Artifact Title: Lesson Plan Letter U (Art Project)
Date: March 10, 2014
Artifact Description
This is a lesson plan I taught during my Pre-student Teaching practicum experience at Neal Wilkins in Platteville. I taught Mrs. Johnsons 4-K class. Every day, they have a half hour block of time set aside to do an art project that is reflective of the Jolly Phonics they are currently working on. The Jolly Phonics letter was U.
Alignment:
Wisconsin Teacher Standard Alignment:
This experience best aligns with Standard 7: Instructional Planning- The teacher plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, the community, and curriculum goals.
This best aligns Standard 7 because it reflects my knowledge and ability to create appropriate learning activities that take into account curriculum, subject matter and student development reflected in an instructional plan that will meet curricular goals and make these elements a part of the students experience. The anticipatory part of this lesson elicited students prior knowledge of the subject matter and encouraged exploration of new, or possibly unknown, knowledge as well. This lesson plan encouraged students cognitive development by enabling them to recall their prior knowledge of the unit in place and what they knew, and respond to questions related to the unit and lesson in particular. This lesson also encouraged students physical development, specifically fine motor skills, through the processes students were directed to perform when creating this project (cutting, pasting and rolling the dice).
This experience has made me more competent in understanding curricular goals, understanding student abilities and flexibility. It has showed me the importance of the curricular basis of all classroom activities and how it goes hand-in-hand with student development. It taught me that it is crucial to embrace the ability to be flexible in situations, and that it is an imperative component in order for students to take away from a lesson what your goals for them are.
UW-Platteville Knowledge, Skill and Disposition Alignment
This experience best aligns with KSD3.c: Engages Students in Learning- The candidate has the ability to engage students in the learning process by linking appropriate content, based upon suitable instructional materials and resources, to students knowledge and experience, being certain that all students are cognitively engaged in the activities/assignments and that the students actively contribute to the content design. Instruction is highly coherent and appropriately paced for all students and allows for reflection and closure as appropriate.
The experience of my lesson plan best aligns with this KSD because it allow me to provide an activity that was taught aligned with the unit that was currently in place and that the student had been exposed to for about a week prior to doing this project. This was a very engaging project, both in the cognitive sense and in a hands-on approach. Introducing the project by pulling out what students already knew, then instructing them about new things related to the project and the unit as a whole that they may have been unaware of previously, and finally providing a closure component to the project related to review of their prior knowledge and concepts that had been taught to them that day during the process of creation.
I am more competent after this experience because I was allowed to fully engage students in the content areas I needed them to engage in and at the create their own basis of knowledge through an age appropriate activity.
Secondary KSDs:
KSD2.c: Manages Classroom Procedures KSD3.a: Communicates Clearly and Accurately KSD3.b: Uses Questioning and Discussion Techniques
Reflection
What I learned about teaching/learning from this experience:
I learned many things in teaching this lesson to my students. After teaching this lesson, it gave me a chance to set some goals for myself in correlation with my teaching techniques. I learned that improvising and flexibility are things that are a part of every lesson, no matter what kind or at what level it is being taught. Flexibility is a skill that a teacher must be reading to use with students at any moment necessary. I also learned that it is very important that students be independent while they are engaged, and get the experience of being that way. I realized I tend to jump in a lot, with my intention to redirect students back on track, but sometimes end up doing things for them.
What I learned about myself as a prospective educator as a result of this experience:
After teaching this lesson and reflecting on how it went and how I taught it, I realized some things about my teaching techniques that I need to alter a bit. After teaching this lesson, in the future I really want to let my students be independent, and be their guide and their support while experiencing new challenges. I will be there the moment they need help, but not to overly control their learning process if they are going in a little bit of a different way than was directed by me. I learned that instructional planning is key to the success not only of your students learning but also of an educators teaching.