Running head: REFLECTION PAPER

Reflection Paper

Alexandra Hogg

Vanguard University of Southern California

Since beginning this program my view of teaching has taken on a whole new meaning.

During my first semester, my idea of a successfully executed lesson was one that had interactive

elements and caught the students attention. For that one specific lesson. What I have come to

understand is that education is so much more than an exciting lesson plan or fun interactive

assessments.

Beginning Student Teaching began virtually, and because of this, I was able to connect

with my students from a different point of view. Going into breakout rooms on zoom gave me

insight into my students interests and backgrounds that I did not even realize I was learning. The

students would show me their pets, their favorite toy, or talk about what they liked to do during

their break time at home. At the time I didn't realize that I was gaining knowledge that would

benefit me in my Advanced Student Teaching semester.

“When planning lessons, take into account students’ background experiences, prior

knowledge, and vocabulary level to design effective lessons that enable learning” (Burden and

Byrd, 117). This quote reflects what I needed to be aware of when planning my instruction.

Through those days of virtual learning, I not only learned basic information about my students, I

also built a base of knowledge for myself as I began to plan instruction.. I feel that this area of

learning specifically connected to TPE 1.3 “Connect subject matter to real-life contexts and

provide active learning experiences to engage student interest, support student motivation, and

allow students to extend their learning.”

By building this base I was able to understand my students and create an environment

that met their needs, not only in education but for them personally. In returning to face-to-face

teaching it was easier for the students to interact, focus and participate during instruction. I also

quickly learned, from attending classes through Vanguard, that my lessons needed to be more
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purposeful and meaningful. This meant beginning from the end. Using UbD and Backwards

planning was a huge breakthrough for me as a student learning about the teaching profession. By

looking at my end goal I was able to create lessons that were successful while also incorporating

meaningful strategies and assessments to further my students' learning.

Creating my unit plan in AST taught me so much about how students learn. By knowing

what I wanted my students to understand, I was able to create multiple lessons to help reach my

end goal. I also learned that being a successful teacher is not about creating one individual lesson

to meet one specific short term goal. To become a successful teacher, you need to incorporate all

of the elements of teaching in order to create learning that lasts far beyond the thirty minute

instructional time, referring to TPE 3.4. In order to maintain effective learning environments it is

important to understand our subject matter, organize it for student learning, ensure that we are

creating content for all of our students, implement effective assessments, and reassess our own

skills and knowledge.

Maintaining an effective learning environment is an important aspect of successful

teaching. According to TPE 2.5 we are to “Maintain high expectations for learning with

appropriate support for the full range of students in the classroom.” In order to accomplish these

goals I learned to implement reinforcements, set up daily routines, and to encourage positive

behavior. In our classroom this year we used marbles as a reinforcement for daily behaviors and

accomplishments. We also set up daily routines for the students to follow at the beginning of the

year. Students follow these routines each day and know exactly what is expected of them. To

encourage positive behavior we have incorporated “Character Tickets”. These “Character

Tickets” highlight a specific positive character quality and acknowledge how this student has
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accomplished this behavior. I am excited to implement these aspects of classroom management

into my future classroom.

This semester I also expanded my knowledge of the California State Standards and how

to purposefully create lessons to reflect these areas of learning. The standards are defined as a

way to “...help build creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving,

collaboration, and communication. They set another bold precedent to improve the academic

achievement of California’s students” (California Department of Education). I learned that every

area of the lesson plan or unit plan should be met with a corresponding standard. This connects

to TPE 3.1 “Demonstrate knowledge of subject matter, including the adopted California State

Standards and curriculum frameworks.” In my BST semester I had thought to connect the

standard to my lesson plan but in my AST semester I learned to connect my lesson to the

standards.

As I planned and wrote lessons I learned to incorporate technology. Technology not only

helped me create engaging content for my students but it allowed me to meet the needs of all of

my students. I was able to incorporate audio books for my special needs and EL students, add

multiple visuals to my instruction and create interactive inclusive content to help students gain

understanding. These aspects of learning incorporated elements from TPE 3 and for TPE 4,

specifically 3.6 “Use and adapt resources, standards-aligned instructional materials, and a range

of technology, including assistive technology, to facilitate students' equitable access to the

curriculum.” and TPE 4.5 “Promote student success by providing opportunities for students to

understand and advocate for strategies that meet their individual learning needs and assist

students with specific learning needs to successfully participate in transition plans (e.g., IEP,

IFSP, ITP, and 504 plans.).” I feel that utilizing programs such as, nearpod, kahoot and google
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classroom helped solidify meeting the needs of all of students through the variety of tools and

interactive content available through these mediums.

Through AST I also grew in my ability to use multiple means of assessment. I learned

how to create and give successful assessments. This corresponds to TPE 5 and specifically 5.2

“Collect and analyze assessment data from multiple measures and sources to plan and modify

instruction and document students' learning over time.” Through the classes at Vanguard and

modeling what I have observed in my AST hours I learned that including a variety of

assessments will help to create better understanding of student success. Using backward design

can help in creating these assessments. “UbD focuses on designing assessments that will provide

evidence of students' progress towards the learning goals” (Heineke and Jay, 2020). By knowing

what goals are needed to be met I was able to incorporate formative, summative and self

assessments in each of my lessons. Using kahoot, class discussion, and exit tickets are some

examples of the types of assessments I used this semester.

One of my favorite aspects of this semester was discussing each lesson that I taught with

my Master Teacher. Hearing where I could improve on my lessons helped so much and gave me

the tools to plan and instruct my lessons with more depth. According to TPE 6.1 “Reflect on

their own teaching practice and level of subject matter and pedagogical knowledge to plan and

implement instruction that can improve student learning” I was able to use the constructive

criticism from my Master Teacher to implement successful teaching strategies.

This semester I grew in many ways. Through attending classes, participating in

discussions with peers, to guidance from professors, as well as observing and working with my

Master Teacher I was able to further my growth as a future educator. I am forever grateful for my

education and look forward to implementing all that I have learned this year. .
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Reference Page

California Department of Education, www.cde.ca.gov

Byrd, David M, and Paul R Burden. Methods for Effective Teaching . 8th ed., University of
Rhode Island.

Heineke, Amy J., and Jay McTighe. Using Understanding by Design in the Culturally and
Linguistically Diverse Classroom. Hawker Brownlow Education, 2020.