Level IV CT Observation #1 Reflection

Overall, my students were very engaged with the lesson, but there were many aspects of it that could have been better. If I taught this lesson to the same group of students I would definitely keep the same formative and summative assessments. The Kahoot, which was the formative assessment, incorporated technology and made them made them very engaged. The summative assessment also really kept them engaged because it was very hands-on and they were able to get as creative as they wanted. Although, my assessments were great, there were many things I would change with the lesson.

One thing I would have changed was how I presented the Kahoot. I have never done one with my students before so I did not know if I needed to read the questions to them and how often I should stop them. After having my post conference with my teacher, she mentioned that I should have read each question to them and stopped at certain times to acknowledge why some questions were missed and the students’ rationale for choosing their answer. For instance, at five minutes and thirteen seconds, they all missed a question in the Kahoot because of spelling. The correct answer was Equator answer and the other answer choices had that word spelled incorrectly. I mentioned that spelling was very important but I could have addressed their misunderstanding more.

Another thing I would have done is connect the lesson to a life experience of theirs. This would have provided authenticity in my teaching. For example, I could have asked them when they would need to know how to use a map and if they have ever used one before. By doing this, I would have showed them the importance of my objective. Going off of that, one last thing I would have done differently was repeat my objective more so they could understand what they were doing and why they were doing it. My CT walked around while my students were creating their maps and when she asked some of them why they were making a map they did not know why. Also, right after I explained their assignment, about thirteen minutes into the lesson, I heard students asking, “What are we doing?” One way to improve this next time is by having a student repeat the directions to the assignment.

After watching the video recording of my lesson there is one moment in particular that stands out to me. This is after eleven minutes and twelve seconds when I am showing them the map model I created for them. I held up my map which was titled “Barefoot Island” and asked them to point out the map elements that were visible on my map. There was one student that said scale and another student that said compass rose, but the majority kept saying symbols such as the beach or a bridge. I quickly said that those were not map elements but that they fell under the category of the legend which was a map element. Instead of moving on so rapidly, I should have stopped to address the misunderstanding. My CT noticed this as well and told me that when students continue to give the wrong answer it is important to ask them why that is not the correct answer. This statement leads to me to another thing I need to improve on which is asking higher-level questions.

When looking back at my lesson, I have to look at whether my teaching methods and activities were effective. Starting off with my activities, I believe they were effective because the students were engaged and as a result, stayed on task. One the evaluation tool, my CT said, “They were able to self-assess during the Kahoot and then show mastery through their own map design. All assessments matched the learning objectives.” I think my activities were more effective than my teaching methods. Next time, I need to work on stopping to address misunderstandings when necessary and making sure students understand what they are doing and why they are doing it. Although I did not do these things though, I was very impressed with the student work. It showed me their knowledge of the map elements and their creativity.

Example made for students.

Student work.