Artifact 9 (written while student teaching)

Artifact Reflection #9


Title of Artifact: Reflecting on a lesson plan
Date Experienced Completed: Spring 2007

Description of Artifact:
In the music education class “Elementary Music for Music Education
Majors”, we write mock lessons plans and present them to the class. We are
given a topic, and make a lesson plan for a targeted elementary grade (K-4). We
then give that lesson plan to the college class, as if the college students were
children from that targeted elementary grade, and see if our lesson plan would
be effective or not. My lesson plan was about teaching a song and dance called
“Blue Bird, Blue Bird, on My Window”, to a class of second graders. The lesson
plan describes teaching the class the simple song line by line. It was easy to
teach because it was to the tune of “Ten Little Indians”. Once the words were
learned, teaching the dance was as easy as putting motions with the words. The
college students acted like second graders-by moving around a lot and not
thinking like college students. They asked questions like second graders-if
something wasn’t completely explained, they weren’t allowed to make
assumptions, they had to react exactly the way it was presented. And they
misbehaved like second graders- by not keeping their hands and feet to
themselves, talking out of turn, and sometimes saying inappropriate things. But,
the song and dance were successfully learned by the end of the hour.
After executing the lesson plan, we had to write a reflection about how
the lesson plan went. Things we liked, things we disliked, and things we will
change or keep when we use it in a real classroom. We also had to access how
we handled the lesson, how we handled the class, and whether it would work
in a real classroom or not.
In this reflection, I addressed things I liked about this lesson plan. I
thought it moved at a really good pace for second graders. This would keep the
class actively involved the whole time. It was set up so that if anyone had a
question, the question could be answered by the class doing that certain part
over again. It moved fast enough that the students would be engaged the whole
class period, but moved at a pace that was easy to learn, and follow at a second
grade level. A second grade level means learning the pitches of the song by
listening to the teacher. It is slowly paced, and the children can learn at their
own speed. They learn the words with the pitches, but if necessary, the words
could be written on the board, or read from a book. I learned that there wasn’t
much to dislike about this lesson plan. It moved so smoothly. As for things that I
would change, I know that every child learns differently. If there was a child
with special needs, I would accommodate that. A child with a physical
disability could do a modified dance, or help me play an easy instrument to
accompany the song. A child with a learning disability could still learn this song
and dance. I wouldn’t expect it to be perfect, but the dance is easy enough, that
with a little help remembering what comes next, it could be executed with the
other students. I feel I handled the lesson well. What needed to be learned was
learned, and the students even had some fun with it. As for handling the class,
college students are NO WHERE near what a second grade class would be.
College classmates, being my peers, did and said things no second grade class
would do. Granted, a second grader may stop in the middle of the dance and
ask where babies come from, but it would be handled by the class differently
then the college students. I feel this lesson would be completely feasible for a
second grade classroom. Easy songs and dances are the focal point for second
and third grade general music classes. This song and dance is completely
plausible for a second grade class, and I would use it in my classroom. The song
is well known, and the words are repetitive. This song fulfills Wisconsin Music
Standard 1: Students in Wisconsin will sing, alone and with others, a varied
repertoire of music.

Wisconsin Teacher Standard Alignment:
I believe this artifact best aligns with Standard Nine: Reflection: Teachers
are able to evaluate themselves. I align it this way because that is exactly what
my artifact is, evaluating myself. In this artifact, I have looked at my lesson plan
from a third party stance, and evaluated the positive and negative aspects of it.

University Wisconsin Platteville School of Education Knowledge, Skill,
Disposition Statement Alignment:
My artifact aligns with KS4.a-Reflects on Teaching. In my evaluation of
my teaching this lesson plan, I looked at the effective aspects, as well as the
things that need to be changed for future use. Effective things, like the pace at
which the lesson plan was given, can be kept. Things that may need to be
changed, for example, if there is a student with special needs, can be adjusted,
and adapted to future classrooms. In this reflection, I was able to look at my
teaching experience and give an evaluation that showed both negative and
positive experiences. Positive experiences like being able to control a classroom
with classroom management skills. And negative experiences, like not breaking
down the dance in small enough chunks the first time, and losing some of the
class. By being able to make these changes, and evaluations, I feel it will
increase the success rate of this lesson plan in future situations.
My artifact also aligns with KSD4.e-Grows and Develops Professionally. I
am always aware and willing to take the opportunity to improve and further the
teaching skills. I know that there will always be something different I can try. I
know that there will always be ways to better myself, and my teaching methods.
I use this to constantly evaluate myself, and teachers around me. I pull ideas
from teachers that have inspired me, and cast aside things I would never do in a
classroom. Only from self evaluation can we fully develop our teaching skills.

What I Learned from This Experience:
I learned so much from this experience. I learned that a classroom of
college students can in no way prepare you for an elementary classroom!  I
learned that the best experiences you can have as an education student is with a
real classroom. Observing, teaching, and evaluating.

What I Learned About Myself as a Prospective Teacher:
The main thing I learned is that I can write a lesson plan, teach that
lesson plan, and evaluate myself critically. Peers can give you all the feedback
in the world, but until you sit down, and look at what you are doing, you can
never really grasp your effectiveness in the classroom. I was really nervous to
teach this lesson plan, because I thought it was going to need more time than
the class hour allotted. As we started going, I realized it was going to fine, and
could really have fun with the lesson. I learned to take a good hard look at how
I am teaching, and the ways I can improve, or compliment myself. By doing this
evaluation, I was pleased with just how much I have created my own style of
teaching. When I started to teach, I tried to be just like teachers that I had, that
had inspired me. But now I feel like I have taken the positive ideas they had
instilled in me, and adapted them to my own way of teaching. I really liked
writing this evaluation. I feel I learned effective tools for the future.