Formal Classroom Observation #1

Post-Conference (Planning Conference) Questions

Teacher Candidate: Wyatt Tipping School: Summerfield High School Date:

2/17/23

Questions for reflection and discussion:

• In general, how successful was the lesson? Did the students learn what you intended for
them to learn? How do you know?
• I believe that the lesson was successful for a few different reasons. First, the students
were well engaged throughout the lesson, with minimal distractions surfacing
during discussion periods or in other portions of the lesson. Students also
contributed to discussion, both those who ususally respond and those who don't
respond as often. Because of this, I also believe that the students learned what I
intended for them to learn. I also believe that they learned what I intended for them
to learn through the work that they submitted, as it shows depth and understanding
of the content that was discussed during the lesson.

• If you were able to bring samples of student work, what do those samples reveal about
those students’ levels of engagement and understanding?
• As previously mentioned, the students engagement throughout the lesson and in
their work that was submitted at the end of the lesson was of a deeper level of
thinking and understanding of the content. Students were also engaged throughout
the lesson, contributing to discussion consistently throughout the lesson and asking
questions for both clarification and to create deeper levels of discussion within the
classroom.

• Comment on your classroom procedures, student conduct, and your use of physical
space. To what extent did these contribute to student learning?
• The classroom procedures were rather standard, as the materials were passed out
and students were paired in partners if they desired to work with a partner. Because
of the use of partners during this lesson, there were some brief moments of
distraction for one or two students, but a majority of the time during the lesson was
utilized by students to research and learn more about the content being discussed
during the lesson. I also made an effort to utilize my proximity to students more
during this lesson, rather than remain at my desk or at the front of the room
throughout the lesson. This worked well when students were researching and
completing the work, but did not work as well during whole group discussion times,
as I remained more near the board and was unable to walk around the classroom
and keep my proximity as I would have wanted.
• Did you depart from your plan? If so, how and why?
• During the lesson, I did not depart from the main plan I had created besides to
encourage students to ask questions and think critically during the discussion time
that took place during the lesson. The main reason that I encouraged students to
discuss the content at a deeper level was for a few reasons. First, it was to ensure
that the students understood the content that they were discussing in class, and to
also challenge them to think critically on the subject matter, and to see if they would
be able to find more solutions/answers to the questions that were originally posed to
the class.

• Comment on different aspects of your instructional delivery (e.g., activities, grouping of

students, materials and resources). To what extent were they effective?
• I believe that the different aspects of my instructional delivery were mostly effective
for further enhancing the lesson. For this, the materials that were passed out to the
students and the activity itself helped the students remain engaged with the lesson,
but also allowed for them to approach the lesson however they deemed was most
effective and interesting for them. This also allowed for the students to further
contribute to discussion and engage themselves to the content. However, the
grouping of students was not as effective as I would have liked it to have been. Some
groups of students were off-task at times, while some students chose to work alone,
leaving several students without a partner altogether. This will be something I have
to work on for both future lessons and in my own classroom.

• If you had an opportunity to teach this lesson again to the same group of students, what
would you do differently?
• The main area that I would conduct differently would be the pairing of students. I
would ensure that each student had a partner for this activity, but would also assign
partners randomly, rather than letting students pick their partners. This is where
the pairing of students ran into some errors, as several students wished to work
alone and did not end up having a partner. I would find a way to pair students
ahead of time, or chose students through a different manner, such as pairing them
up by when their birthdays are, or if they are wearing jeans or sweatpants.

• Please identify at least one piece of evidence for each of the categories in domain four, so
we can score that section accurately.
• 4a. Reflecting on Teaching (Question #5, Question #6)
• 4b. Maintaining Accurate Records (Question #2)
• 4c. Communicating With Families (Question #2, Question #3)
• 4d. Participating in a Professional Community (Question # 5)
• 4e. Growing & Developing Professionally (Question #3, Question #5)
• 4f. Showing Professionalism (Question #3, Question #6)
Simply type them in bullets at the end of this document. Thank you!