On this page you will find a video from eighth grade reading classroom field, my observed lesson plan, cooperating teacher feedback, and connections with Wisconsin Teaching Standard 8, 4, and the Alverno Education Ability Diagnosis.
Field Placement Information/Lesson Analysis: My fourth and current field field placement is at Milwaukee College Prep in an eighth grade classroom with 25 students. This classroom setting is different from my previous two fields because it is an urban school that is entirely African American. This classroom is also different than my prior experiences because it is teacher centered and the curriculum is very regimented. I understand that all schools differ on the approach to how students learn best. Although their core practices do not coincide with my beliefs on student learning I have observed purposeful learning in this classroom. Although all students are reading the same novel and I have only observed large group discussions these discussions are meaningful to students and they engage and participate regularly. The challenge with these regimented curriculum is there is not much opportunity to accommodate student reading levels within the general education classroom. I have observed accommodations made when students with individual education plans go to "re-teach block". During this time I have observed students listen to the book on an iPad and have the reading test read aloud for them as well as different questions asked. I respect my cooperating teacher and her ability to keep learning engaging through the tight curriculum practices and teacher directed instruction method. In my field thus far I have worked to create lessons that are still with in students regular routines of learning but also incorporates portions of my beliefs and practices of how students learn literacy best. In my observed lesson plan/video lesson below I created a lesson where students build their prior knowledge on the Revolutionary War era as preparation to read their next novel, "The Year of the Hangman" which takes place during this time. My first step was to have students read various short picture stories about the Revolutionary Way era. After students read they had the opportunity to work in small groups and record the main idea of their short story with two pieces of evidence, and also create a visual to illustrate their main idea. Through this lesson you will notice me beginning instruction by modeling for students; we read a short story as a whole class and then I used think alouds with student participation to put together the main idea with evidence an a visual. I also clearly displayed expectations of students on the front board. Also during this lesson you will see that I informally assess student learning based on the participation in small groups and through collecting their main idea and visual group product. During the lesson I had to use many redirecting strategies when students were working in small groups as this is not something they do very often. I did my best to circulate among groups and guide student learning as needed. You will also notice in this video that the students I am teaching are all boys; right now Milwaukee College Prep is following gender based classrooms in the middle school due to lack of engagement and work ethic during class time. This is not a permanent grouping. I thought these eighth grade boys did a great job following my new learning requests. Overall, their group work was purposeful and they were engaged when their peers were sharing their findings to the whole class.
WTS 8: The teacher knows how to use formal and informal assessment techniques to meet student needs and ensure learning is occurring.
This interactive lesson shows my ability to display standard eight through my various use of assessment. In this video and my lesson plan my main use of assessment was through an informal context. At the beginning of the lesson I modeled for students the thinking I expected them to do. I allowed for student participation as well. In small groups students again were able to participate and practice their learning as they recorded the main idea of their short story as well as created a visual. As the teacher I used this time to observe what students shared in their small groups and the various roles they fulfilled. Watching students communicate their thoughts on the main idea and supporting evidence I was able to check their understanding and provide the needed support when knowledge was lacking or unclear. Through students recording their main idea with evidence I was able to visually see if objectives were met. I could see that groups who need extra support during the group work portion were still not as confident in their main idea statements. I also noticed one group was very confident while working and volunteered to share first with the whole group. Through my informal assessment use I was able to determine where student understanding was be aware of needed support for the future.
WTS 4: The teacher uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students and their overall performance.
Through out these lesson I used a variety of instructional strategies to encourage student learning. I began by modeling my thinking aloud for students and allowing their participation to formulate the main idea, evidence, and visual. I also had students work in small groups implementing the strategy of students demonstrating their thinking orally. I went on to encourage student learning through not only written responses but encouraging a visual creative response as well. Visuals were very engaging for these students and many were full of detail. During the lesson I was able to gauge students understanding and provide the needed scaffold support as needed to encourage their continued work to identify the main idea and evidence. I planned accurately for modeling my thinking because some students did struggle with writing their main idea onto paper. When these happened to used the strategy of remodeling my thinking of referencing the title and and looking at each paragraph to develop the main idea.
Diagnosis: The teacher can analyze problems in the classroom and solve them effectively by making decisions based on the students needs.
This lesson exhibits my ability to solve and analyze problems. This classroom has been much different than my previous field experiences. As a field student I must address the problems I observe while teaching in the classroom in order to meet the learning objectives. Since these students are not as comfortable with group work I had to diagnosis when redirection strategies were needed, proximity should be used, and consequences for off task behavior should be clear. During this lesson I also diagnosis students academic needs and provide the necessary support to redirect their learning as needed. Since my beliefs on the way students learn literacy best is through student centered instruction and theory based in sociolinguistics I allowed for students to collaborate and share their thinking. My lesson plan was students centered through the participation, and group work practice, and full group sharing. These are decisions based on my diagnosis of students needs that benefit their learning.
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