Observation 2 Reflection

Tony Snyder
10/28/14

What?
On Tuesday, I had my second content area observation. I always look forward to these
observations because they are focused and help me identify areas where I would like to improve,
then get observed in those specific areas, and then I am able to discuss how the lesson went.
Because I am in a PBL setting this semester, I have been dealing with having to learn a lot of
new strategies for teaching and having to change my own teaching style to fit this very different
style of teaching and learning. With that said, for this lesson I wanted to focus on engagement
during the lesson as well as how well I can manage the class. I knew the class that I was being
observed in was one of the classes where I have more issues especially in the area of
disruptiveness and off-task behaviors. Also knowing that this would be a lesson near the end of
the project, I knew that I would have more classroom issues. So I wanted Jon to focus on if and
how I kept the class engaged throughout the entirety of the class period as well as how I
addressed any issues that arose during the class period.
So What?
I originally planned on doing a warm-up activity (which we do every day) but after doing it for
the first hour, we decided to scrap it so the students could have more project work time (which
they desperately needed). So the only bit of instruction and content that I gave students was in
the form of a Connect Four review/practice activity. After the class, Jon and I talked about how
this activity went. I believed that students were more engaged in this activity than other ones I
have given out before. I believe this is because they were instructed that they couldnt move on
to the next activity until their whole group was done with the connect four activity. This held
them accountable for completing the activity as well as working collaboratively on it. The one
issue that arose was the varying levels of student understanding in each of the groups. For
example, in one group there was a student who completely understood everything and finished in
minutes. There was also a student in that same group who needed to be taught everything on the
sheet again and as a result took too much time on it (and held his group back). These varying
levels of understanding and completeness led to us discussing how we can account for all of the
varying levels of understanding in lessons and how we accommodate for those varying levels.
We also discussed the classroom management issues, of which there were not a lot of. These
different discussions helped me in realizing what areas I still need to address in my own teaching
in order to have an effective classroom environment someday.
Now What?
Although my focus on this lesson was geared toward engagement and classroom management, I
really got some good conversation and points of reflection that spurred from the lesson
specifically, how to identify the varying levels of understanding at any time in the classroom and
how to differentiate instruction so that each student is receiving the amount of instruction and
support they need in order to succeed. Teaching using the PBL model means students move at
their own pace through a project and each student may need different levels of support and
teaching throughout the process. I have seen this a lot during the course of the many projects that
we have done. This observation and coaching session have helped me see more clearly just how
important identifying the varying levels of understanding in the classroom at any given time
require me to change my teaching practices in order to make sure I reach every student and no
student falls through the cracks. I am going to take this coaching session and think about
strategies that I can use for the remainder of my student teaching as well as in my future career

for when I encounter times (it will happen sometime, undoubtedly) when students are at different
levels in the learning process. I am going to work hard to identify the various levels of student
understanding when I am planning my lessons and think harder about what I can do so all
students in my classroom are doing challenging mathematical activities as well as feeling like
they are still learning, despite their levels of understanding.