Back-to-Back Mini Lessons

For a combined assignment in my Curriculum in a Middle/High School and Literacy in a Middle/High School classes, we were recently asked to create two back-to-back 20 minute mini-lessons, each a part of a unit we are creating within our content area. For these lessons we had to create a combined lesson plan for the two days, assessments, activities, etc. After doing this, we had the opportunity to actually teach our lessons to a couple of our fellow classmates. We were then able to receive feedback from those classmates, as well as our professors.

Attached is the link to a google folder with my lesson plan, some of my students' assessments from from my lessons, feedback from my classmates, and feedback from my professors:  Back-to-Back Mini Lessons.

As can be seen in the attached documents, the performance criteria related to these lessons were the following:

• Performance Criterion 8.1: Candidates use a variety of instructional strategies to make the discipline accessible for diverse learners.
• This could be seen through the accommodations matrix that was created by our class for our made-up students. I then tended to one of the common themes in the matrix, friendships (more on this within link).
• Performance Criterion 8.2: Candidates use a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
• This could be seen within my diverse lesson plan which included time for instruction, practice problems, activities, application problems, etc. (more within this link).
• Performance Criterion 3.2: Candidates design learning environments that support collaborative learning marked by positive social interaction.
• As can be seen in my lesson plan, I encouraged a lot of group work and discussions within my lessons through some of the entrance/exit tasks, the group activity on the second day, our discussions within the instruction etc. (more within this link).

I learned a lot by teaching these back-to-back mini lessons. After teaching on the first day, I was able to take what I learned from that lesson and adjust my second lesson accordingly based on what we were able to complete, what knowledge my students showed, and what did and didn't go well on the first day. For example, I ended up adjusting what I was giving the students as an entrance card on the second day based on the fact that they didn't have enough time to complete it as an exit card the first day. This was a very important part of the lesson, in my opinion, as it was an application problem which allowed for students to see how what we are doing in class is related to the real world. Because of this, I thought it was appropriate to create more time for the students to work closely with the problem.

In my opinion, my assessments demonstrate learning of the standard it assessed very well. While I could not cover the entire standard in just 40 minutes, the learning still related directly back to the standard. The students were able to show through the assessments that they could solve linear equations with rational number coefficients (with multiplication and division), and the idea of collecting like terms was slightly touched on as well.

Through these lessons I was able to see the benefits of both group work and mini-presentations. By allowing for my students to work through problems together, I think they were all able to learn more about the subject. Group work gives students the opportunity to explain their ideas, see other people's ideas, learn from one another, and bounce ideas off of each other. In other words, if done properly, group work can benefit all parties involved. I also really appreciated the mini-lessons because it gave me an opportunity to see where my students were at with the material. I think it is important to give them time to communicate ideas with their classmates before sending them up to the board so that they can get a basis for their ideas ahead of time. My goal is not to catch anyone off guard, but rather to assess their learning. These are both ideas I would like to continue in the planning and revisions for the rest of my lessons within my unit. I also want to make sure that I create variety and continue to make engaging lessons with activities that will interest the students, like my matching activity in my second lesson.

These lessons were also able to show me more about what I am going to need to work on in the future, specifically during student teaching. The first thing I think I need to work on is my time management. It seems that I have a tendency to over-plan for my lessons and thus don't get to everything I want to get to. While I realize that this happens sometimes, I think it is something I could work on and do better with. I would also like to work on my explanations of how each piece of my lesson relates both to one another as well as the focusing and essential questions. This was a common theme in my feedback, so it's something I would like to put a little more focus on in the future. I think a part of why this happened may have been because of the time constraints that were given to me. Due to the fact that we only had short periods of time, I felt as though I didn't want to waste too much time talking and explaining things. However, making sure students see these connections is essential to their learning and overall understanding. Because of this, I need to make sure I do a better job of getting these ideas across, even if that means spending a little more time on it. One last thing I would like to work on is my guiding questions. It is my belief that I can get better at this through both practice and getting to know the material and problems better ahead of time.

A lot about what I learned in both my Curriculum and Literacy classes were able to help me transfer learning in my mini-lessons. The main connection I was able to make to my literacy class within my lesson was my study of vocabulary. As can be seen within my lesson, my students keep vocabulary journals of important terms which they review and can refer to whenever they feel necessary. In my Literacy class we studied the importance of understanding vocabulary. If a student is unsure what words mean, the student may be prevented from getting the full understanding of the lesson. Especially in mathematics where, in my opinion, it has a language of its own, I don't want my students to fall behind on their learning or not understand something simply because words are getting in the way. This is why I decided my students will have vocabulary journals on hand at all times. As far as my Curriculum class goes, my learning from this class can be seen in all aspects of my lesson. It can be seen in my use of the accommodations matrix and the adjustments I made because of it, my lesson planning in general, and so much more.

All in all, having the opportunity to teach two back to back lessons in my content area was a great learning experience, and in a way my first real hint at what my future as a teacher might be like. While I still have a lot to learn and a lot of progress to make, I am amazed at how far I have already come and can't wait to see what my future holds.