Student Teacher_____Aaron Lober School_PS/MS 107

Observation #_5 Date _Dec. 3, 2015 Class 8th gr. English, ICT Period_3__
Main Lesson Objective (short range concept):_SWBAT identify the characteristics and skills that
are displayed in the 3 college essays and infer which student is best for MPIT
__________________________________________________________________ _______
I. GETTING STARTED/INTRODUCING THE LESSON
___yes _Establishes opening balance of firmness and friendliness
__yes_ Introduces focused, short-range performance objective(s)
_yes__ Establishes organized agendathe main steps for learning new knowledge
__yes_Motivates students to become interested in the learning objective
__not entirely_Engages students in generating relevant prior knowledge upon which to build
__somewhat__Helps students contextualize the lesson within the broader unit of study
_yes_Establishes behavior guidelines necessary for a productive lesson
General Observations: The Do Now asked students to identify a a skill or characteristic needed
to be successful in MPIT (an on line college) and to explain why this skill is necessary to be
successful. In addition, an extension question asked students, Which of the 3 college essays
displays this skill in the writing?
The purpose of the lesson was to scaffold through a graphic organizer the main points of an
argumentative essay, the long-term teaching goal of this unit. The Do Now was differentiated
through the addition of an extension question.
Strengths for this phase:
A student answer to the Do Now question stimulated a full class discussion about the importance
of social skills in an on-line college. The simple answer social was skillfully developed by
your follow-up questions into a discussion that set up the lessonss aim. Your questions prompted
the students to expand the meaning of the word social, make text references, and give specific
examples from particular articles they had read.
II. TEACHING/IMPLEMENTING THE LESSON
_yes __Establishes key learning objective (concept) and how students will understand it
__yes__Gives in-depth presentation of the learning objective and builds lesson around it
__yes__ Offers students deductive (direct teaching) and inductive (discovery) approaches

_yes__Uses instructional formats to appeal to verbal, visual and kinesthetic modes

_yes__Presents new knowledge, not previously taught knowledge (review, etc.)
__yes__Designs varied activities for applying new knowledge (individual, pairs, groups)
__somewhat__Provides clear directions and expectations for each learning activity
_yes __Structures and paces lesson for unity and completeness, including debriefing
_yes_Uses effective questioning to generate critical thinking and multiple views
__yes __Manage students effectively throughout the lesson
__yes__Provides traditional and performance-based assessment of new knowledge
General Observations:
The students had read 3 articles about 3 different people trying to get accepted to an online
college. The graphic organizer had students sort the skills each person had, in order to determine
which of the three should be selected to go to this college. You modeled the steps for filling in
the graphic organizer. When it was complete it would be an outline for the argumentative essay.
You introduced the new idea that sometimes a person would NOT have an identified skill that
would be beneficial.
Strengths for this Phase:
The modeling was precise and clear. The thinking behind your answers in each section of the
graphic organizer made sense to the students, which you knew since you checked comprehension
at each point. When a student offered a quotation to support a characteristic that wasnt quite
right, you clarified the point. After the modeling, students worked in pairs to fill in the organizer.
Goals for this Phase:
Students need a lot of support to understand how to sort through and organize evidence for an
essay with a claim and a counter claim. Perhaps the organizer could be reworked to be more
clear?
Although the directions for filling in the graphic organizer were given and students indicated that
they understood what to do, they clearly didnt.
III. CLOSING/DEBRIEFING THE LESSON
__yes the pacing was good, new knowledge, no__Paces lesson to provide for an effective
culminating display of new knowledge
__NA_Provides clear directions for homework application of learning objective
___yes_Invites students to debrief by articulating the lessons personal and cognitive benefits
Observations/Goals: Students were confused about how to fill in the organizer which you
noticed as you went around during the work period. The informal check for comprehension at the

end of the class when you asked, Who felt confused about the graphic organizer? was
productive because students acknowledged their confusion and you responded appropriately by
saying they would work on it more the next day.

IV. OVERALL PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

yes__Reflects on/evaluates how instructional choices and actions affect students
__yes__Builds relationships and seeks resources that support students active learning
___yes_Is flexible in accommodating varied learning aptitudes and formats
__yes__Is objective and calm in dealing with the unexpected

Observations/Goal
You are clearly honing your skills. Your coteachers are helping you to be rigorous, precise and
even more thoughtful about how you teach what you are teaching, particularly in the areas of
modeling and differentiation.
You have made learning more metacognitive. Asking students to assess their own learning as an
exit ticket-who was confused by the graphic organizer, how did the graphic organizer help you
understand the textis excellent.

Questions Reflective Teachers Ask Themselves When Reflecting on Observed/Implemented Lessons

Date:

Lesson:

Following your observation of a lesson, read and reflect carefully on the following questions. Respond in
writing to those that most pertain to the lesson.

Did the student learning anything? If so, why? If not, why not?

Did anything significant occur? If so, what and why?

Was the lesson built around a focused short-range objective that students could learn during the class?
Was the objective too narrow or broad for the grade level; if so, how could it be improved?

Was the strategy used the most effective one? What other strategies might be more effective?

How well did the lesson elicit the students prior knowledge, relevant experiences, and personal interests?
How might these important connections be improved?

How flexible was the teacher in modifying the lesson to accommodate students learning needs?

How well was classroom behavior managed? What proactive techniques might have been more
successful? What technique worked best and why? What didnt work and why?

What connections were made between the instructional strategies and the learning effectiveness? In the
future, how can I mend this gap to ensure all students learn a concept in depth?

Was the lesson coherent? How might the opening, the actual instruction the learning application, or the
closure be improved to give students a more coherent learning experience?

How were students inspired to learn the lesson objective? Were they offered intellectual and personal
rationales for learning? How might I do this in the future?

Did students have adequate opportunity to direct their own learning? If so, how? If not, what could be
done?

As a result of observing or teaching this lesson, what have I learned about teaching? What goals have I
developed as a result?