Phase 3: Comprehensive Reflection

1. Assessing Prior Knowledge
I have always known that it is important to see how much students know before teaching a lesson. By checking for students' prior knowledge, I can determine how much explanation is needed, which will allow me to scaffold my lesson plan accordingly. This will also allow the students to share ideas about the topic, which will promote collaboration and possibly recollection or insight about the material. For example, when I asked students a method they use that helps them remember the state names, one student remembered that there was a catchy song that sings the names of the states in alphabetical order. By sharing this, other students remembered hearing that specific song before, which gave me the perfect opportunity to play the song for the students so that all the students could either remember or experience the song for the first time. I also realized how essential it is to evaluate students' prior knowledge to prevent students from feeling lost or falling behind and to give students an idea of what they will be learning. When I would ask students questions about things that related to what we would be learning, their brains would begin to get exercised, which would then help the students focus better. It would also freshen their minds so that they could effectively learn the new material. I enjoyed having people in my group remind me about components of the material before they taught the lesson because I not only realized what we would be learning, but it made me think about the material and try to remember what I already knew about it.

This may impact my future teaching experiences by gathering a good idea of what students already know and whether or not I need to provide more or less time for the lesson when I teach it. If students do not seem to remember basic concepts that are necessary to understand before learning the lesson I have planned, then I know I need to backtrack and visit this lesson in a day or two. However, if students seem to know a lot about what we will be learning, I may realize that I can briefly revisit those concepts and focus more on other parts of the lesson. By doing this, students will hopefully stay more engaged since the lesson will less likely be too difficult or too easy.

2. Planning Instruction
My understandings of planning instruction has changed based on my experiences because I realized that I planned too many activities and needed more instruction time than anticipated. Therefore, I need to plan for things to take longer than expected so that the students have enough time to learn the concepts thoroughly and to complete their assignment. In a real classroom, however, I would have time the next day to finish up the lesson plan if needed. Next, I realized how difficult it is to find effective technology that is appropriate for both the lesson plan and the grade level. It is hard to think of programs that the school has and whether or not students will feel comfortable using the technology. For example, one of the people who taught their lesson wanted us to narrate an iMovie, however, I had a very difficult time adding text to the pictures in the movie and the teacher did not assist me with learning how to do so. Therefore, I became a little frustrated and ended up not finishing the assignment. This example also ties into knowing enough about technologies and learning to use them beforehand in order to implement them in a successful way, which I realized is vital to make the lesson run smoothly.

This may impact my future teaching experiences by needing to learn how to become proficient with using many different technologies to supplement the learning experiences of my students. Planning instruction will also help me to plan and use the technology more successfully in the future. Finally, I will hopefully be able to make the lessons more successful because I now realize how assignments may take longer than expected and I can use that knowledge to plan more efficiently for my students.

3. Designing Instruction
While designing instruction for my lesson plans, I realized how important it is to use technology that is appropriate for the grade level. Even though a form of technology may seem very fun and engaging, it may be too difficult for students to use. During one of my instructions, I did not explain how to use Microsoft Publisher well enough, which caused one of my students to be somewhat confused. After showing her how to use the program, she seemed more confident about completing her work. This experience showed me that assuming "fourth graders" do not need a lot of explanation about using a program because I think it is self explanatory is a misconception that I do not want to repeat in the future. I also realized how difficult it can be to find technological activities that effectively support the lesson. One of the people who taught their lesson did a great job finding engaging programs and on-line activities that correlated with the lesson and allowed the students to practice the material. I thought it was amazing that she could find technologies that fit perfectly with what the students needed to practice. Finally, I realized that extra time is necessary to ensure student understanding and for students to complete their activities, as stated in the previous section.

These things may impact my future teaching experiences by making lessons more effective for students by avoiding confusion about the technologies they will be using to support their learning and by giving the students enough time for learning and doing activities/assignments. If I spend more time thoroughly explaining how to use the technologies that will support student learning, they will have a higher chance of succeeding because they will feel comfortable with the program and not waste time and energy trying to figure it out. Also, if I plan to give students more time to finish assignments than I feel necessary, I think my students will not feel as rushed and will be able to do the assignment to the best of their ability.

4. Planning Assessment
While planning assessment, it became evident that the assessments should accurately display what students learned and they should be able to comfortably use the recommended technology to complete the assessment. If the teacher has the students use random technology that does not correlate with the lesson just to throw in technology, the students will not reinforce what they learned, hence making the technology useless. However, if the teacher finds technology that supports student learning, then the technological assessment will accurately display what the students have learned. Students should also feel comfortable with the technology they are using to successfully display what they know in order to create a valid assessment, as mentioned above. Next, it is important to plan time to assess students throughout the lesson to ensure that students are participating and learning. For example, while students completed their surveys and graphs for my math lesson plan, I walked around them and their computers the entire time to make sure that they understood the material and were accurately portraying the content from the lesson. I noticed that other people who taught their lessons did the same thing. Finally, as stated before, it is extremely important to make sure the students have enough time to complete the assessment to the best of their ability. If there is one thing I learned from teaching my lessons, it is that time is a HUGE factor when planning all of these six components.

These things may impact my future teaching experiences by more effectively creating technological assessments that are accessible to students. This means that the technology is appropriate for all students, regardless of disabilities, so that everyone has an equal advantage to displaying their best work. Planning technological assessments will also allow students to explore and be creative while demonstrating their understanding. Even if I were to introduce students to one particular program I want them to use for the assessment, I want the program to accommodate all of the students learning styles so that they can display their unique way(s) of thinking.

 5. Instructional Decisions/Teaching
Based on my experiences, I realized that I need to ask for more student input, spend more time explaining how to use technologies, make sure that I am proficient in using technology before I introduce the lesson to my students, and provide enough time to explain concepts and instructions more thoroughly. While teaching my social studies lesson plan, I could have spent more time seeing what students already knew about the western portion of the United States. By doing this, students may have felt more involved and could have shared fun experiences that the whole class could have benefited from. I could have also explained the technologies that the students would be using a little better to avoid confusion and time loss, as one of my lessons displayed. Next, I realized that I needed to work on using the technology better to make the lessons run more smoothly. During my math lesson, I had a lot of issues while using the Smartboard. I could not figure out how to go from using the pen, to being able to click things with my finger again. This unfortunately ended up wasting teaching time for my lesson. However, other people that taught their lessons seemed very comfortable using the Smartboard, which made their lessons more efficient and engaging. Finally, I learned that I need to avoid cramming a bunch of content into my lessons because my lessons became much less effective when I did not provide enough teaching time and time for the students to complete their activity.

These things may impact my future teaching experiences by making my lessons run more smoothly, making students feel more involved with their learning, and by making students feel comfortable with using the technology. These three components can make a huge impact on student success and engagement, which are all necessary when teaching an outstanding lesson.

6. Assessment of Learning
During my experiences, I realized how important it is to assist students while they are completing their assessment in case they have any questions or need help with something. After one of my group members assigned the activity, she did not assist me with a question I had about the computer program, which cause me a lot of frustration. If teachers do not assist their students or know how to assist their students, I do not think incorporating that specific technology is a good idea. If students do not know what they are doing, their assessment will not be valid. I also realized how difficult, yet necessary it is to provide accommodations for students. While creating my lesson plans, I made sure that I could find a program that would best suit students with disabilities so that they have an equal advantage to succeed.

These things may impact my future teaching experiences by making the assessments fair for all students so that everyone has the opportunity to succeed. Since I have learned new strategies and technologies that are universal, I feel more confident that I will be able to cater to all of my students and make their learning experiences positive.

Lesson 2, Assessment of Learning

The evidence that supports student success in achieving the lesson goals is the fact that the students were able to label most of the states on a blank United States map. They were also able to select a state and begin researching facts about it for their brochure. Just by looking at what the students finished, I was able to see that they could pick out facts that they thought were important and/or interesting and make them short and concise for an easy-read. I was also able to see their creativity (with pictures) and organization (headings for each panel) within the brochures. With all of this information, it was evident that they could effectively use technology to support their assignment.

I thought that my lesson was successful for the most part, given the amount of time I had. After teaching the lesson, I realized that instead of having a lesson that extends over two days, it should have extended over three days. This is because I felt rushed teaching the lesson and did not feel that I went over the location of the states as thoroughly as I should have if I were actually teaching fifth graders and because my students did not have enough time to complete their assignment. Some of the comments from my classmates were that they needed more time on the brochures, I should have offered different ways to make a brochure, more prior knowledge about the states could have been shared by the students, and I could have broke down the states into more manageable groups. I completely agree with these constructive criticisms and know that I could have done much better making time for these different areas if I had extended the lesson over a third day. I think that I may have rushed the lesson, which could negatively affect students in an actual classroom. Therefore, in the future, I will continue to make thorough lesson plans, but I will also plan to leave an extra day open in case the lessons need more explanation or students need more time to display their best efforts on an assignment.

Lesson 2, Instructional Decisions/Teaching

During the implementation process, I began by asking students tricks that help them remember the names of all the states. After they provided me with some examples of useful tips, I showed them the Youtube video "Fifty Nifty States" to help them more effectively remember all of the state names. Afterwards, I put a labeled map of the United States on the Smartboard and pointed to each of the twenty-five states that I was focusing on for this lesson. As I pointed to each state, I taught my students one fact about each of those states. Then, I had my students practice labeling their own blank map, which we went over together after they finished filling out their worksheet. Finally, I displayed the rubric for the brochure that the students were expected to create as a guide and gave them time to decide which state they wanted to research. For the rest of the lesson, the students were given time to create their state brochure.

While teaching this lesson, I learned that it is difficult to point to things on the Smartboard without the Smartboard activating other programs and links. Something that I could work on is pointing without touching the board so that I do not take time away from the lesson by fixing things that I accidentally activated.

Next, the alignment to the goals and objectives was maintained since the students were able to properly label most of the states on the blank U.S. map and research a state that interested them. One of the students even properly used her organization and research skills to create three inside panels of the brochure. These panels contained various facts that appropriately correlated with the rubric, while also giving me an idea of her interests and creativity.

I did not have to make any modifications for individual needs during this lesson, however, one modification that I could have made was providing more time for students to finish their brochures. The students seemed to be researching as fast as they could, but they did not end up having nearly enough time to finish their product. Therefore, in an actual fifth grade classroom, I could give the students an extra social studies period to finish their projects so that they could have more time to finish their assignment to the best of their ability.

Lesson 2, Phase 2: Digital Artifacts

Here is an image of the front side of a brochure one of my students created:

Here is an image of the inside of a brochure another student created:

Lesson 2, Planning Assessment

My assessment checklist demonstrates the performance of linked goals by selecting one of the fifty states and researching information about that state, such as the history, places to visit, fun facts, and any additional information they find interesting. The organization and creativity of the brochure will also be noted on the checklist to help ensure effectiveness and completeness of the product. Next, my assessment checklist demonstrates student engagement in higher-order thinking by giving students guidelines of things that are required in the brochure, but not explicitly stating specific facts that are needed, such as the year the state became an official state. The students are encouraged to find information under each category that they find interesting and important and must figure out how to effectively implement those facts into the brochure. Finally, the assessment checklist meets individual student needs by setting broad requirements that can be checked off for completion rather than by how much the student wrote. Therefore, the students know what is expected of them and they can meet those requirements to the best of their ability without the assignment seeming impossible or too easy to complete.

Lesson 2, Designing Instruction

My instructional design is contextually and logically organized because I begin the lesson by recapping the first portion of the lesson from the previous day (this lesson plan takes place over two days-I wrote a lesson plan for the second day) by asking students if they have any helpful ways to remember the names of the first 25 states and to share their ideas. Then, I show a Youtube video called "Fifty Nifty States" to help the students remember the state names; I figured it was important to know all of the state names before trying to place them on a map. Afterwards, I show the students a United States map with the state locations and teach them one fact about each state. Then, students have time to try and fill in a blank map on their own, which we will all go over after the students have completed their map. Finally, students will be given time to research their favorite state and display their research in a brochure.

This design uses varied instructional methods that meet individual student needs by lessening the amount of states students with special needs need to learn about and by focusing on states that surround Arizona in order to make the lesson more meaningful. By learning about states in the southwestern region, students with disabilities may be able to successfully relate to this region, while also feeling less anxious and frustrated when it comes to labeling a map. This is because the states in the southwestern region tend to have more distinct shapes that are larger and easier to see. Students with disabilities will also only have to remember one fact about five to ten states so that they will not feel overwhelmed. However, if the student feels that they can remember facts about more states, they are encouraged to do so. Finally, students with disabilities will create a flyer about their favorite state rather than a brochure so that they do not need to worry about time constraints or the anxiety of searching for many different facts about a state.

This design also targets higher-order thinking skills by having students create helpful ways to remember the names and locations of states, such as in a song. Students will also have to determine sources that are reliable, which information flows well together, how to restate information in their own words, and how to creatively design a useful and interesting brochure while researching on the Internet and using Microsoft Publisher.

My design aligns with research-based understanding of technology integration because the Youtube video helps support student learning in a fun and catchy way that may help many students remember the information more effectively. Microsoft Publisher also assists students in making their brochure in a fun and simple way. The program is not overly-complicated to use and can help students with organization and creativity. This program is also something that students can use in the future and contains templates of things that students see in everyday life, which makes the lesson more meaningful.

Finally, my lesson addresses the diverse needs of learners through learner-centered strategies and equitable access since Microsoft Publisher is available on all of the school computers throughout the school day and gives students the opportunity to apply the information they have learned through a very useful program that allows creativity and contains an organized layout to help students effectively apply their knowledge. The safe, legal, and ethical use of technology is also addressed because Microsoft Publisher supports the students' learning and gives them a personal responsibility for learning since they are in charge of completing the assignment. This lesson does not address digital etiquette and responsible social interactions or global awareness and digital-age communication because students will only be researching information on the Internet, rather than communicating with other people or posting information. However, students will need to learn how to find reliable sources and how to avoid plagiarism. Lastly, this lesson is independent, so students will not be communicating with one another, and since it is a licensed computer program, students do not need to worry about respecting other people's opinions or thoughts on blogs (or other communication devices).

Lesson 2, Plans Instruction

My goals, objectives, and outcomes in this lesson plan are clearly stated because they explain what I want the students to learn, how I want the students to practice and demonstrate their understanding, and how I know the students have reached or not reached these goals. These goals, objectives, and outcomes are also appropriate for students because the material and work load is at their level (fifth grade) and the technology that is integrated allows the students to have some freedom to demonstrate their creativity by constructing a brochure about their favorite state. Finally, this lesson plan is aligned to state standards because it allows students to identify each state on a United States map (Grade 5, Social Studies, Strand 4, Concept 1, PO 5) while also going beyond the standard to research one of those states.