TLP: Aurrora Gomez

TLP PROJECT
Encourage student participation and engagement by using technology during lessons

By: Aurrora Gomez

California State University, Fresno
Fall 2022
TLP: Aurrora Gomez

Table of contents

1. Class observation/interview report

2. Problem statement

3. Lesson plans

4. Research

5. Resources

6. Lesson Plans

7. Responses to feedback

8. Reflection
TLP: Aurrora Gomez

Class observation/Interview report: 

Descriptions of the audience 

i. Who is the audience that you’re interviewing or observing? 
The classroom I observed was Mrs. Plumlee’s first grade classroom, from ages 6-7
ii. What are their characteristics? (i.e what grade level do they teach? What subject? Where
do they teach? How have they been using technology in their teaching? etc.) 
Mrs. Plumlee teaches 1st grade and is a multiple subject elementary teacher. She teaches
at McKinley Elementary, and she’s been using technology since she first got her
classroom, such as a smartboard to show students the lessons or curriculum and the
school website to take attendance.
iii. Any other related information about the students/school, etc? 
Mrs. Plumlee used to be a reading teacher, she’d teach students of different grade levels,
how to use correct grammar, and correct English, during reading and writing.

Take note of your interview or classroom observation. Use your interview or classroom observation notes
to answer the below questions

[List the interview questions here if you interview a K-12 teacher]. Disregard this if you observe a
classroom. 

The Thrive/Motivation The Challenges

 What works in their classroom?    Describe a challenge/problem you

During observation, something that observed/discussed in detail. There may
I learned from Mrs. Plumlee’s class be more than 1 problem that you identify,
that she would use attention getters however, please describe one that
to get the class’s attention, one of requires designing a solution. 
them was “Class, class!” and the
students would respond, “Yes,  Student engagement/participation
yes!” this meant that she needed all During my observation I did notice that
eyes on her and for the class to Mrs. Plumlee has her frequent
listen. participators. Those students at the front
 Some examples of success  of the room that would answer all the
o What did the teacher and the questions that she’d ask during a lesson.
student do?  For example, if she’d ask a question, I
o How could you tell it’s a noticed that the students in the front of
the room seemed to pay the most
TLP: Aurrora Gomez
success?)
One of the examples of success was
when Mrs. Plumlee was going over
rhyming words with the students,
when she’d say a rhyming word,
she’d then tell the class, “What’s
something on you or around you
that rhymes with band?” then some
students would say “Hand!” and
she’d encourage the class with
enthusiasm and say another word,
and when the students would get it
correct they were just very happy.
 What thrives them as a teacher?  
What thrives her as a teacher is
teaching young minds and her being
able to teach the first graders how
to read, write and pronounce words
correctly. She says that first grade is
very important because that is the
grade where most of the reading is
developed.
The Unexpected
 Was there anything
unexpected/surprised you during the
interview/classroom observation?  following questions in details:
One thing that did surprise me
during the observation was a
student who was having a tantrum
in class, in the morning Mrs.
Plumlee was going over the
morning work the students had to
work on, she pulled out her popsicle
sticks with each of the students
names on them, and pulled random
ones and called them to the board,
the student that got upset wasn’t
called to the board, and he started
crying loudly and began to kick file
cabinets in the back of the room
making so much noise and causing
distractions. Mrs. Plumlee told him
to count to ten and to take deep
breathes and he’ll be okay the
attention during a lesson, the students in
the middle of the room, would answer
here and there and for the students in the
back of the room, seemed to have a quite
a bit of conversation going on with one
another.
What’s Next? Your Action Plan
Based on the problem you described above, how
would you propose solving it? Answer the
 
What technology tool would you use?
 Use different ways to get a student’s
attention, going up to the smart board,
calling on random students to write out a
problem/solve, playing a game in their
Chromebook about the lesson, (Kahoot,
iready, class dojo) and checking for
understanding when using technology.
 There are different subject related class
games that can be used on the chrome books
for each material.
 What other materials would be used besides
the proposed software?
 Materials, such as different grade leveled
books related to the lesson.
 Fun games, and worksheets
 How would the problem be solved?
 The problem can be solved by encouraging
TLP: Aurrora Gomez

student then refused, and got out of
his seat and began kicking things
harder, Mrs. Plumlee then got her
walkie-talkie, where she called the
vice-principal to come into her
room, once the vice-principal went
in there she took the student on a
walk to cool off, after 10-15
minutes the student returned and
was fine, and ready to learn.
 Any questions/concerns you have?
[Type your response here] (if
applicable)
participation for the students. Checking if
students are understanding the lesson, one
example that a teacher can do, to not exclude
children during participation can be her
telling the class, “Let’s hear what someone
from the middle row thinks or Lets hear from
someone in the back of the room” to prevent
less talking and more interacting. or
incorporating more technology during her
lessons, because that seemed to have
students most engaged.
 How would the solution’s effectiveness be
measured?
 To keep students engaged, she can check for
understandings during lessons, and have
students come up to the smartboard and
participate, afterwards she can do a lesson on
their chrome books that involves learning
games to keep all students engaged and to
make sure they are all following along.

Problem Statement 

During my observation, a problem I encountered was having students engaged and to participate
during lessons. The only time they’d participate was when Mrs. Plumlee would play videos for them
on the smart board, but they were all sing alongs, so they’d just sing along to the video that was
playing. When Mrs. Plumlee was in front of the room teaching a lesson, only a few of the students
were participating, the students in the front of the room seemed to be more engaged in the curriculum
than the students that were in the back. This made me think that her students were more engaged
when she’d use visuals and incorporate technology. To make lessons and learning effective for
students, teachers can encourage participation with the class, for example giving the students who
participate a treat or a sticker increases participation, or putting students in groups which is a great
way to improve problem solving within their peers and expand their way of thinking, and instead of
rewarding them with treats or stickers, teachers can reward groups with points, which will then
involve all students to engage in a lesson to earn points for their group, because the group with the
most points, always has great outcomes. Checking for understandings and asking the back of the
room what the answer is or what do they think the answer is or having them come up to the smart
board to write their answer can help the teacher know if students are understanding the lesson.
It is important to solve this problem, because before proceeding with your lessons, you want to
make sure all your students understand the material, for example what if the students don’t
understand addition but you’re moving on to subtraction without them raising their hand or asking a
question during an entire lesson. The impact I’d want to see is involving different students to
participate, maybe using the mug with the popsicle sticks all the time to call on different students or
changing the sitting chart every now and then.
TLP: Aurrora Gomez

Lesson Plans 

Lesson Topic: Morning work/Morning writing

Grade level: 1st

Lesson duration: 7:50am-8:40am

Tools and materials: 

Tools that were used was a smart board, using visuals, and videos to teach students about
writing, and rhyming and using short O.

CCC Standards 

1.2 Identify letters, words, and sentences

ISTE Standards 

Read on-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive
readings.

Learning goals and objectives:  

I can use patterns to read and spell words using short O.

Description of activities/Steps of Instruction

 Students did morning work that involved short O,
 Visuals and videos were shown to students
 Singing videos were played for students that had rhyming words and short O sounds
like frog and log.
 They did an activity on a word search looking for words with short O.

Assessment/Measures of Student Learning Outcomes 

Based on the lesson, to see if students understand it, we can do an activity with students
having them circle words with short O , then we collect the paper and see if the students are
understanding the lesson.   
TLP: Aurrora Gomez

Research:

“How can technology improve participation?”

During my observation, I noticed that the students in the classroom were likely to
participate in class when technology was being used. When a lesson plan was being taught by the
teacher, they were distracted by picking their nails or looking around the room or talking with
their partner.
Students are now in the era we call digital age. Some adults might view technology as a
distraction for students, but it can be used as a tool to increase student engagement and
understanding. Technology allows our students in today’s world to have a better understanding
about subjects and how to navigate the web, which encourages students to be active listeners and
participators in class.
“What are some tools we can use in class to make understanding better for students?”
 Iready, which is a tool that can be used for diagnostic measures, and target instructions
for assigned lessons.
 Wonders Digital ELA, digital curriculum content for grades K-6 Assigns tasks and
collects data of student’s improvement, can have access from school and home.
 Clever App, applications adopted by school districts that are automated to rostering so
that students are connected to the correct classroom.
TLP: Aurrora Gomez

 Class Dojo, connects teachers and students and parents to build amazing classroom
communities, engages family and parent communication tool
 Kahoot, introduces new topics and facilitates discussions, conducts formative
assessments and reviews material and makes learning and communication fun!

Resources

Bennett, Sarah. Oct. 2022, “How to Increase Student Engagement with Technology.” Chalk, 27
https://www.chalk.com/resources/increasing-student-engagement-technology/. 

Collins, Corinne. Publishing, 15 Apr. 2022, “Tips to Increase Student Participation:

Studentreasures.” Studentreasures
https://studentreasures.com/blog/teaching-strategies/students-not-participating-in-class-
here-are-12-tips-to-help/. 

Dvorak, Brian. 13 July 2021, “Classroom Tools.” Educational Technology,

https://edtech.fresnounified.org/cla/. 
TLP: Aurrora Gomez

Lesson Plans 

Lesson Topic: Morning work/Morning writing

Grade level: 1st

Lesson duration: 7:50am-8:40am

Tools and materials: 

Chrome Books, pencils and worksheets

My Tools & materials:

Smart board expo markers, laptop, and sticks with student’s names, to call on random students

CCC Standards 

1.2 Identify letters, words, and sentences

ISTE Standards 

Read on-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive
readings.

Learning goals and objectives:  

Students will be able to identify short O on their own.

Description of activities/Steps of Instruction

 A video about long O and short O will be demonstrated to students
 Learning stations will be set up for students in class
 Each station will last a 15-minute length
TLP: Aurrora Gomez

 One station will be the reading station, books that focus on the difference between
short and long O.
 There will be another activity station where students trace long O and short O’s and cut
and glue pictures on correct side of the paper. Once students are done, they will able to
color their paper.
 Next station will have a poem with long and short O’s students will then follow
instructions on their paper, and circle long O’s red and short O’s blue.
 Last station will be block building with letters, students will use blocks to make words
that they’ve learned using short O’s.
 After activities are performed, students will head back into their seats, and they’ll be
asked what they’ve learned.
 Picking a random stick with student’s name, students come up to the board and
identify short O’s from the poem worksheet, by circling them on the smartboard,
(reminding them short O says its sound) then doing the same with long O but circling
different color.
 Once students feel comfortable a game will then be played with the class.
 Students will play Kahoot that will include different words, students will identify
which one is short O.

Assessment/Measures of Student Learning Outcomes 

Based on the lesson, students will be able to identify, words with short and long O, which then
will be given a worksheet for them to work independently. When students are done, I’ll check
their work and give them a stamp on their paper, and those who are finished can read a book
before moving on to our next lesson.

Responses to TLP Feedback

Reviewers Comments Responses

Instructor My first TLP Professor Phan let me know I re-read everything I had
that I was not stating a problem formatted and came
statement in my TLP. to realization that I
wasn’t specific
about anything, dug
deeper and found
an actual problem
that would make
sense when writing
my TLP.
Instructor In my second TLP, Professor Phan Looked over the example
suggested for me to fill in some that helped a lot
blank spots on the assignment and and rearranged my
TLP: Aurrora Gomez

to correct certain formatting. TLP.

Reflection

When creating my TLP, at the beginning I wasn’t sure if my formatting was correct or
what was exactly the correct way to do it. What helped a lot was the sample that was in
modules, that helped me guide my way through a better understanding of what I needed to
do. All I can say is that I am glad I began this assignment at the beginning when it was
assigned. Breaking it down and doing it by parts helped a lot, it helped me not feel
overwhelmed and stressed. Overall, this assignment was really great, it was my first TLP,
so it helped me get an insight of what and how lesson plans can be arranged, and it helped
me develop problem solving skills that I can use in the future for my career.