WHAT?
During this lesson, we taught students about social advocacy, focusing on topics such as bullying, air pollution, and poverty. The main objective was for students to be able to address difficult topics and feel comfortable talking about them.
We used a variety of activities throughout the lesson. We started by going over vocabulary words, then had students complete a cause-and-effect chart. Students also analyzed an image by writing what they saw, wondered, and thought. They made friendship bracelets, wrote about a serious issue and what they believed caused it, and read and acted out a bullying play. After the play, students discussed how the situation was resolved and how they could stand up for someone being bullied. At the end, students completed a post-test to show what they learned.
Collaboration was shown through working with my two co-teachers to deliver the lesson to a small group of students. Communication took place between teaching partners and with students during discussions and activities. Social awareness was incorporated through the topics themselves, as students were engaging with real-world issues like bullying and poverty. I demonstrated professionalism by dressing appropriately, being prepared, and interacting respectfully with both students and colleagues. I also showed adaptability by making sure all parts of the lesson were completed within the time we had.
What went well during the lesson was that students performed well on the post-test, with one student earning a 70 and the other two earning 80s. In addition, students were very engaged when acting out the bullying play, which led to a meaningful discussion afterward.
One area of weakness was the friendship bracelet activity. It ended up being too large of a project for the time we had, and students were upset that they could not finish it. This showed that I need to better plan timing for hands-on activities.
Students met the objective based on both assessment and participation. All students scored a 70 or higher on the post-test, showing they learned from the lesson. They also demonstrated understanding during discussions, written responses, and activities like the cause-and-effect chart. All students met the objective and were able to engage with and discuss serious social issues.
SO WHAT?
From this experience, I learned that just because I feel like students are not doing well during a lesson does not mean they are not understanding the material. I expected that most students would struggle on the post-test because some did not communicate as much during the lesson. However, all students performed well, which showed me that participation does not always reflect understanding.
This experience helped me grow professionally by teaching me to be more reflective and patient. I learned that students may still be learning and processing information even if it is not immediately visible. It also showed me the importance of using assessments to better understand student learning instead of relying only on what I see during instruction.
NOW WHAT?
This experience will influence my professional identity by helping me become a more trusting and supportive teacher. I will have more faith in my students and their ability to learn, even if they are not always showing it right away. This will help me create a more positive and encouraging classroom environment.
In the future, this will influence how I plan, teach, and assess my lessons. I will teach with the understanding that not all learning is immediately visible. When planning, I will include different ways for students to show their understanding. When teaching, I will be more mindful of not assuming students are struggling based only on participation. When assessing, I will use both observations and formal assessments, like quizzes and written work, to get a clearer picture of student learning.
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