Benchmark: Clinical Field Experience D

Emily Stone

Grand Canyon University

EAD 530-0500 Improving Teacher Performance and Self-efficacy

Dr. Gary McDaniel

June 23, 2021

Pre-Conference

 What is the learning objective for your lesson? We are going to compare fractions using

different numerators and different denominators.

 How do you plan on opening your lesson? Attention getter? We are going to watch a

brief video about fractions with unlike denominators.

 What teaching strategies do you plan on using to help engage students in the lesson?

Students will be paired with a partner for Think-Pare-Shares and will also work in small

groups to complete tasks. Those are great strategies to use to help keep students engaged.

With students who struggle with behavior problems, make sure you pair them with

someone who they work well with so they can be productive throughout the lesson.

 What behaviors should I expect to see during the observation? With my classroom being

the Student Behavior Center room, students struggle with outbursts, getting upset easily,

being out of their seat, and lack of motivation when they do not understand a concept. Do

you have a solid behavior plan in place to redirect students or to deal with outbursts so

that the other students can keep learning? [ CITATION Mer04 \l 1033 ]

 How will the students show mastery of the skill being taught? I have an exit ticket that

students will have to complete at the end of the lesson. Exit tickets are a great assessment.

Make sure you keep it brief and focuses explicitly on the concepts taught that day.

 What concept was taught that helped prepare your students for what will be taught during

this lesson?[ CITATION Lin11 \l 1033 ] Before this lesson, students compared fractions with

unlike numerators and like denominators as well as ordering fractions from least to

greatest.
  Is there a specific location you would like me to observe from? Do your students mind if

I interact with them during activities? Because of student behavior and not adapting well

to change, it is better if you stay towards the back of the room during the observation so

it will not be a distraction for them during the lesson.

 Is there anything specific you would like me to focus on during your lesson? I struggle

with time management during the lesson and am really wanting to improve in that area.

Look at the districts lesson plan template. That is a great resource for you to use that

helps you with time frames and structuring your lessons.

 Do you plan on incorporating any form of technology into your lesson?

Observation

 PLAN: She aligned her lesson to the state standards. It was evident that that she was well

planned and organized for her lesson and provided differentiation in her instruction to her

students with different abilities. Her activities helped her students work towards mastery

of the concepts.

 TEACH: Students were aware of what they were learning. Students were redirected when

needed and the behavior plan was implemented during the lesson that helped the learning

process for other students to take place. With the help of the districts lesson plan

template, her pacing went well which was an area of concern for her. She was very

enthusiastic and showed interest in what she was teaching.

 CHECK: There were multiple checks for understanding throughout the lesson. Students

had the opportunity to respond in different ways during activities; thumps up, fist to five,
 white boards, written answers, class discussions. While monitoring the students during

work time, she gave immediate feedback which helped students during their learning.

 ENVIRONMENT: She interacted with all of her students in a positive and respectful

way. You can see that her students enjoy her class and feel comfortable asking questions

and for help. The behavior expectations are clear and consistent. The classroom is well

organized and a place that students enjoy being in.

Post-Observation

The district teaching observation tool was used for this observation. Ms. S received a

score of 2.78 which I thought was not bad for a first-year teacher and having the hard behavior

students that she does. There are areas of improvement, but she was very strong in many areas as

I mentioned during the observation piece of the assignment.

After the lesson was completed, I asked her how she felt the lesson went? There were

times she felt frustrated because of student outburst, but I thought she handled them

appropriately and the other students learning was not really affected which is what is most

important. There was no technology that was used by the students. I suggested a great program

that the district often uses and has many lessons built in is Nearpod. It allows students to be even

more engaged and gives them many diverse ways of responding to questions and provides

opportunities for different types of engaging activities.[ CITATION Mir20 \l 1033 ] It also helps keep

students all on the same pace as you and gives you more control and monitoring abilities.

Technology is also a great resource for students who are reluctant to the activities that are taking

place. Transitioning from one activity to the next was an area that needed improvement. This

was where students were easily distracted and getting off task by starting up random
conversations. I suggested going over the transition expectations and what that should look like

and sound like. I also suggested setting a time limit that students could see to help them during

that transition time.

Reflection

Going through the observation cycle with a first-year teacher, it has taught me how

important it is to reflect on my own growth and development as an educator. Teaching is a

collaborative process and learning from others as well as sharing your knowledge and expertise

is part of the developmental process and helps us grow and become better in our profession.

Sharing your weaknesses and growth opportunities helps others know that they do not need to be

perfect but strive for improvement and learning.

References
Anast-May, L. (2011). Teacher Conferencing and Feedback. The Connexions.

Cents-Boonstra, M. (2020 ). Fostering Student Engagement with Motivating teaching . Taylors and
Francis .

Meehan, M. L. (2004). Special Strategies Observation System-Revised: A Useful Tool for Educational
Research and Evaluation. AEL .