Welsh

1
Ted Welsh
Prof. Keeley and Prof. Leo
Educ 302/303
21 November 2016
Self-Reflection Paper

This semester, I did not get to teach my unit on decimal computation. Because of a combination

of scheduling adjustments and a slower pace than expected, the sixth graders wont start learning about
decimal computation until after I leave. I would have really enjoyed teaching my unit, but I think the
process of creating a unit plan taught me a lot, so Im thankful for the experience.

Constructing the unit plan was a long and arduous process. I wanted to create a unit plan that

would be both helpful for teaching and engaging for students. Sixth graders can be difficult to entertain,
so I wanted to make sure to include lots of fun activities and to mix things up every 15 minutes or so. As
I filled in the sections of each individual lesson plan, it made me think about what I wanted to include in
my lessons and what I should change. For example, I might be filling in the UDL section and realize that I
didnt fill in many of the boxes. So, I would revise my lesson plan as a result because providing multiple
means of representation, action and expression, and engagement is important to me. Although the
lesson planning forms took a long time to fill out, they forced me to think deeply about my lesson plans
and reassess them if they werent going to be good enough. In future, it would be helpful to have things
like UDL in mind before I start creating my lesson plans, so I dont forget it or have to revise. I think
revisions are helpful, but sometimes I am under a time crunch and dont have the time to do a full scale
revision. So, I should shoot to include UDL in my lesson plans from the start.

In the unit, I made sure to include lessons on adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing

decimals because that was the focus of the unit. That needed to be the primary focus because it is an
important part of the common core standards; specifically, the standards are 6.NS.2 and 6.NS.3
(COMMON CORE STANDARDS Mathematics, p. 42). Throughout the whole unit, I wanted to help
students develop their abilities to help one another and to critique each others work. I think it is very
important to be able to both give constructive criticism and to take it. So, I included activities that give
students the opportunity to work together and identify mistakes, so that they could develop these skills.
This is a perspective of mine that others might not agree with, but I think it is important to teach
students skills that can be utilized beyond mathematics. Others might prefer to just teach math, and not
go beyond that, but I want to teach students valuable skills and help them become well-rounded
individuals. So, I saw including the act of correcting a peers work as integral to this unit plan.

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Prior to creating this unit plan and prior to this course, I didnt really think about UDL, meeting

standards, and having a variety of assessment activities, so this was a good learning experience. I
realized how important each of those things are when planning lessons. Prior to my teacher aiding
placement, I did not realize how many things I needed to think about when creating lesson plans. There
are many different things I need to be aware of, so it was good to have to meet standards and include
UDL, Common Core standards, and assessment activities in my lessons. As I said before, I think I could
grow in my awareness of these things, especially in early stages of lesson planning.

One of the main takeaways from this experience was that lesson planning takes a very long

time. I now realize why some teachers dont plan fun activities or create lesson plans that are engaging
and creative. Its because it takes a long time. Teachers have a lot to do, and lesson planning only adds
to their responsibilities. Some of the activities I created, like the Kahoot quiz and the tic-tac-toe game,
took me about an hour each to create. Despite this, I think that activities like those are really valuable. It
is important to create a learning environment that students get excited about and enjoy, and I think
good activities and lesson plans is key to that. To work around the time commitment of creating good
lesson plan, it is helpful to have support from other teachers. At East Grand Rapids Middle School, Mrs.
Woolford and three other teachers all use similar lessons. They share resources so that each of them
doesnt have to create all of the lesson plans. I think this a good way to have good lesson plans, and also
not overextend yourself.
As I planned the unit, I was concerned that the note taking would bore students because it
would be too long. During my second video, I was teaching notes for a different unit, and I noticed some
of the students getting distracted and losing interest after about 7 or 8 minutes. As I was teaching, I
noticed this and I encouraged the students by telling them that we were almost done, that the notes are
important, and that we have a fun activity coming up. When the students have some sort of a
motivation to get through the notes or know that theres something fun after, they become more
attentive. After I shared those things with the students, some of the students that were distracted
seemed more interested in the notes. Some of them still seemed disinterested, but by the time we were
done with notes, they started to enjoy themselves. But even though they werent entirely attentive,
they still took the notes, and them in written memory and on paper to access when they need them. I
think that by including the fun activities, students can get through the notes easier and have something
to look forward to. It is also a good change of pace for students.

I also learned how important it is to be well versed in content. Michael J. Gilbert and Jacqueline

Coomes write, It is important to be able to recognize students misconceptions yet embrace different

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ways of thinking and use that as a springboard in helping others to clear up misconception (p. 423). As I
prepared for this unit, I watched videos on decimal computation and learned different methods than I
was used to, so that I could be ready to help my students and address any misconceptions they have.
This approach to teaching, by starting with expanding my own knowledge, can be applied to any unit
that I teach. To best be able to help my students learn, I need to understand how they learn and what
their roadblocks to a specific concept may be. I realize that as I planned the lesson, I tried to address this
in teaching by using many different means of representation and engagement, and also incorporating
videos and partner feedback. But, I could see it being difficult for me, the teacher, the see which specific
students are struggling with certain misconceptions. So in the future, I think I could improve on
addressing that. I should incorporate ways for the instructor to understand where students are
misunderstanding.

Because I did not get to teach my unit plan, I do not know how effective it would be, but I would

hope that it would be effective. I think that the assessments I used will be very helpful in understanding
how well my students grasped the objectives of the unit. The worksheets and activities I chose are good
for evaluating students learning, so I would hope to be able to understand how the students do based
on those. The instructor can observe the students work from their assignments and their exit slip, and
also observe them as they participate in activities and work during class.

Cited Sources
COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS Mathematics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2016, from

http://commoncoretools.me/wp-

Gilbert, M., & Coomes, J. (2010). What Mathematics Do High School Teachers Need to Know? The

Mathematics Teacher, 103(6), 418-423. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20876655