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Victor Brancati

Professor Rasmussen

LS Connections in Education

April 6, 2017

Lesson Study Essay 2

For the second lesson study of the semester our class visited a public school in San

Rafael. The class we observed was a fifth grade class taught by a student teacher. We were able

to see a math class where the students were learning about dividing decimals by whole numbers.

While at the lesson study, we observed how the teacher implemented two teacher performance

expectations (TPEs). TPE: 2 Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Learning was

demonstrated through the classroom setup and student expectations. TPE: 4 Planning Instruction

and Designing Learning Experiences for All Students was shown in the lesson plan and how the

teacher ran the math class. Last, evidence of student learning and assessment occurred

throughout the lesson while walking around the room, or asking the students to show their work

on the board.

One very important part of a classroom is the learning environment. TPE 2 explains how

the learning environment can be maintained to be effective. The teacher we observed changed

the seating arrangement to help students who were struggling and had various decorations for an

effective physical environment. The class was set up with the students in various table groups.

The teacher arranged the seating so that the students who excelled in math were separated among

the groups to help the students who were having a difficult time. There was also a table group in

the back with one student who only spoke Spanish. The teacher put two students next to him who

could speak Spanish and were able to help him with the work. That student also had a math
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textbook in Spanish so he would be able to understand the material. The physical environment

and decorations of the classroom helped the students get focused once they entered the room.

The students knew that the classroom was a place to focus on learning and not messing around.

Since the school was a GLAD school there were various posters on the wall that related to

GLAD. I was also encouraged and happy to see that the teacher had a library set up in the

classroom. Since the school did not have a library before and the one they do have now doesnt

have very much. The teacher bought books to put in her classroom for the students. It was clear

that the classroom set up really aided student learning.

Teachers always have to be aware that every student learns in a different way. That is

why TPE 4 is important in the classroom. The teacher we observed used a lesson plan and guided

practice to ensure that the session was designed for all students. Using the lesson plan, the

teacher was able to plan out the class. The class started with mental math questions and the

teacher tossed a ball around to students who would answer the question. This kept the class fun

in the beginning to keep the students attention. The lesson plan could also help by planning for

students who are aided by different instructional strategies. The main strategy that the teacher

used in this lesson was guided practice. The teacher read a math problem to the children and then

had them work on their own to find the answer. After, everyone would do it together as a class.

This gave the students a chance to work at their own pace using different techniques that suit

them the best. As mentioned earlier, one student uses a math book that is in Spanish and his table

group partners can help him with the material. This gives the students an opportunity to support

each other in learning. All the students in the class were able to have a beneficial learning

experience because the lesson was planned and designed accordingly.

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An effective teacher should always be evaluating their students to see if they understand

what is being taught at that point in time. During this lesson, the teacher used multiple techniques

to observe student learning. The evidence of the assessment occurred throughout the lesson while

walking around the room, or asking the students to show their work on the board. In the

beginning with the warm up question, the teacher had the students go over each step that they did

to get to the answer. During the guided practice section of the lesson, the teacher walked around

the classroom watching to see how the students were figuring out the problems. When it seemed

like the class was not sure of how to do a problem, the class went through the problem together.

The teacher called different students to come up to the whiteboard and show their work on a few

questions. Not only does this help the students who were having a hard time, but it also gave the

teacher a chance to check for comprehension of the material. Evaluation is an important part to

teaching the students.

During this lesson study, we observed how the teacher implemented TPE: 2 Creating and

Maintaining Effective Environments for Learning was demonstrated through the classroom setup

and student expectations. TPE: 4 Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for

All Students was shown in the lesson plan and how the teacher ran the math class. Even though

there were no tests or quizzes evidence of student learning and assessment occurred throughout

the lesson. The teacher walked around the room, or asked the students to show their work on the

board. After this lesson study I realize how variability there is in a lesson. Not only do you

prepare different techniques before the lesson, but you also change what you are doing during the

lesson as you see how the students respond.