ALSE+Video+Critique+Analysis

 Watching and reflecting on the video of one lesson my co-teacher and I taught was a good way for me to both see what is going well as I teach, and what needs to be improved. Right from the start, I need to do a better job explaining the objectives for the lesson to the class. I explained to the class what the daily agenda was, and the plan for the day, but I did not explain what we wanted to students to come away with and what we wanted them to understand from the lesson. Although not clearly stated, our objectives were suitable for diverse learners. We made sure of this by how we structured the lesson, which gradually covered the concepts through different steps, and by how we used formative assessments, like thumbs up and thumbs down, for each student throughout the lesson. Even though we didn’t do very well stating the objectives, the main concept of needs and wants, which was what our lesson was based around, was clearly stated. Both my co-teacher and I were sure that at the end of class, our students were familiar with the concept and learned what was intended of our objectives, although we hadn’t clearly stated it at the start. This was evident through our class discussion which followed the activity. One other important piece of information which was not stated at the beginning of the lesson was the standard being focused on. In the future, I can include this while I lay out the day for the students at the beginning of each class.  As noted earlier, we used a formative assessment with our activity. The thumbs up and thumbs down formative assessment worked well because it is a quick way to check whether or not the students are at the desired level of learning and understanding that we would like them to be, and it is developmentally appropriate for the 7th grade level. Our materials worked extremely well for this lesson. We brought in items which students pulled from a paper bag to identify as needs or wants. These materials worked excellent for the lesson because the 7th grade students were able to see the items visually. Instead of just speaking about needs and wants, students were able to see actual examples.  For the lessons we have taught, the classroom has had a positive climate which makes me very comfortable as a teacher. Prior to teaching, when I was at first just observing lessons Ms. Stow was teaching, I noticed a similar environment and climate. Ms. Stow has done an excellent job establishing the foundation for a positive learning environment for both the students and the teacher in her class. From the video, this can be seen. The students are very respectful of not only my co-teacher and I, but also of one another. Of course there is the occasional chatter that is expected from young teenagers on a Friday afternoons, but as the video shows, there were no major behavioral issues that needed to be addressed, nor were there any incidents which negatively affected the lesson or learning.  The needs and wants activity we chose to use with the lesson proceeded smoothly and went well. We explained the procedures at each step of the activity and made sure they were clear to the students, asking them if they understand what they were expected to do as we came to each step. The learning activity was developmentally appropriate, as it built on key terms we discussed earlier in the week, and also slightly built on poverty and the significance of the way people live in poverty, which was a major part of the lesson we taught the previous day. This is evident in the video when students were able to recall information from that lesson, and also tie parts of the current lesson to that one. When students demonstrated understanding and learning by doing this, or by answering certain discussions questions or sharing their ideas, we gave them positive feedback. In the video we constantly tell them good job, or great answer. In addition to this type of feedback, I realized from the video that I also gave students positive feedback who didn’t clearly understand the concept or weren’t on the right track. For example, if a student’s answer to a question wasn’t quite right, I challenged them to think differently about their answer by asking them a question to help them get back on the right track. I am satisfied with this type of feedback I gave to the students, and without watching the video and reflecting on it, I would have had no idea I was doing this.  If I were to teach this same lesson again, I do not think I would do much differently. I would obviously state the objectives and make them much clearer at the beginning of the lesson, but I am content with the way the actual lesson went and how the students responded. I liked the way the class fully participated and contributed to the discussion, as well as how they shared their individual thoughts, as this contributed to making the lesson a positive learning experience. The class as a whole did very well with this lesson. This can be attributed to the positive learning environment in the classroom, the materials and information my co-teacher and I have supplied them with, and the past lessons of this section that we have built on during the time we have been teaching.