Becoming a teacher has been my goal since I was in high school.

I received my AA in
Early Childhood education in 2013. Since then, I’ve worked in numerous childcare centers, both
in management and classroom teaching positions. I decided to enroll back in school to receive
my BS in Elementary Education and finally become a certified PA teacher. Thus far, I have done
well in my teaching positions and as a student. So, one could imagine my disappointment, as a
senior, when both my site director and professor suggested areas of improvement in my lesson
planning, classroom management, and teaching techniques.
            In no way did I think I was a perfect student or teacher, but I was very confident in my
ability to create a lesson plan and implement it. My current mentor teacher has been extremely
supportive during my student teaching process, but she provides very little feedback about my
performance. On the other hand, my site director and professor have shared very similar remarks
pertaining to my lesson plans and performance in the classroom. Based on lesson plan
assignments, the recorded video assignment, and observations, my site director and professor
provided the following feedback. 
1. Lesson plan objectives need to be stated clearly and in complete sentences
2. Be clear in expectations when teaching students 
3. Add anticipatory sets to lessons 
4. Need to see transitions and a closure to lessons 

After receiving the feedback about my lesson plans and teaching, and getting over the
disappointment about the feedback, I begin to reflect on how I could make improvements in
those areas. I reached out to my professor for help with correctly formulating an objective for my
lesson plan. My professor emailed me two lessons that I was able to reference while developing
lesson objectives. After a zoom call and 3 attempts at revising the lesson plan, I was finally able
to create a lesson plan with a clear objective that stated what the students will know and be able
to do by the end of the lesson. I also discussed my teaching techniques with my site director after
each observation. She not only discussed the areas I needed to improve but she provided me with
examples that were specific to the Pre-K class I student teach and the classroom routine that the
students follow. 

Since receiving feedback on my lesson plans and teaching, I have implemented a few
strategies to improve in the areas where I lacked. When creating my lesson plans, I make sure
that my instructional strategies, objectives, and assessments are aligned. The Pre-K class consist
of 18 students and the lessons are taught in 15–20-minute intervals to each group in a rotation. At
the start of each mini lesson, I implement an anticipatory set that will engage the students,
connect with prior knowledge, and explain to the students what we will be doing. This is also the
time where I explain the expectations for their behavior as we are doing the lesson. During a
math lesson on matching quantity with numbers, I begin by showing the students a number chart
and asking them can they say each number as I point to it. I use counting bears and ask the
students can they help me count out x number of bears. I explain the directions for the activity to
the students and remind them that we will be counting and identifying numbers the same way we
do every day during morning meetings. I feel that the students have been more excited about the
lessons as they transition from one learning center to the next. 

My site director advised me to utilize the “I do, we do, you do” technique while teaching
lessons in my Pre-K classroom. I recently applied it to this week’s lesson plan and will be using
it more often moving forward. The “I do, we do, you do” technique is a teaching method where
the teacher first demonstrates the lesson, the teacher prompts the class, and finally the students
practice the activity independently. This method allows for differentiated instruction and builds
confidence in students ability to work independently. I plan on using the “I do, we do, you do”
technique for my upcoming lesson on patterns. The goal of the lesson is for the students to be
able to identify what a pattern is and predict what should come next in patterns. I will first start
by explaining what a pattern is, showing what a pattern is, and showing what would come next in
patterns. Next, I will show patterns and ask students how we know they are pattens. I will call on
students to come up to the board to finish patterns. Students will be directed to their assigned
seats where they will complete an activity using colored pom poms to complete AB patterns. 

Although I initially felt discouraged about my performance and ability to create and
implement a lesson plan, with the support of my mentor teacher, professor, and site director, I
now feel confident in my ability to develop lesson plans with clear and measurable objectives
and to effectively implement them in the classroom.