Lesson Study 2/11/14

When I first met the teacher, I was very impressed. Due to a miscommunication, our
arrival came as a surprise to her; she wasnt expecting us for another day. However, she
immediately pulled herself together and decided that she could still do the lesson even
though she was not fully prepared yet. This student teacher was teaching an upper level
class. Her lesson was based on the book they were reading called, Blood On The
River, which takes place in 17th-century Jamestown Colony (Virginia). In my essay I
will focus on two TPEs (Teacher Performance Expectations) that I observed in the
teacher's lesson, TPE 4 and TPE 11. TPE 4 is about making content accessible and
using various techniques to help the students learn. TPE 11 is about the social
environment and having a positive atmosphere in the classroom.
TPE 4 is about making content accessible for the students. This means the
information should be presented in a logical order, the state standards should be met,
and the teacher should use various strategies to facilitate learning. The teacher
presented her information in a perfectly logical order. She started by asking the students
questions about what they already knew, then she played a video that presented
more information, and after the video she had the students work in groups to summarize
what they learned about the different ranks in society in 17th-century Jamestown. The
way her lesson was organized made the information easy to follow. The state standard

the teacher was attempting to address was 5.1. When she first had the idea for this
lesson, she said she struggled at first to find a standard that matched it, but eventually
found one that fit it when she tweaked the lesson a bit. What I noticed most about the
teacher's lesson is that she used a wide variety of strategies to facilitate learning. She
asked them questions, she wrote their answers on the board, she showed them a video,
she had them work on group posters, and she had them all repeat key terms to reinforce
the ideas/vocabulary. Overall the teacher did a great job with TPE 4, and her lesson was
accessible and easy to understand.
Creating a positive social environment is the focus of TPE 11. A teacher should
understand the importance of the social environment, creative a positive environment,
and engage in behaviors that encourage a positive social environment. The teacher was
very good about this. Her voice had a positive tone and she never said the word no
when her students would answer a question. She would say things like, Oh I didnt think
of it that way or Thats an interesting idea. But she never shut down her students
ideas completely. She said to us after the lesson, A safe classroom is free of
judgement. Another way the teacher engaged in behaviors that supported a positive
social environment was making sure the students respected her as a teacher. She
would wait until her students were fully attentive before teaching them. She used a
signal word to let the students know when they could start whatever she instructed

them to do. Without doing these things, the students could become rowdy and that
would not be conducive to a positive learning environment or social environment. With
this in mind, it is easy to say that the way the teacher operates in her classroom fulfills
all of the expectations of TPE 11.
This lesson study opened my eyes to many new things. I learned alongside the
students about social ranks in 17th-century Virginia. I learned more about TPE 4 and
TPE 11, and saw what it would look like for a teacher to fulfill all the expectations of
those TPEs. I also learned some fun things that I can use in my own classroom one
day. My favorite fun idea was to use a vocabulary word from social studies or language
arts as a signal word. This experience has made me look forward to my days as a
student teacher, even though I know it will be a lot of hard work. Overall, I really enjoyed
the short amount of time I spent in the teacher's classroom.

Lesson Study 3/25/14

My first impression of this teacher was very positive. She was warm and welcoming,
and she was willing to answer any questions we had about the lesson or her classroom.
The classroom we were visiting is a combo upper grade classroom. Her classroom is
split into two sides; the younger students and the older students. The reason this works
so well is that her students were chosen specifically to be in this class because they are

independent learners. The lesson we were observing was an Everyday Math lesson on
geometric solids taught to her fourth graders. In my essay I will focus on two TPEs
(Teacher Performance Expectations) that I observed in the teacher's lesson, TPE 1 and
TPE 2. TPE 1 is about making subject matter comprehensible and TPE 2 is about
assessing student learning.
TPE 1 is about making sure the subject matter is easy to understand. This means a
teacher understands the standards and attempts to meet them and he or she should be
able to design a well-thought-out lesson plan. The teacher understood the standards;
she had them written at the very top of her lesson plan, and applied the standards to her
lesson plan very well. One of the standards she was attempting to meet was to make
sense of problems and preserve in solving them. She helped the students do this by
giving the students riddles to solve about different geometric solids. If the students were
not sure of what the answer was, they could discuss with a partner or they could look at
their student reference book (SRB). The students were given many different tools to
help with student engagement. They had iPads, their SRB, straws to create the
geometric solids, and they had partners within their table groups so that they could
discuss their answers. The teacher's lesson was definitely well thought out. She had
every step written out clearly and concisely. Overall, the teacher did a great job with TPE

1, her lesson made the subject matter comprehensible and the students were engaged
and excited to learn.
Assessing student learning is the focus of TPE 2. Teachers should demonstrate their
ability to monitor student progress during the instruction. This can be something small
like having the students give a thumbs up if they understand, or it could be a more
formal assessment like having the students write a paragraph on the subject. The
teacher was very good about this. She was constantly monitoring her students. For
example, she would have her students hold up a certain amount of fingers to correlate
to their level of understanding the material. If the students completely understood the
material or a task given to them, they would hold up five fingers. If they didnt
understand at all, they would hold up one finger. If they sort of understood they could
hold up either two, three, or four fingers. Another way the teacher assessed the
students' knowledge before the lesson even started was to review what they already
knew, which I think is important to do if the lesson is building upon previous knowledge.
During the lesson the students had to draw the shapes on their iPads, and they also had
to create 3D geometric solids with twist ties and straws, and the teacher was able to
walk around and observe their work to monitor their progression. The teacher had
planned to give the students an exit slip where the students would have to answer
another question before they could leave for lunch, but due to our time constraint, we

were not able to observe the final part of her lesson. With all of these examples in mind,
it is clear that the teacher was able to fulfill the expectations of TPE 2.
I enjoyed this lesson study immensely. I feel I learned a lot about how to create a
well-thought-out lesson plan, how to make the subject matter more comprehensible for
the students, and how to monitor student progress during instruction. I obtained a lot of
useful skills that I can use in my own classroom one day. One tip the teacher gave us
was that if you have access to technology you should take advantage. Having iPads in
her classroom lets her do a lot of different projects all on one device. This is especially
useful to the teacher because she teaches a combo class. I can tell that she is very
good at teaching two grades because, although it seemed a bit chaotic at times, it was
all controlled chaos. Overall, my experience was very positive, and I look forward to the
day I will become a teacher as amazing as this teacher is.

Lesson Study 9/30/14

The lesson that I was observing was being given by a second grade teacher at a
private school in Marin County. My first impression of her was very positive. She was
friendly and welcoming and explained what we would be seeing in her classroom. Her
lesson was based off of the Bridges math program. The part that we were able to view
while we were there was a whole group focus lesson on pattern blocks, and then work

places with games and activities. In this essay I will focus on three TPEs (Teacher
Performance Expectations) that I kept in mind while observing the teacher. TPE 1 is
about pedagogical skills for teaching multiple subjects and in this case specifically math.
TPE 2 is about assessing and monitoring student learning during instruction. Lastly,
TPE 6A is about developmentally appropriate practices for grades K-3.
TPE 1 focuses on making sure the content is easy to understand and providing a
secure environment for learning. This means that the teacher should facilitate learning in
a way that helps the students learn the material, as well as making sure they are
comfortable with the learning process. This teacher did a great job at encouraging her
students to use new and old math terms, and asked questions to encourage deeper
thinking and problem solving. One example of this was that during the whole group
lesson she asked her students to come up with an answer for what they predicted would
be the next shape in the pattern. After discussing it with small groups, one child was
asked to come up to the SMART board and draw what their group decided was the
answer. For this particular lesson, there were a few different possible answers. The
teacher encouraged many different students to share if they had a different answer,
which encouraged the students to explore different possibilities and to feel comfortable
taking risks. Overall, I feel that the teacher did a wonderful job at fulfilling this TPE.

TPE 2 is about student assessment and monitoring the progress not only after the
lesson but throughout the lesson as well. It also has the teacher bringing in different
assessments for students with different needs. One way the teacher assessed her
students learning during the lesson was by asking them questions in the group setting
and walking around the room listening and asking more questions while they were
working individually or with small groups. During the lesson I noticed that one girl had
her desk separate from the rest of the desks, and the teacher explained later that she
and the girl had worked together to find a spot in the room that worked best for the
student to learn effectively and efficiently. I would definitely say that this teacher did a
great job with meeting the standards for TPE 2.
TPE 6A concentrates on developmentally appropriate practices in grades K-3. This
means that the teacher must be aware of her students attention spans, and they need
lots of opportunities for movement, along with many other criteria. This is the TPE that I
felt the teacher did the best at meeting. She provided manipulatives, opportunities for
moving around the room, and many games and activities for the children to choose to
play. The games provided were easy enough for the students to do on their own, but the
teacher also walked around and worked with those who were struggling a little more
than their classmates. Another example I saw does not have to do with the lesson, but
before recess, they have their snacks during reading time. This ultimately provides them

with more time to run around and exert the energy theyve been building up during their
15 minutes of play rather than spending the time sitting and eating. With these examples
in mind, it is clear that the teacher was able to fulfill the requirements of TPE 6A.
I enjoyed my visit to this classroom greatly. I saw great examples of how to teach
math with appropriate terms and practices for a lower elementary school class. I saw
some teaching practices that I have observed in lots of classrooms, as well as some that
I had not seen before and that I look forward to trying out in my own classroom one day.
My favorite one that I learned was to play music while students are cleaning up, and to
tell them that if they can't hear the music, they should stop what they are doing and
reevaluate their noise level. Overall I enjoyed my short time in this particular classroom,
and I would love to visit again one day.

Lesson Study 2/21/15

When we first met with the student teacher, I was very impressed. I have known
her for most of my life and I knew that she was good at teaching, but I was finally able to
see her in action. Upon arrival, she had detailed instructions laid out for us, as well as
tools for us to use to help the students, and specific tasks for some of us. I volunteered
to work with a specific student, so she had a highlighter, and sentence strips for me to
use to help the student. The lesson she was teaching was for kindergarteners and

focused on the characteristics of a California Grizzly Bear. In my essay I will focus on

two TPEs (Teacher Performance Expectations) that I observed in this lesson, TPE 1 &
TPE 7. TPE 1 is about making subject matter comprehensible, as well as using subjectspecific pedagogical skills. TPE 7 is about teaching English language learners.
TPE 1 is about making subject matter comprehensible. This can include
classroom management, differentiated instruction, and meeting the state-adopted
academic content standards which in this case were in history-social science. The
student teacher had great classroom management skills. She had many different tricks
and tools for gathering the students attention such as the thunder tube or asking for
quiet hands. The student teacher also made sure the lesson met the state-adopted
standards as well as the common core standards. The California academic content
standards she was focusing on for Life Science was C. Students know how to identify
major structures of common plants and animals and the History standard she was
focusing on was K.2 Students recognize national and state symbols and icons such as
the national and state flags, the bald eagle, and the Statue of Liberty. This lesson met
those standards because they were learning how to identify major body parts of a
California Grizzly Bear, which is the symbol on our state flag. The student teacher made
the lesson comprehensible for the students by differentiating her instruction for different

types of learners, which also includes English language learners, which leads me to
TPE 7.
TPE 7 focuses on teaching English language learners, which means that the
teacher knows and can apply pedagogical practices for comprehensive instruction of
ELL students. A large part of the student teachers lesson was differentiated instruction.
She started off the lesson as a whole group to watch a video about the California Grizzly
Bear, and review the different body parts on the input chart. Then she split the students
up and put them in their normal table groups, but had different worksheets based on the
students writing levels. The three different writing levels are emerging, expanding, and
bridging, and these can be found on www.cde.ca.gov under the ELD standards. She
also pulled a small group of ELL students aside to work with them separately. Overall,
the way she taught the students was great for this age group, but it also blends well with
ELLs and native English speakers.
This lesson study was very enjoyable for me. I got to work with one student
specifically and she was very sweet. The student teacher had asked me to help her
because the student tends to get frustrated with her spelling, but when I worked with her
she was very positive and only needed my help with a few words. I learned a lot more
about TPE 1 and TPE 7, and I feel a lot more confident about teaching ELL students
now that I have seen it in action.

Lesson Study 3/16/15

The first thing I noticed when I walked into this classroom was that I liked the way
it was set up. The teacher started by explaining what the students have been learning,
and throughout our whole time there, the teacher gave us a lot of background
information, which was helpful in understanding more of what we were observing. We
were observing a kindergarten writers workshop where the students illustrated and
wrote, using best guess or inventive writing, about something that they did over the
weekend. In my essay, I will focus on two TPEs (Teacher Performance Expectations)
that I observed in this lesson, TPE 1A and TPE 6A. TPE 1A is about making subject
matter comprehensible, and more specifically English-Language Arts. TPE 6A is about
developmentally appropriate practices is Grades K-3.
TPE 1 is about making subject matter comprehensible, but TPE 1A is specific for
teaching English-Language Arts. The teacher did this in many different ways. She did an
example with the students on a white board, and kept the example up during the rest of
the lesson. She made sure to emphasize Over the weekend every time she spoke
because that was a phrase she wanted them to remember to write in the beginning of
their response. She reviewed their sight words they just learned, some of which were

very useful for this prompt like the words I or The. My favorite thing I learned from her
was a little song they had learned for the word The. It didnt have any specific tune but
it went You can say the (thuh), you can say the (thee), but we always spell it, t-h-e!
This song was not only helpful in making subject matter comprehensible, but it also
goes along with TPE 6A.
TPE 6 is about using developmentally appropriate teaching practices, and TPE
6A is specifically for the grades K through 3rd. Along with the song she used to help the
students remember how to spell one of their sight words, she did many other things that
were developmentally appropriate for lower elementary students. She started them on
the rug, but made sure to move them so they wouldnt get too antsy. When she asked
them questions, she told them to take time to think before raising their hands. Near the
end of the lesson, one student was having trouble writing a letter in a word they wanted
to use so she stood behind them and held the pencil with them, guiding their hand so
that they can build up the muscle memory of what it is like to write that letter. Overall I
think the teacher did a great job at using developmentally appropriate teaching practices
for a kindergarten classroom.
This lesson study was a great experience and I felt like I learned a lot. I got to
work with a little boy who told me he was sick but going to try to work very hard. I tried
to get up and help another child, but he did not want me to leave. He was very sweet

and it is students like him that make teaching worthwhile. I enjoyed observing the
teacher because she was great at demonstrating TPEs 1A and 6A. I have observed
these TPEs in other classes but I feel that as time goes on and I am able to observe
more lessons, I feel more confident in my knowledge of the TPEs.

Lesson Study 9/15/15

The lesson I was observing was given by an amazing third grade teacher at a
school in San Rafael. I have known this teacher for many years, so it was fabulous to be
able to observe her in action. Her energy was cheery and positive and before even
stepping into the classroom with her, I knew this was going to be a great lesson
demonstration. Her lesson focused on the length of day in mathematics, more
specifically, elapsed time. In this reflection, I will focus on TPEs (Teacher Performance
Expectations) 1, 2, 3, & 7 through the focus of four Standards for Mathematical Practice,
or SMPs, and also will include many strategies I observed the teacher used within the
TPEs and SMPs. TPE 1 is about the pedagogy for teaching math, TPE 7 is about
teaching English learners, and TPE 2 & 3 are about monitoring and assessing student
learning throughout the lesson. The SMPs focused on during this lesson were 1, 4, & 5.
SMP 1 is about making sense of problems and preserving in solving them. SMP 4 is

about modeling with mathematics. Lastly, SMP 5 is about using appropriate tools
strategically.
TPE 1 focuses on the best strategies for teaching math. This includes facilitating
student understanding and development of skills, providing opportunities for growth,
providing a secure environment for taking risks, requiring student collaboration, and
fostering positive attitudes towards math and debunking the math phobia myth. This
teacher was spectacular in all of these areas. Her lesson directly focused on the content
standards which require students to tell and write time to the nearest minute and
measure time intervals in minutes, or in simpler terms, elapsed time. The teacher
started with a warm up to review finding time to the nearest minute using familiar times.
Then they were given a word problem and had to figure out the length of a music class
using number lines and intervals on time. Here they were given the opportunity to use
different tools such as open number line, toolkit clock, adding hours then minutes, which
aligns with SMP 5 - use appropriate tools strategically. The tools provided the students
with different ways of solving the problems which sets them up to be successful. At the
end of the lesson, the students shared their different strategies to get to the same
answer, and then joined the teacher on the carpet. Lastly, the class discussed sunset
and sunrise times, which would be later discussed in a different lesson. This can be tied
to SMP 4 - model with mathematics. It provides them an opportunity to apply what they

learned to real life situations. Throughout the lesson, the teacher used different modes
of response, such as time checks on fingers, written work, shouting or whispering their
answers, etc, to gain insight into where her students were. This is a great example of
TPE 2&3 - assessing and monitoring student learning.
The teacher provided many opportunities for the students to learn, and was able
to assess these through a variety of strategies. Having students repeat another
students answer in their own words provides them with an opportunity to further explain
a strategy, and prove that they know it themselves and are not just parroting what
another student said. They are interpreting data and explaining their reasoning. The
students also wrote their different methods on the board, which showed the students
that in math, a question should have one answer but can have multiple possibilities for
solving the question. Another way that I noticed the teacher assessing the learning was
during the main activity, she would go around to different tables and ask them about
their work. She wouldnt praise or discourage, she wouldnt guide them towards the
right answer, she would just ask them what their strategies were or what they have done
so far. She calls this neutral response. This is a way of informally checking in with her
students as well as teaching them to not rely on the teachers guidance all the time. I
noticed her using this strategy specifically with her students who were English language
learners, which then leads me into TPE 7.

TPE 7 is about teaching English language learners. This includes applying

theories and practices that lead to literacy, drawing upon the EL students backgrounds
and prior knowledge, making learning strategies explicit, knowing how analyze student
errors in order to plan differentiated instruction, and many more. This school has a
student population of almost entirely English language learners, with a wide range of
CELDT scores. The teachers are trained in GLAD, Guided Language Acquisition
Demonstration, and I observed many GLAD strategies being demonstrated in this
lesson. A few of which were using gestures, pictorial input charts, and grouping the
students heterogeneously. The gestures were either TPR, Total Physical Response, or
ASL, American Sign Language, and are used very often in GLAD and were specifically
used when they were discussing sunrise and sunset times. This provides students who
might not know what the words mean some context clues. The pictorial input charts are
used in GLAD because of the research that has been done on neurological imprinting
and metacognition. Having pictures, as well as making the charts their own by adding
their own data, helps the students remember the information more efficiently, especially
for EL students. Lastly, the heterogeneous groupings are helpful for EL students
because it provides the opportunity for students to work with different people, and is
also useful in cooperative activities that develop problem-solving and social skills.

When I have my own classroom, I definitely see myself using many of the
strategies I observed, especially the GLAD strategies even if I am not in a GLAD
focused school. What is great about observing different teachers throughout my time at
Dominican, is I am able to acquire many different strategies that I will eventually use, or
not use, in my own classroom. GLAD isnt required by teachers in plenty of schools, but
just because something isn't required, doesn't mean it's not useful. Overall, I feel that
this was an amazing lesson and I am very grateful I had the opportunity to observe this
teacher. You can tell she is a well-loved, experienced teacher because she so
effortlessly covers the strategies and TPEs mentioned above and as someone so
eloquently put it, She doesnt just walk around the room, its almost like she dances
around the room.