Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

Elementary Education Program

Formal Observation Reflection

Directions: Complete the reflection questions and submit your response to your observer prior to having a post-
conference to discuss the observation. If a conference is held immediately after the observation you will submit
your responses to the observer the following day via email.

Name: Hannah Smith Date: 11/08/17

1. To what extent were learning outcomes appropriate and achievable to your students?
I think the learning outcomes were both appropriate and achievable to my students. The main
learning outcome was, I will be able to explain why people become entrepreneurs. The
outcome was appropriate as students were able to learn about 5 main reasons why people
become entrepreneurs in order to make meaning of the learning outcome. It was evident that
the outcome was achievable to my students as they were able to both list reasons why
people become entrepreneurs as well as self-assess how well that thought they met the
outcome at the end.

2. How effective were your instructional strategies? What changes would you make in
your instructional approaches if you taught this lesson again? Why?
I think my instructional strategies were effective. I provided opportunities for students to first
explore what an entrepreneur is before discussing it. I used visuals and quotes to help guide
their thinking, as well as provided them with the 5 main reasons people become
entrepreneurs in order to make the learning outcome explicit. I also used examples that are
relevant to my students lives so that they were able to make connections to the content.
Furthermore, through using the videos from shark tank the students were able to see that
even children their age can become entrepreneurs before they had the opportunity to create
their own product or service. If I were to make any changes in my instructional approaches I
would have focused more so on the difference between business owners and entrepreneurs
and make that distinction more clear.

3. Evaluate the effectiveness of your oral and written communication with students.
(Consider how well you communicated learning objectives, clarity of directions, use of standard English, quality of
questions and effectiveness of discussion techniques.)

I think my oral and written communication with my students was effective. I think the use of
the Google slides to guide the lesson was effective in helping the students follow along with
the lesson, as they were clear with the visuals and words. Additionally, I think my oral
communication was clear as I was asking questions and discussing the content with
students. I do think that I can talk slower to improve my communication as well as take a
couple seconds to think through what I want to say before talking so that my communication
is more concise for my students.
 4. Evaluate the level of student engagement in your lesson . (Consider how you presented the
content/skills, the activities and assignments for students, grouping of students, and structure and pacing of the
lesson.)

I think the level of student engagement in my lesson was tremendous. The students seemed
to all be very engaged in the lesson, as most of them were volunteering to answer questions
and they were all focused on the content we were discussing. I think the shark tank videos
and connections to their own lives helped the students remain engaged. Furthermore, giving
them the opportunity to create their own product/service at their desk was an integration of
the arts as well, which tends to be very engaging for students. I only had to quietly redirect a
couple students for them to remain focused and engaged in the lesson.

5. How effectively did you use instructional materials, resources, and/or technology?
I think I used the instructional materials and technology effectively. I was able to use the
Google Slides as a way to guide the lesson and to provide visuals for students to remain
engaged throughout. Additionally, the white paper, pencils, and crayons were effective
resources that the students used in order to write/draw their original product/service to think
of how to be an entrepreneur.

6. To what extent were your assessment strategies effective? What changes would you
make in your assessment approach if you taught this lesson again? Why?
I think my assessment strategies were effective. I was able to walk around and observe
students work, provide feedback for students after they responded to questions, look at the
number strategy students agreed with the most, had students share the whys they
remembered, as well as self-assess their understanding of the learning target. If I were to
teach this lesson again I would have students do a quick exit ticket of writing down as many
reasons why people become entrepreneurs as they could remember, as this would provide
direct evidence of their understanding of the learning outcome.

7. To what extent was your feedback to students accurate, substantive, constructive,

specific, and/or timely?
I think my feedback to my students was accurate, substantive, constructive, specific, and
timely. I was able to elicit and build on students responses after they answered questions
and at some points give clues to help prompt their learning. I think I can improve on providing
sustained feedback for all students. I was also able to provide feedback to students when I
was walking around and answering questions about their designs for the product or service
they were creating.

8. To what extent did the classroom management and environment contribute to student
learning? (Consider your classroom procedures, your use of physical space, and the students conduct.)
I think my classroom management and environment contributed to student learning in a
positive way. I incorporated management strategies such as clapping, 1-2-3 eyes on me
and we are combs to regain students attention. I was positive towards my students and
encouraged them in their understanding of the content, which showed them that it is okay to
take risks in learning. I also was able to release groups by rows in order to avoid a cluster of
students trying to grab their paper before returning to their seats.
 9. Did you make modifications to your lesson plan during the lesson? If so, what were
they and what motivated these changes?
I did not make any modifications to my lesson plan during the lesson.

10. Was your Teaching Behavior Focus goal met?

Yes, I think my behavior focus goals of calling on a variety of students and allowing multiple
opportunities for student response. During my lesson I called on different students for each
response and scanned the class in order to ensure that I was providing wait time and calling
on a variety of students. I also tried to refer back to students responses throughout the
lesson using their names so that it would also remind me who I had already called on.
Throughout the lesson I allowed students to turn and talk, share their ideas, put their fingers
up to show which reason they resonated with for why people become entrepreneurs, and
design their own product on paper.