Angel Doughty

Assessment of English Learners

November 22, 2015
Reflection of Observation for Assessment of English Learners
This is a reflection of an observed lesson in a high school chemistry class on balancing chemical equations and
stoichiometry. There were no learning or language objectives listed, and no use of an agenda to let the
scholars know what the expectations for the class period were. This was a strict lecture style lesson from a
power point. This lesson was led exclusively from the front of the room with little to no movement by the
teacher or the scholars. They were instructed to take notes on the lecture. Half way through the period, a
worksheet was handed out for practice. There was independent work time with no more instruction other
than to complete the worksheet. Several scholars looked confused as a couple took out periodic tables that
were handed out prior to the lesson. Most scholars then followed their lead and took theirs out as well.
There was no discussion and the level of engagement visibly waned as the period went on.
The content of the lesson was solid, and the teacher has a high level of knowledge for the subject. I felt that he
was disconnected with the level of engagement and had no desire to interact with the scholars in discussion.
Questions were answered efficiently, but there was no change of path from the intended lesson.
The worksheet is a good form of assessment for this type of lesson because it requires practice to balance the
chemical equations. I would have also used the front board to bring scholars up to check for understanding.
I would have also used small group pairings after the lesson so that discussion could continue and if there
were any questions that any scholars had but were embarrassed to ask in a large group setting could be
answered.
The teacher used very few if any SIOP strategies in this lesson. The lesson was taught with a singular path with
no further explanation of vocabulary or differentiation for scholars of any language level.
Overall, I was rather disappointed in the lesson because I saw the level of engagement drop as the period
continued. The teacher either didnt notice, or didnt care to further engage the scholars.