AUDIO COMMENTARY - EVIDENCE OF REFLECTION - UNIT 1

EVIDENCE OF REFLECTION (400 WORDS)

Teacher serves a very important role in making a lesson effective and engaging for his students. To make
a lesson effective, the objectives defined by the teacher should be well structured for the proceeding of
a learning process. Beginning of the lesson is the part where prior knowledge of students is recalled and
linked with current topic by the teacher. Knowledge is constructed rather than innate or passively
absorbed. (mcleod, 2023). This makes learning easier and faster. While middle of lesson should be more
activity based activity based by using active learning strategies to motivate and engage the learners. It
can be done by using activities like role play and chain notes. According to Bonwell and Eison, the
definition of active learning “involves students in doing things and thinking about the things they are
doing.” (Avelino, 2022). Student interaction should also be promoted by making small groups as
suggested by social constructivism. The lesson of the teacher that I observed used think-pair share to
promote collaboration among students making the lesson very effective. Moreover, direct questioning
during the lesson served as cherry on top. The lesson which I observed included reflective teaching as
well as formative assessment. The instructor was constantly analyzing the students, how much they are
understanding. The instructor was carrying out formative assessment, he was asking various questions
regarding nervous system, types of nervous system and meanwhile he was analyzing the feedback given
by students which was a very good feature in the lesson. This made me understand that another key
feature of an effective lesson is reflection. Reflective teaching can help to promote your professional
growth. By carrying out an extensive inner thought process, you can have a much better understanding
of your strengths and weaknesses. (henri, 2023).

In unit-1 I learned various theories like behaviorism, constructivism, cognitivism and humanism which
changed my concept of learning a lot. I came to know about active learning method which helped me a
lot in achieving my learning outcomes. After knowing all the above mentioned theories I came to know
an effective lesson should be coherent and activity based. This all helped me a lot in observing a lesson
and in constructing a lesson plan. It altered the way I used to write lesson plans and the way I used to
observe lessons. One of the key concepts that I learned in unit-1 and that in my opinion will help me a
lot in unit-2 is formative assessment since formative assessments are generally used for planning future
instructions. (K, 2020). I have also made formative assessment a part of my current teaching practice.

References
Avelino, j., 2022. active learning its benefits and how to apply it. [Online]
Available at: https://www.edapp.com/
[Accessed 22 february 2022].
henri, D. d. p. l., 2023. 12 benefits of reflective teaching and learning. [Online]
Available at: https://reflectiveteachingjournal.com/
[Accessed 2023].
K, J., 2020. How can I use formative assessment to plan instruction and help students drive them
own learning. [Online]
Available at: https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/teachers-essential-guide-to-
formative-assessment
[Accessed 25 june 2020].
mcleod, s., 2023. constructivism learning theory and philosophy of education. [Online]