Jaime Murphy Furst

Chapter

6: Reflection

and Self Evaluation

Overall I was happy to see the student progress over the course of the past few weeks and
while there were times that I was frustrated, thinking the students were struggling,I was greatly
satisfied when I found that all the students made improvement on the post assessmeat- There
were several concepts covered during unit but it was the questions that required critical thinking
that posed the most difficult for the majority of students.

Interpretation of Sludent Learniryg

I found thatZ particular questions posed the most diffrculty, those questions related to
Objective 2 (benchmarks) and Objective 5 (visually comparing items and connection to addition
and subtractiozJ. These 2 concepts reqwired mare time, more practice and canstsnt repetition.

Additionally, I had to come up with creative ways to get the students to see the concept and
make it their own. I started the unit discussing the concept of how units on a ruler sre the
spaces between the numbers. Once they were clear, lshowed the studeats that different units

of

measure had different amounts of space between themie: centimeters are smaller units then

inches. While, the students were comfortable with this material and were able to apply it in a
basic way, the

difficulty arose when the students had to make visual distinctions between the

units. Understanding the critical thinking application, I knew that this would be a struggle for
several students and was not surprised that the majority

of students had difficulty with it.

Through several scaffolded lessons we practiced; but it wasn't until I incorporated a

lesson where the students measured several items around the room in two
measure, that the concept started ta

dffirent units of

talkhold. It was not easy; it was ftustrating

at times. The

maioritv of studenls however overwhelminslv enioverl the inferacfive learnins exnerience I had

Jaime Murphy Furst

the students work in groups of 4 to measure and take notes of the length ofthe particular unit.
Some students were excited, some were disinterested and some didn't apply the concept

correctly (they did by the fourth workstation). By offering the students a mini-lesson, followed
by student exploration, the majority of students were able to take the abstract idea and make

it

concrete-

I was disappointed by Gianna's results in the area of critical thinking, getting both
questions incorrect on the post-test as well as Clara, who showed very little growth between pre
and post test

results. Both students were inconsistent throughout the entire unit. One day they

were raising their hand with the answer, the next day, they were unable to apply the concept to a
new problem. For example, with the lesson on measuring curves vs straight lines, both girls
were able to measure the lines, but even with repeated practice and repetition, they did

rot

believe that the straight line was the shortest distance. Jabez, Arthur and Alexis also continue to
struggle with the critical thinking concept. I realized that while many of the other students did
get the correct answers on the test, there is a possibility that they may not be able to replicate

in

the

it

future withaut continuous acposure to similqr questions to reinforce the concept.

Aaother thing I noticed was that the boys on average did much better overall than the

girls and that those with in-class support did better on average than the average student. I believe
the in-class support offers the sfudents more one on one time, which is advantageous when a
student is learning a new concept. This also poses that possibility that the in-class support is

leading certain sfudent to the correct ansvrer, but from what I have seen, that is not the case. I
learned to put the question back on the student to help themfind the answer. Moving forward,

will

be incorporating more critical thinking concepts throughout the rest of the unit, to keep the

students practicing with these new concepts. I think overall, this was a new way of thinking for

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the majority of them and found that during the lesson, more of the girls said, "Mrs. Furst this

doesn't make sense," after first reading the problem. Overall, the boys were more likely to try
the problem while the girls were more likely to question the accuracy of the question.

Insights on Effective Learning and Instruction

As mentioned earlier, I found this to be a rewarding experience because it taught me how
to work through the difficult days, when I felt that the concept was too hard. It also taught me
that as a teacher you need to keep track of all your student's learning abilities and modify your
lesson to meet each individual's needs. Learning is ongoing, and the process

dffirs from

student to student.
Addressing the needs of the students at the same time was not easy but it was beneficial

to them and me as well! As I moved from student to student during the independent activity, I
would have to quickly adjust my strategy to help themfigure out how to salve the problem. I
think the idea of having the students explare to understand, using hand-on concrete objects was
very beneficial

for

the class

overall. Once the students had a unit of reference to recall, they

were able to apply the concept; but it did take time and they are still working on

it.

Exit tickets

were very helpful in providing me with feedback that I needed about which students needed
more practice with a concept. Additionally, I learned a lot about student understanding by

collecting and reviewing the student's homework each day. You could see, who had help and
who tried it on their own and who was genuinely having difficulty.
Implications for Future Teaching

Moving forward, I will continue to keep the lesson structure in place, mini-lesson,
partner activity/exploration, class discussion, independent octivity as I found the process was

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I also found myself lopking

at the youtube videos for ways to explain concepts, such as how to

explain measuring straight lines vs curyy lines and how to introduce the lessons about word
problems where you are asked to compare the difference. There is a lot of very good information
on the web, the ability to find

it and tweak to meet your needs is key to

in itself takes time, practice and

success and I

think that

a keen eye.

If I found that most of the students did a very poor job or showed very little growth
between the pre-assessment and the post-assessment,

I would have to evaluate the material and

the student- I would staxt by thinking about what I know about my students;what have they
shown me in how they

learn. Then I would look

at the material artd see what

I cauld do to make

it easierfor them to digest. Is there a fim game to incorporate, or is there a hand-on component
that could bring this lesson to

life?

I would build on what we practiced and reinforce through

active participation. The most important thing for me is to get the students to benefit from our

time in the classroom.

Overall, I found the TWS to be a challenging yet rewarding experience, something that
made me question myself and force myself to "think like a second

grader." Going through the

experience, I learned that to be s teacher, I need to adjust myself and my lesson to meet the
students' needs. I learned that the teacher's role in dfficult but necessary and in mony ways

fuffilling. I also learned tltat some lessons tafu time for students to fully get it, but the kids are
smart and even when you think the lesson was lost, they surprise you.

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very effective. I will continue to use exit tickets, but I think that I will use them more
strategically throughout the lesson. During the unit, I was giving exit tickets every day even

if

we were going to continue to work on the same concept the next day. Between the exit tickets
and the homework,

it became

bit cumbersome. If I frnd that I have several students that are

struggling with a concept (Alexis, Giana, Clarq Jabez, Arthur, Amari, Bianca Kendrick), I will

bring the lesson back a few days later to reinforce. Every few days will incorporate an aspect
of the prior lesson. For example, if we are working on measurement word problems, I may
spend two days in a row to teach and explore. Then I

for

a day or

will move

on to another lesson or concept

two and then come back to the measuring word problems. I think, given the age and

cognitive development, reinforcement id key to making a connection to the lesson. Additionally,

I think the majority of students learn better by experiencing the lesson, rather than listening to
facts. They are young and have a lot of energy, the only way to make something stick in their
mind is to make it exciting for them andvisible and concrete.
Implications -for Prqfe s s ional Development
There were several times, during the unit, where I was a bit stumped about how to further
breakdown a simple concept. I found myself using the visual and explaining again...only louder
and

slower!! From that point, I learned that the best way to address what they do not know is to

throw the question back at the student and help them work it tltrough as they talk to me. For
example: I would say, "Okay, tell me what you do know about a centimeter and a meter?" Then

I would guide them to answer their own question. It was not easy and I took advice from my
supervising teacher when she said- " Do less talking and let them just try and figure it out; they
need to play around with

stufffor a bit before it takes hold.

" It was very true. I relied on some

very good Common Core based material including the Georgia State Standards and EngageNY.