback to the students who needed it (8:47).

This was a mistake of mine after reflecting on the individual feedback aspect. Throughout the

teaching, I would correct students who were performing the skill wrong by pinpointing a cue that

they are missing. The problem with this was that I only gave individual feedback to those who

were performing the skill wrong. What I should have done is give individual feedback to all

students. I could have done this by addressing what they were doing right. For example, I could

have told students, “Good job using pointed toes!” (as individual feedback for the flutter kick).

All of the feedback that was given to those who were performing the skills incorrectly were

accurate because I told them to “keep toes pointed” which was one of the critical elements of the

kick.

The last task I had the students do was tread water for two minutes without a flotation

device. I told the students that they could choose the technique that best fits them. Before

releasing the students to perform this task, I spent time checking for understanding. I asked them

to recall the name of the hand motion they would be performing. I also asked them to recall the
names of the two types of kicks we had learned. Lastly, I asked them to recall the cues of each of

the kicks we learned.

I closed the lesson by asking what technique students used, and why they chose the

technique that they chose. I also asked the students to recall why treading water is important.

Students were able to answer and recall all of the questions given. This leads me to believe that

my lesson was effective.

Overall, I believe that I maintained good class management during my lesson. My

equipment was set out prior to the start of the lesson. Transitions were smooth throughout the

lesson. I was able to view all of the students all of the time by keeping them in front of me/ my

back to the wall. I believe I changed as a teacher from Lab B to Lab D in multiple ways. I

believe that my voice became louder. The effectiveness of my lessons were stronger. The hooks

that I used also improved each time. My confidence has increased throughout lessons. Lastly, I

believe my preparation for lessons improved with each lesson.