Lesson Reflection

Teachers spend countless hours each school year writing plans and preparing for lessons. They put valuable time and energy into creating lessons that are meant to maximize student engagement and learning. The same teachers, however, often forget a crucial part of every lesson – reflection. Even the most thought-out and detailed lessons can flop if not presented in the way that meets each student where they are. Teachers need to, each time they teach a lesson, take the time to reflect on it and brainstorm ways to improve it. 

The NCTM article Reflection Improves Instruction gives several tips for how teachers can use reflection to improve their teaching. One tip I found particularly interesting was having students reflect on the lesson. After all, they are the reason the lesson was planned and taught in the first place. Prompting students with questions in a way that asks for honest feedback in a safe environment (i.e. feedback is anonymous) will help students feel like they are an important part of the classroom and that their teachers want to help them in the way they need help. Giving all students some questions that are the same is a good way to see how each student feels about the lesson overall as well as certain points in the lesson that the teacher may think would be rockier. However, I also think it is important to ask students to give unique comments on each lesson – this way their teacher can better understand how the students feel about the lesson and better adapt their teaching to those students’ needs. I also think it is important that these comments be required. For example, in a Google Form reflection on a lesson, if the section with “additional comments” is optional, most students will likely skip it simply to be done faster. If this section were worded differently and required, though, students would be more open to giving their honest opinions and get better at it over time. One way I think teachers can phrase this is “How would you change this lesson to make it more fun/interesting/exciting/etc.”. 

This article made me think about how student input is crucial to making the classroom a welcoming and safe space; and how easy it is to overlook. In the past, when I have been writing lesson plans for classes, I often have not included any section that has students giving their opinions on the lesson and their thoughts on it. I have been more focused on making sure I meet the standards, assess properly, and use teaching strategies properly. I think if all teachers take the time to get student feedback on lessons on a regular basis, planning time would become shorter and clearer – you know what students want/are looking for in school and can find ways to insert that into existing lesson plans. 

I will use the information from this article in my career as a teacher when I am writing lesson plans and preparing for lessons. I will make sure to include areas for students to give their input on what they liked and what they did not like. I will also make sure I include places where students can give specific ideas/suggestions for what they would like to see in the class. Using this information will help me adapt my lessons and teaching to my students’ needs and interests/desires from year to year. Keeping my personal notes from lesson reflection as well as students’ suggestions will over time help me create a classroom that is truly catered to my students. 

The main idea beyond reflecting on your own lessons that was presented in the article was the idea of reflecting with others. Reflecting with other teachers who teach similar topics or courses can help teachers get ideas for how to adjust their lesson plans. Even if a plan looks perfect on paper, if it is not working in your classroom, it is crucial that you change your strategy to allow your students to have the best chance of success. These group reflections do not need to only happen in formal staff meetings but could be as simple and casual as a brief conversation during a passing period. Other teachers who have more/different experiences may have valuable insight for teaching certain topics and/or catering instruction to certain students. 

Another resource I explored about teachers reflecting on their lessons was an edutopia article titled The Reflective Teacher: Taking a Long Look. This article also talked about receiving feedback from students and added a very relatable point – the fear of hearing what students really think. This was one of the first thoughts that came to my mind when I first read about getting feedback from students. However, this feedback is crucial and teachers can set expectations at the beginning of the year for how to phrase their feedback and things to avoid (i.e. “my group sucked” or “I hated it”). Teachers can have open discussions with students about how it is okay (even good!) to share how you really feel, but how to say it in a respectful and constructive way. I also liked what the article said about writing notes down. Teachers often think they will be able to remember the notes they had about their lesson later, but taking the time to write some simple notes down can be a big help later when they are actually making the modifications to the lesson. 

Though it can be difficult, in order to become better educators, teachers need to be open-minded and look at their lessons and teaching strategies critically. If something isn’t working, change it. It can sometimes be hard to hear comments from others, but the comments will make you a stronger educator later. Specifically asking students to reflect and give feedback on a lesson can make lesson planning quicker and easier, as well as get students more engaged and involved in their learning. Reflection, nerve-wracking as it may be, is an important tool that all educators should be implementing as part of their professional growth as educators. 

Sources

Provenzano, N. (2014, September 25). The Reflective Teacher: Taking a Long Look. edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/reflective-teacher-taking-long-look-nicholas-provenzano 

Reflection Improves Instruction. (n.d.). National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Retrieved April 9, 2021 from https://www.nctm.org/Conferences-and-Professional-Development/Tips-for-Teachers/Reflection-Improves-Instruction/ 

Online Learning

This week I had the chance to catch up with some of my high school classmates. Most of whom are in their residency year or even first year teachers. It was very interesting to her what they are having to go through when it comes to teaching students online. It is another example as to why teachers have to be ready to adapt to any situation at any time. With what is going on in our world today, I wanted to look into what makes a good teacher be a good teacher online as well.

I found a site with many tips, but I found a few of them to be more important than others. The most important one I found was to be present. Teachers need to let their students know that they are there for them, even if it is not in person. Checking in with them often is important to making sure they are staying on track. With this being said, it is important to make sure you are asking your students for feedback. Since you are not able to see them understand or not understand the content in the classroom, it should be a priority to ask for their feedback. Ask them if items are making sense, or if there is anything that you can do better. It is vital to make sure they still feel that you are there for them. Another important part of making online learning successful is to make sure you are setting expectations for the students. Make sure they know what they are supposed to be doing, and that they are doing these tasks to the expectations you set. It is also important to make sure that there are not too many expectations. Especially in a time like this, it is important that teachers are understanding of personal lives. It is also beneficial to do more discussion posts and group work. With the technology we have access to, it is vital that students are staying connected to one another and still continuing to learn from one another. Teachers still need to remember the relationship aspects of teaching. It is beneficial to check in with students individually to make sure they are okay both personally and with tasks in the classroom.

I then take a few steps back and look at this type of learning from a student’s perspective. It is not easy, nor is it how we wanted to learn, but we need to find a way to continue to learn and grow. With all of our classes going online, and being a future teacher, it makes be acknowledge what professors and teachers are doing for us to still have access to an education. It makes me proud of the profession I am going into, and very excited to be one of the teachers having to adapt in the future. After hearing the thoughts and experiences of my old classmates, and now present teachers, I am certain that I am in the right profession.