Individual Lesson Assessment Reflection

Reflection in Action
Section 1:
Math:
Name Completed 3 out of 4 Additional Notes
accurate measurements in
centimeters
1. Aaliyah 3/4
2. Alayna 4/4
3. Andrew 4/4
4. Athen 4/4
5. Autumn X2/4 Student is below grade level in math, and
seemed to struggle with continuously using
centimeter side of ruler.
6. Caiden 3/4
7. D’Airra X1/4 Student is below grade level in math and
struggled with giving an accurate
measurement. Used inch side of ruler for
two out of the four measurements.
8. Dakota 3/4
9. Darius 4/4
10. Daya 4/4
11. De’Vante 3/4
12. Kaylie X Absent
13. La’kyi 3/4
14. Liam (1) 3/4
15. Liam (2) 3/4
16. Royce X1/4 Student is an identified IEP student for
dyslexia. He struggled to correctly line up
the ruler at zero or 1, with the object being
measured. He also did not add proper labels
to each measurement.
17. Ta’Niyah 4/4
18. Willie 4/4
How I would use the results:
I would plan to use the results from this assessment to inform my planning for the next

day of learning by first looking at the students who scored below the expected criteria of 3 out

of 4 accurate measurements. Based on the data collected from this assessment, 3 out of the 17

students present in class scored below the expectations or therefore struggled with the content

presented. I can use this information to plan for the next day’s learning because I now know

that these students need extra intervention in measuring with centimeters. I would pull these

three students to the back table during a time when all other students are working on the next

day’s measurement work in order to work closely with these students and observe. Due to

these three students struggling to use the ruler correctly to measure in centimeters, the first

step of intervention would be explicitly teaching the students how to work with rulers. Each

student would receive a printed and laminated ruler manipulative that only contains the

centimeter side of the ruler, that way students can become comfortable only looking at

centimeters. “ . . .manipulatives are effective for the following reasons: they are multisensory,

they represent ideas in more than one way, they promote communication among students, and

they increase confidence, leading to less confusion and a deeper understanding” (Dinsmoor,

1970). Each of the students who scored below the expected criteria for this assessment struggle

with confidence mainly in math, which is why the ruler manipulatives would benefit these

students greatly.

After reviewing the centimeter ruler manipulative, the students will be given materials

such as dry erase markers, a pencil, a glue stick, and a paperclip. They will also be given a

tracking sheet to record the measurements of each object. The teacher will model one
measurement with a crayon, which will show students how exactly it should look. She will also

closely observe each student as they measure to ensure that each student is lining up the ruler

with the intended object correctly. She will redirect those who struggle with this step and

explain in detail why this is not correct. After each student is finished with these measurements,

they will be dismissed back to their seats and the teacher will review each of the three students

tracking sheets to decide if further intervention on measuring with centimeters is needed or if

they have a better understanding after the implemented strategies.

Did I expect these results:

After reviewing the result data from the measurement with centimeters assessment, I

was shocked to see how many students were able to meet the expectation of accurately

measuring 3 out of the 4 objects. Due to this being only the second time that these students

have worked with measuring in centimeters, I expected many more to score below the criteria.

The main reason that these results were such a shock to me was because the students were

exposed to measurement with inches first and were already comfortable using the inch side of

the ruler. I originally thought that there would be more confusion amongst students when it

came to using the correct side of the ruler, along with labeling each measurement with the

proper unit. Although it was explicitly reviewed before the lesson was taught, I still believed that

many students would measure with the inch side of the ruler instead of centimeter. I was

extremely impressed with the results of this assessment because I had lower expectations

coming into teaching this lesson. When it comes to the students who scored below the

expected criteria of 3 out of 4 accurate measurements, this did not come as such a surprise. The

three students who did score below expectations are all below grade level in math, which is why
I expected these results. However, all three showed an exceptional amount of effort during the

lesson and seemed eager to learn.

Science:
Name Accurately answered 2 out Additional Notes
of 3 assigned questions
1. Aaliyah 2/3
2. Alayna 3/3
3. Andrew X1/3 Student is usually one to complete each
assigned section of assignment but had
behavior problems during lesson that
prevented him from finishing.
4. Athen 3/3
5. Autumn 2/3
6. Caiden 3/3
7. D’Airra 2/3
8. Dakota 3/3
9. Darius 3/3
10. Daya 3/3
11. De’Vante 2/3
12. Kaylie X Absent
13. La’kyi 3/3
14. Liam (1) 3/3
15. Liam (2) 3/3
16. Royce X1/3 Student is on an IEP for dyslexia. He was
read each question assigned to him but
was still unable to record his findings.
17. Ta’Niyah 3/3
18. Willie 3/3

How I would use the results:

I would use the data results from this formative assessment to plan for the next days

instruction, by looking at the students who failed to accurately complete 2 out of the 3 assigned

questions on their exit slip about their findings on the fossil dig. Based on the data recorded

from this assessment, 2 out of the 17 students present for this lesson scored below the
expected criteria for this assessment. The two students who scored a 1/3 on this assessment

were unable to accurately answer the three assigned questions based on the findings of their

cookie fossil dig, due to either behavioral problems or a misunderstanding of the content. I

would pull these two students to the back table during a time when all other students are

focused on a separate task at hand, to reteach this science lesson. In order to do this, the very

first thing that would be completed is an explicit review of all vocabulary taught in this lesson

such as paleontologist, fossil, and extinct. These are crucial for students to understand, as they

are completing an activity that mimics the job of a paleontologist, who searches for fossils of

extinct animals. These students will be given a ring with three notecards attached with the three

vocabulary words written on each, along with a student friendly definition. Students will be able

to use this vocabulary ring to complete a vocabulary worksheet with repeated questions where

students will fill in blanks each word. “Findings suggest that regardless of the different types of

explicit vocabulary instruction, vocabulary learning was improved by increasing the number of

repetitions. However, at least seven repetitions were needed for successful vocabulary learning

to take place through listening to explicit instruction” (Zhang, 2023). This will benefit students

because they will repeatedly be reading the definitions of each of these words, which will

increase their memorization. After reviewing vocabulary, students will be given the opportunity

to complete the cookie fossil dig another time with explicit guidance this time. The one student

who scored below the expectations, is on an IEP for dyslexia and benefits from chunked

directions which means that he will thrive with this one-on-one instruction. All steps to this

activity will be closely observed and students will complete each question that was on the

original exit slip verbally with the teacher. This will benefit the students because they will be
able to verbally explain what they are observing throughout the activity, such as the “fossils”

seen on the surface and how many “fossils” were found after digging. After the reteach of this

lesson, the teacher will decide whether these students need further intervention based on her

observations.

Did I expect these results:

After reviewing the data results from the science formative assessment, I wasn’t

surprised with the number of students who met the expectations of accurately answering 2 out

of the 3 questions based on their findings of the cookie fossil dig. The students in my second-

grade placement are very good at following directions closely and accurately, as long as their

focus is on the one giving directions. For this activity, following directions was the only way that

the students would have been able to complete the corresponding exit slip. I was however

surprised with one of the two students who received a 1 out 3 on the assessment, due to his

high level in all content areas. The only reason that his student was not able to perform to his

full abilities was because of some behavioral problems that occurred during the execution of

the lesson. This caused him to breakdown and completely lose focus in the task at hand. If this

incident hadn’t happened, he would have been able to complete all 3 questions accurately.
Social Studies:

Name Identified the correct Additional Notes

cardinal location of a
specific object on the 2nd
out of 3rd try.
1. Aaliyah 2/3
2. Alayna X Absent
3. Andrew 1/3
4. Athen 1/3
5. Autumn X3/3 Struggled with the wording of her assigned
Boom Card slide, which affected her
attempts with the assessment.
6. Caiden 2/3
7. D’Airra X3/3 Used her compass rose manipulative but
had North facing down instead of up.
8. Dakota 1/3
9. Darius 1/3
10. Daya 1/3
11. De’Vante 2/3
12. Kaylie X Absent
13. La’kyi 2/3
14. Liam (1) 2/3
15. Liam (2) 2/3
16. Royce X3/3 Student has an IEP for dyslexia and struggled
a lot with the wording of his assigned Boom
Card slide, even with it being read to him.
17. Ta’Niyah 2/3
18. Willie 2/3

How I will use these results:

I would use the data from the formative assessment, to plan for instruction of the next

days’ learning by looking at the students who used 3 of the provided 3 tries on the Cardinal

Directions Boom Cards. Based on the data of this assessment reflected in the table, 3 out of the

16 students present during this lesson scored below the expectations for students to get the
correct answer by their second try. These students will be pulled to the back table while all

other students are completing different assigned work, in order for the teacher candidate to

reteach cardinal directions on a compass rose. The first task of intervention that will be

completed with these three students will be giving them a laminated compass rose

manipulative for them to use as a tool for this lesson, along with future lessons. This compass

rose will include all cardinal directions listed as the whole word, north, south, east, and west,

that way students are able to easily recognize the vocabulary. The teacher candidate will also

give students a mnemonic that will help students to remember the cardinal directions, and that

is “Never, Eat, Soggy, Waffles,” which they can write on their compass rose with dry erase

marker. The next task that students will complete with the use of their manipulative will be

guided by the teacher candidate. She will have all three students stand up where they are and

face her, she will then hand each student individual posters that include the cardinal directions.

Then she will list off multiple objects placed all around the classroom and have students hold up

the poster that includes the cardinal direction that they think locates that specific object. An

interactive activity like this is a great way for students to learn while also providing the

opportunity for immediate feedback to both the teacher that can guide further instruction and

the students. “When student feedback is given immediately after showing proof of learning, the

student responds and remembers the experience about what is being learned more positively. If

we wait too long to give feedback, the student might not connect the feedback with the

learning moment” (University of South Carolina, n.d). The students in my second-grade

placement thrive off of immediate verbal feedback and it tends to be extremely beneficial to

their learning. This interactive learning activity would provide an engaging, yet educational
experience for all students. The teacher candidate will monitor all student responses and decide

whether further intervention is needed.

Did I expect these results:

For this being the first time, these students have learned about cardinal directions, I was

extremely surprised by the results of this formative assessment. Since this assessment was

interactive and done in front of the class, it was easy for me to see the students’ thought

process behind each guess. I was pleasantly surprised when each student used the provided

compass rose on the screen as a tool, which I think was a large factor in the results. Either way, I

expected more than just three students to need that third try in order to get the correct cardinal

direction. On the other hand, the students who did need to use all three tries in order to get the

correct answer, either did not take advantage of the provided tools or struggled to understand

the wording of their assigned Boom Card slide, which I did expect to happen. I would say that

overall, this learning segment went very well for both the students and me as a future educator.

It helps me to understand the way students lean and how I can play a role in student learning.

Name of students Accurately identified the Additional Notes

in assigned groups who, what, when, when,
where, why, or how
assigned to their group.
1. Willie,
Autumn, 
and Alayna
2. Ta’Niyah
and Darius 
3. Caiden,
Liam (1), 
 and Andrew
4. Athen,
De’Vante, 
and Daya
5. D’Airra, Students assigned in this group did not work
Dakota, X well together, which in return resulted in an
La’Kyi incorrect identification.
6. Royce and
Liam (2) 
ELA:

How I will use these results:

I would use the data from this formative assessment to plan for the next days’

instruction, by first looking at the groups who did not correctly identify their assigned who,

what, when, where, why, or how. Based on the data reflected in the table, only 1 out of the 6

assigned groups were not able to meet the expectation. While I do feel that the assigned groups

definitely affected the way that some students in this group were able to perform, there was

equal opportunity for all students to contribute their thoughts. These students will all however,

be pulled to the back table during a time where all other students are focused on another task

at hand, for extra intervention. The first thing that the teacher candidate will explicitly reteach

to the students is what exactly is being asked of them when providing the who, what, when,

where, why, and how of a text. While this group in particular was assigned to the where of the

text My Heart is a Compass by Deborah Marcero, they will be explicitly retaught each

characteristic, in order for them to fully understand each key detail for the following activity.

The teacher candidate will then reread the text to the students and pause to check for

understanding throughout the read aloud. “Read alouds allow the teacher to model expert,

fluent reading of the text. This liberates the students from having to do the work of decoding
and allows them to focus on comprehension, acquisition of new vocabulary, phonemic

awareness, etc” (Okello, 2021). The read aloud will benefit each individual student due to them

being able to strictly focus on their comprehension of the text, which is crucial when finding key

details of the story. Lastly, the teacher candidate will give each student a paper and have them

identify the where of the story My Heart is a Compass by Deborah Marcero one more time, in

order to check for understanding while completing the work on their own. After all students are

finished, she will have each student present their findings and explain to them whether they are

correct or redirect them if they are incorrect. The teacher candidate will also write feedback on

each student’s paper and have them tape it to their desk to remind them when completing

future assignments that are similar.

Did I expect these results:

I was not surprised to learn that 5 out of the 6 assigned groups were able to correctly

identify their assigned who, what, when, where, why, or how. The students in my second-grade

placement have been explicitly taught this reading standard many times, which showed in this

formative assessment. While there was still a group who was unable to accurately complete the

expected task, I was not surprised to see that this group did not work well enough together to

identify the key detail. I do believe that if these students were split into three different groups,

their results may have been different. I’ve learned the importance of groupings of students

when completing an activity like this in the future and will now keep this in mind while

continuing in this classroom. I was also able to provide a large amount of positive verbal and

written feedback during this lesson that I was hoping to do when planning it.
Section 2:

Reflection on Feedback:

When reflecting on the feedback that I provided to the two students I was observing,

along with the whole class, I feel that I was able to effectively provide them with insight into

their learning about the content. When the students first completed their individual

assessments, I didn’t think that there would be anything else that I could provide them with to

continue the encouragement to learn more. I never thought about feedback as a way to reach

more students and continue their learning, but after actually providing it to the whole class, as

well as two struggling students, it was clear to me that feedback is just as important as the

scoring guide in itself. Based on just the feedback I left on the two students I observed scoring

guides, throughout the eight weeks, I would say that it provided them with extra insight into

their learning about the content. This is because I have been present for class recently, on a day

that measuring with centimeters had been reviewed again, and I had seen improvements from

students that were left with helpful feedback on their scoring guides about their use of the

correct side of the ruler. These were students that were continuously using the inch side when

they were supposed to be measuring in centimeters. Feedback that was left on their scoring

guides, along with verbal feedback during the assessment, was mainly about the incorrect use

of the ruler, which clearly resonated with them enough to improve on it.

Section 3:

Student use of feedback:

 Students were encouraged to keep all scoring guides that were returned back to them

after each assessment was completed and scored. Due to all of the scoring guides including

positive written feedback, I wanted them to present this feedback in a way that would remind

them of some of their strengths and needs in certain content areas. Some of these ways

included, in the front pocket of their homework folders which are consistently being used,

taping them on their desks, and class discussions along with creating anchor charts of all

student feedback. Each of these ways would provide concrete ways for students to use their

feedback in a way that will remind them of these strengths and needs during follow up lessons

on the same topics. Keeping them in the front pocket of their homework folder would be

beneficial for a follow up lesson because students are consistently bringing these home with

them. This means that parents can discuss the results with their children and maybe even

explain to them in a deeper way, what each set of feedback means and what they need to

improve on. Taping the scoring guides with written feedback on students’ desks, provides them

with a way to have that feedback available constantly. Especially during a follow-up lesson,

students will want to incorporate this feedback into their work, knowing that it was something

that held them back in the previous lesson. Lastly, using class discussion and the creation of

anchor charts with all student feedback is a great way for students to learn about their mistakes

as well as possible mistakes that their classmates have made. These will always be posted on

the wall for students to refer back to, until this learning segment is complete.

Section 4:

Teaching and learning related to assessment:

 Overall, I have learned just how crucial student assessment is to educators due to its

ability to measure the effectiveness of their teaching. Without the implementation of

assessment in the classroom, educators would have no way of knowing how beneficial their

teaching can be. They would never be able to guide instruction based off of the students’

understanding of a topic, or provide written feedback on their work, which benefits the

students exponentially. “Student assessment is, arguably, the centerpiece of the teaching and

learning process and therefore the subject of much discussion in the scholarship of teaching

and learning. Without some method of obtaining and analyzing evidence of student learning,

we can never know whether our teaching is making a difference” (Northern Illinois University,

n.d). Without student assessment, educators would never know which areas need more focus

than others. For example, when it came to the math formative assessment, I would never know

that students were still struggling with the conventions of the ruler and how to decide which

side needed to be used for inches and centimeters. Assessment also provides a way for students

to test their knowledge on what they have just learned and build confidence through problem

solving strategies. Another benefit of using assessment to guide instruction is that it can be

provided in several ways. Assessment doesn’t need to be given in just paper and pencil form,

they can be fun and engaging for all student, and even sometimes incorporate technology which

is beneficial to students.

Section 5:

What I would have done differently:

 Throughout the course of lesson week, I had a lot of time to reflect on how each

individual lesson went for both me and the students. There are many things that I thought went

extremely well and some things that I think could have been executed a little bit differently. One

factor that could have been changed to improve the overall lesson, would be the assigned

groupings of students in my ELA and Math lessons. I knew going into this week that how I

grouped the students would affect the outcome of the lessons, but I thought that I did a good

job matching students based on ability. It was clear to me that this was not the case when

students completed their groups activities in ELA and Math because it caused many problems

with the ways that the students performed. Students who are typically high level and provide in

depth responses, did not show the same results when being put into groups. I now know that

maybe groupwork isn’t something that I will incorporate into this particular second-grade

classroom as often, if it is going to cause students to underperform. Another big detail that I

would have done differently about lesson week, was being so stuck on creating each part of the

lesson to be enjoyable for the students. While learning should be made fun for students, there

are always going to be times when they don’t want to do something that you assign to them.

When creating my lesson plans, I was having such as hard time creating lessons that would

provide a fun learning experience to students, and while I did, I should have spent less time

doing so. Even though I was very happy to see that students enjoyed my lessons, it did seem to

cause a lot of chaos amongst the students during the lessons. This made it very difficult for me

to control the class on my own, with it being my first time and reengage them into learning.

Creating fun and engaging lessons is still something that I am going to incorporate into each

lesson plan, but I now know that it doesn’t need to be implemented into each step of the
learning segment if you can’t keep the class under control as well as maybe your mentor

teacher. Overall, I was extremely pleased with how each of my lessons went. While the students

got a little carried away at times and hard to control, I know that is something that I need to

become more comfortable with as I advance in my preclinical experience.

References

Dinsmoor, K. (1970, January 1). Math Manipulatives.

https://edtechbooks.org/student_centered/math_manipulatives#:~:text=Therefore%2C
%20manipulatives%20are%20effective%20for,confusion%20and%20a%20deeper
%20understanding.

Zhang, P. (2023, June 13). How Can Repetitions Be Used By Teachers to Facilitate Second
Language Vocabulary Learning Through Listening?. Connecting Research.
https://research.reading.ac.uk/research-blog/how-can-repetitions-be-used-by-teachers-to-
 facilitate-second-language-vocabulary-learning-through-listening/#:~:text=Findings
%20suggest%20that%20regardless%20of,through%20listening%20to%20explicit
%20instruction.

Importance of Providing Meaningful Student Feedback. University of South Carolina. (n.d.).

https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/cte/teaching_resources/
grading_assessment_toolbox/providing_meaningful_student_feedback/index.php

Okello, Dr. B. (2021, January 28). The Power of Read Alouds // How to Perform an Effective
Interactive Read Aloud. Institute for Educational Initiatives.
https://iei.nd.edu/initiatives/notre-dame-center-for-literacy-education/news/the-power-of-
read-alouds-how-to-perform

Assessing Student Learning. Northern Illinois University. (n.d.).

https://www.niu.edu/citl/resources/guides/assessing-student-learning.shtml