Self Reflection / Evaluation

The Teacher Work Sample (TWS) that I’ve showcased here is one of my first unit plans,

and was one that was pretty successful all around. This unit was done by myself with some input

from my mentor teacher as to what should be implemented and what would be off topic

regarding Messalonskee’s curriculum. The TWS was done with my first period Modern World

History students, who I have to applaud as they were very willing to try new tasks and

assignments with a student teacher as their first class of the day. The content may not have been

the most interesting on the surface. However, given the content, I was given the chance to

modify and create the chance for students to interact and apply the knowledge to different

situations such as simulation of Feudalism and group discussions.

When I look back at the unit, one learning goal that was perhaps the most lacking was my

third learning goal. The third learning goal goes as follows: “Students will be able to

understand religion’s impact on 1500s Europe”. I feel that this goal wasn’t quite fully met

regardless of how well students did with the material in the unit itself. This last goal on my

learning goals sheet was to really acknowledge the idea about religion being the way in which

life in 1500s Europe explained the items that weren’t at the time scientifically or physically

proven yet. Also, there is the fact that within many of the assignments regarding Absolute

Monarchs, there is a minor attached undertone of Divine Right being what gives all these 1500s

monarchs their rule, but it’s not completely elaborated on in the content until the next unit when

discussing the shift away from religion with the Protestant Reformation and the English

Reformation. Although, there is room for debate as during the “Life in 1500s Europe” slideshow,

there is a lot of knowledge building with how much religion does affect the daily life of

European citizens. What it comes down to is that the unit was primarily focused around
absolutism and distinguishing the characteristics of absolute monarchs and distinguishing many

of those monarchs away from the public and identifying those factors, some of which are

religious based.

As for what learning goal went well and was the most successful was my first goal. The

first learning goal goes as follows: “Students will be able to identify and apply characteristics

to Absolute Monarchs.” This goal was the main focal point of the entire unit in that to explore

life and religion in 1500s Europe, students should know about absolute monarchs and the

characteristics that make them who they are. This goal was met in that students were encouraged

to do group work in which they identify various absolute monarchs and their ruling style as well

as how they characterize themselves within society. Students in that regard were applying

information to a discussion as they discussed different absolute monarchs and how they came to

be and how they ruled. Along with that, there was the Feudalism role play in which students take

on different role in 1500s European society. Activities like this were very appreciated by students

as post activity I asked if they would like to do something similar to these activities again, and

about three-quarters of the class raised their hands with a thumbs up. I’ve discovered that many

of my students appreciate the chance to get up and really interact with the materials they are

given, and it shows with the participation, even from those that aren’t as interested in social

studies. The other reason I feel this learning goal was a success was just the amount of

information as well as activities surrounding the concept of absolute monarchs. Most of the

formative assessments are directly correlated to absolutism and absolute monarchs, and so it

reaffirms what students are learning about in the unit.

Most importantly, this unit has given me the chance to look at my teaching methods and

to really adopt some goals that would help in bettering my career as a teacher. The first goal that
I had discovered was timing. Timing from what I’ve discovered is something that I had often

underestimated in terms of how long it would take students to complete a given task. It’s one of

those items that could be incorporated into lesson planning as well as just realizing some

students need more time than others and that’s okay. Something that could help improve this is

knowing better how my students approach certain items like readings, discussion, and other

activities. By working towards this goal, it could help me narrow down how much time is needed

before moving on to another point in the lesson as to avoid going too fast during certain sections

or going too slow in others. The other item that I found to be good to work on is to transition

away from the “Coach style” of teaching and experiment with all different types even more.

What I noticed is a lot of readings and worksheets as well as group work, which is good, but

mixing it up more would go a long way to improving student engagement and just my overall

adaptability to different situations. Not to say all of the teaching style was reflective of the

“Coach style”, but it was limited. One way that was showing significant changes to another

method of teaching was the Feudalism activity in which my role was as the facilitator of the

class. To improve and work towards this goal I’m thinking that different activities as well as just

delving into the different roles such as a facilitator may help me improve and become more

effective with all kinds of different teacher strategies.

To conclude, the unit as a whole being my first one taught by myself was a success.

Giving students the means and opportunity to influence their learning whether it be the simple

feedback provided to me regarding my Feudalism roleplay, or the implementation of group work,

my students worked with the activities and provided verbal feedback often over what went well,

what was confusing, or what wasn’t working. Each lesson throughout the unit was heavily

influenced by student feedback, which came in terms of verbal discussion about activities and
what was interesting about them, the passive, non-participatory feedback, which indicates that I

needed to step up and challenge the students with something new and interesting, and even

simply a quick hand-raise poll done within classes to indicate understanding helps me to create

the lessons that were presented within my TWS. With all that in mind, my goal is to adapt and

become the best teacher that I possibly can, and to work on making even the most dull content

interesting as well as challenge myself to take on different teaching styles to keep students on

their toes and interested in learning.