Week 6 Reflection

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During Week 6 of ELEC 316, we learned in detail about the process required for planning a meaningful lesson and the importance and variety of assessments that can be administered in the classroom setting.

On Wednesday, September 28, we discussed the concept of alignment in lessons, activities, and classroom experiences. I learned that it is crucial that a teacher begins planning by considering the academic standards. By doing this, teachers can create purposeful objectives that scaffold and expand upon student learning. After the objectives are formed and clearly written, instructional activities can be designed to help the teacher assess their students in a variety of ways. When the standards, learning objectives, instructional activities, and assessments are aligned, teachers can present a wonderful learning experience in the classroom that challenges and encourages students in their learning. In my future classroom, I will begin my planning by looking at the
academic standards that are developmentally appropriate for my students. Next, I will write objectives that are actionable, measurable, and promote learning across different learning domains. And finally, I will administer assessments that fairly and accurately gauge student mastery of skills and material.

On Friday, September 30, we carefully evaluated a classmate’s mathematics lesson and made adjustments to our own, specifically in the assessments portion of the plan. I found it very helpful to receive feedback from my partner because they revealed to me the ways that I can improve my instructional strategies and assessments. During the instruction part of the class period, I appreciated the reminder that there are many forms of assessment that can be administered in the elementary classroom. In my future classroom, I intend to administer many different assessments including portfolios, exit tickets, observation, one-on-one interviews, etc.

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