Step 6: Reflection after Instruction

Directions:
Review your responses for Steps 1 to 5. Consider what you have learned through the Culminating Teaching
Experience task about the lesson, the student learning as a result of the lesson, and your analysis of the
lesson and the student learning. Answer the questions below

(REQUIRED) 1. Given your analysis of this lesson and the student learning that resulted,
how will you use this information to guide your planning for future lessons?
Overall, I felt that the lesson went well as far as student learning goes. Almost all students were able to
recognize the letter M and it's sound. Many students were able to identify words that begin with the letter
M for our brainstorm. Students were on task most of the time, but very chatty during our whole group
worksheet activity. There was some disruption from students who continued blurting and one student who
is prone to attention seeking outbursts. Using this information to guide planning for future lessons, there
are a number of things I will do. First, I will review the letter M when we introduce a new letter. Building
upon the students' prior knowledge will enable them to connect what they have learned about the letter m
in future lessons. This will boost their reading skills and encourage phonemic awareness. In future lessons
I will also take timing into more careful consideration while planning and during instruction. While the
timing of the lesson was sufficient in some areas, others took longer to complete than anticipated and
some activities we ran out of time to finish. Planning for realistic time allotments is critical for proper
instruction. For focus student #1, and the entire class, I will start having them write the word that
matches each picture on the phonics worksheet rather than just write the corresponding letter. This will
give them additional writing practice and help build their phoneme segmentation skills. In future lessons I
will also make a listening center available for focus student #2 to give him an additional resource for
hearing the correct letter sound correspondence for the letter of the week. This should really help him be
able to not only hear what the letter pronunciation should sound like but give him a chance to practice
saying the sound and words as well. Finally, I will find time each day to complete new activities that will
help students build their sight word knowledge.

(REQUIRED) 2. After reflecting upon this instructional experience, what have you learned
about the need for making adaptations as you plan for differentiated instruction?
Cite specific information about the students, your plan for instruction, and the analysis of the lesson to
explain your answer.
After reflecting upon this instructional experience I have learned that making adaptations and differentiating
instruction is essential for student success. Teachers should not take a one-size fits all approach to instruction. Each
student has their own needs that should be supported, whether those needs be academic, behavioral, or emotional.
All of these areas play a role in differentiating instruction and adapting to your students. It's important to think of
the whole child when making adaptations. An important thing to consider when making adaptions is the students'
zone of proximal development. By doing so, teachers are able to understand what students can achieve
independently and what they can achieve with assistance. Knowing this information, teachers can scaffold learning
as appropriate for each individual child and gradually move towards independence. Focus student #1 can do a lot
on his own and is strong in some areas but still needs guidance in others. While he can identify many letters and
their sounds on his own, he needs assistance with identifying rhyming words. With small group instruction and
additional activities geared toward the areas of need, he will be able to successfully develop his phonemic
awareness including rhyming skills. Focus student #2 can do a few things on his own during whole group
instruction but without one-on-one attention and guidance he has a hard time staying focused. With my support
and scaffolding, he was able to complete his phonics worksheet during this whole group time. By introducing
additional adaptations such as a listening center, I am confident he will develop his letter sound correspondence
skills. Without making adaptations for our students, they would not be able to reach their full potential or have the
confidence that they can and will succeed.

(REQUIRED) 3. What are your goals for increasing your knowledge and skill in implementing
instruction? How will achieving these goals help you become a more effective teacher?

I have many goals for increasing my knowledge and skill in implementing instruction. My overall goals
include completing my credential program and masters degree. I have also accepted a long-term
substitute position that will allow me to work in a new type of classroom environment. The school I will be
working at is a Montessori school. While I do not have any experience in this type of setting, I am eager to
increase me knowledge and skills of implementing instruction through a variety of methods. The school is
heavily focused on differentiating instruction to meet the needs of each child. This is a goal I have for
increasing my knowledge of instruction implementation. While I have had some experience with making
adaptations through student teaching, I would like to gain additional knowledge in this area. I would also
like to learn more about different types of assessment and how to analyze and utilize results in order to
guide instruction. Finally, I would like to work more with ELL students and be able to increase my
knowledge and skills of SDAIE strategies and how I can use them during instruction.
Achieving these goals will help me become a more effective teacher in a number of ways. Working in a
Montessori setting will help me become a more effective teacher by expanding my knowledge and
experience in instruction outside of a regular elementary school setting. This may give me ideas about
resources and strategies I may or may not want to use in my future classroom. I will also learn more
about differentiating instruction which will help me reach each of my students in a way that works best for
them as well as help them reach their full potential. Learning about different types of assessment and
using the results to plan instruction will help me become a more effective teacher because I will be able to
see areas of strength and areas that need work in each of my students. By actually using the results
rather than just looking at them and not utilizing them, I will be able to guide instruction to develop weak
areas and reinforce areas of strength. Finally, working more with ELL students and implementing SDAIE
strategies in the classroom will help me reach these English language learners in a way that is best suited
for them. Using these tools will help me be more effective in my communication, instruction, and lesson
planning.