Practicum Reflection #5 (November 9-13, 2015, Short Practicum Week 2)

Alan Lam
SA: Dameon Lorensen
FA : David Brook

This was my second week of the Short Practicum (EDUC-399, returning student and equivalent of EDUC-
315). Amidst juggling tutoring afterschool as well as attending Monday morning Math tutorials, getting
an SD35 email for future use in my practicum and being trusted with a school master key for classroom
teachers have been a few of the highlights of this week.

This reflection will be relatively a short one, as we had covered a lot of ground in our post-conference
meeting for my lesson on Epidemics and Pandemics Project that I had introduced to the students. We
reviewed Bacteria and Viruses and analyzed their differences, I had taught some skills in note-taking for
the students, and finally gave the students a general overview of the Epidemics and Pandemics Project.

The following Science classes went well and followed up the material in a linear and logical order. We
had time to analyze where we go to find information. The students were to define the word “Epidemic”,
and had to find characteristics that help us understand what an epidemic is (in which characteristics
include speed of spread, fatality rate, epidemic history, etc.). I was able to model how they may retrieve
information using Ebola as an example, and how information can be collected from various websites.

This recent Monday, November 16, 2015, I was able to drop by and teach one more Science lesson in
regards to citations and determining reliable resources. Because of the recent events this weekend, I
asked the students where they had gathered their information about the ISIS attacks on Paris, Beriut,
Lebanon and Baghdad, or how they heard about Japan’s Earthquake. It produced a lively discussion and
students made connections between how the United States is currently reacting to ISIS and how they
reacted to Ebola.

One of my struggles is to provide opportunity for all students to participate in the discussion. I am
getting the same hands up each time. I may decide to make it mandatory for students to contribute 1
thing over the progression of 1 lesson, and have multiple opportunities for students to provide answers
(whether it is an opinion question, how they feel, content recall or a comprehension question). That
way, I can encourage discussion but also hold all students accountable.

What was also noted as a goal for my future lessons is to segment. My lesson plans, although not as well
segmented as I could write them, provide plenty of opportunities to segment within each suggested
activity. In my head I have become aware of opportunities to segment and have been trying to do so in
practice.