CHARLES COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

POST-OBSERVATION CONFERENCE FORM

NAME OF TEACHER : GARTLAND, ERIN NAME OF OBSERVER : AKINS, CARRIE

PRE-CONFERENCE DATE: ___________ OBSERVATION DATE:01/31/2017 POST CONFERENCE DATE: _____________

A REFLECTION OF MY LESSON

INSTRUCTION: Please bring student work samples and/or any other document(s) relevant to the lesson and be prepared to
discuss the following questions.

General Reflection

1. Overall, how successful was your lesson? Were there any components of the lesson you would do differently?
This lesson went very well. All the students were engaged and participating and having discussions with each other. In order to
get more whole class participation in the discussion I would give each group a question that I will ask them. This way they will be
prepared when we begin the whole class dialogue.

Lesson Specific Relations

2. To what extent did the organization of your classroom (room arrangement, materials) and your rules and procedures maximize
learning?
Having the Smart Board with the timer going helped set the pace for the lesson and the students. They know exactly how much
time they had to work. The desks were already in groups, and I had already made groups based on a precious assessment, so
the students were arranged accordingly to maximize their learning. Also having the directions in folders and in cover sheets
allowed for smooth transitions between activities.

Lesson Specific Relations

3. How did the strategies you used to introduce new content support student learning? How did the strategies planned help
students deepen and practice their understanding of the content?
The students were engaged in inquiry learning, building on concepts that they took from a very basic level (sorting cards into
groups that made sense to them) and built upon it (sorting the cards into groups based on types of energy). This activity allowed
the students to take prior knowledge and arrange it into types of energies. The students saw that some of their original groups fit
into the energy groups, and other students saw that there were a lot of connections between the types of cards and the energies
that they could represent.

Planning and Preparation

4. Which techniques or tools for engaging students were most successful? How did you communicate high expectations for all
students?
Each student was required to complete their own assignment while completing the activity. it also helped them keep track of their
progress and thoughts throughout the activity. I continuously rotated around the groups making sure that they were on task and
completing the assignment correctly. I would ask probing questions to the groups as I rotated to check for understanding.

Assessment

5. What measurement tools did you utilize to determine if your students were successful? Based on your data, did the majority of
your students accomplish the objectives established for the lesson?
I used their worksheet that they completed as they performed the activity. This allowed me to see if they were making groups that
made sense. I also used formative assessment as I walked around. I would listen to student dialogue and ask probing questions. I
then took notes on the students who understood the lesson and content, who mostly understood it, and who struggled with it.

Assessment

6. If you teach this lesson again, what will you do differently?

I will make sure to have my whole class discussion questions ready and assign certain groups to them so that we can have a
more in-depth discussion and the students are not put on the spot. This will allow for students who do not normally share
(because they are afraid to be wrong, or put on the spot) to be more confident in their answers.