Teacher Reflection Video Taping #2

Name: Tyler Newcomer School: Salem Avenue Elementary Date: 4/15/14

1. In general, how successful was the lesson? Did the students learn what you intended for
them to learn? The lesson was successful. The students were able to use a variety of strategies to
solve a real-world multiplication problems involving fractions as evidence shows on their work mats.

2. Did you effectively check for understanding? What method(s) did you use to check for
understanding? Yes. I checked for understanding when I observed their solutions. Students could
not move on to the next problem until successfully completing the problem before. This helped
differentiate the lesson because each problem became progressively more difficult.


3. Were you able to use a variety of instructional techniques, and were those techniques
successful? Yes, I used a variety of instructional techniques and I feel they were successful because
my students showed they learned what I wanted them to learn (as evident through their
independent work samples).

The techniques I used were: warm-up instruction, guided practice, independent practice, closure,
real-world applications, random student selecting for communication, problem-based and student-
centered math, use of a focus question to guide the lesson, and differentiated math tasks.

4. Did you depart from your lesson plan? If so, how and why? No, I did not depart from the
lesson plan.

5. Were you able to maintain smooth transitions and constantly monitor student behavior?
My transitions were smooth and student behavior was good. Students were on-task and worked well
in cooperative groups. I used several different techniques for trying to motivate students to complete
their problems successfully.


6. Based on your own self-reflection, what is an area of knowledge or skill that you would
like to strengthen? This is the second year we have taught multiplying and dividing fractions.
Even though I feel more confident this year, I need to continue to develop my own knowledge of
these operations. It is not noticeable, but there were many times I was looking at different ways of
completing the problems as the students were.

7. If you had the opportunity to teach this lesson again to the same group of students,
what would you do differently? I would have an exit ticket so my assessment went beyond just
observation of student work completed during the student work block. Students worked in small
groups. This did not give an accurate enough representation of who could do what.


8. What are your next steps? What resources and/or professional development are
available to you to guide you through your next steps? There are multiple opportunities for
math professional development available this Summer through Salem Avenue, WCPS, and the TIF
Grant.