Haley Reflection #2

·         What did you notice about your students’ participation and learning in relation to your objectives?

With the word study and context clues lesson, I found the students to be very energetic and apprehensive at the same time. They were willing to participate but because the tasks were unfamiliar to the students, they needed coaxing to participate and direct their energy into the new task.

I received mixed results from the word study task. Students were capable of completing the worksheet I created with assistance. However, I am unsure this task allowed them to solidify their knowledge of a new vocabulary word. I need to assess the students at a later time to accurately gauge the student’s comprehension. During this task, they frequently went off topic and needed to be refocused. I believe the students perceived the amount of work needed to understand my chosen word to be too much and they responded with indifference to the task.

The context clues task received much better results. This was an exercise the students were much more familiar with. Their teacher had exposed them to using context clues and this allowed the task to run more smoothly. I had pre-selected words to discuss with the students and we discussed the words at the appropriate times. For the first vocabulary word, I modeled for the students how they approach determining the meaning through use of context clues. I believe this was a crucial step because I explained my thought process as I re-read the paragraphs linked to the word. As we continued, the students were able to begin contributing more to each vocabulary word until we reached the word, “pauper.” At this point, a student explained step by step the exact meaning of pauper. I made sure to congratulate the student and pointed out to the other members how she had reached this definition. The student was very proud of her accomplishment and the other students were impressed. I feel this came as direct result of modeling and practice of previous vocabulary words.

The only time students were completely incapable of reaching any meaning came as they attempted to determine the meaning of an idiom, “to pull the wool over their eyes.” Because the meanings of idiomatic expressions are not blatantly obvious, I feel the students had much more difficulty in determining the meaning.

In all, I feel the students responded much better to the context clues task in comparison to the word study. This may be because of their familiarity with the exercise or because it required less work.

·         What were the strengths and limitations of your lesson for supporting your students’ learning?

The strength of the word study task is that students are able to focus on one unfamiliar word and work through it to better their understanding. The effectiveness of this task is determined on the student’s effort. If students are not engaged with the task or do not fully understand it, they will not put for the effort required for the exercise to be successful.

The strength of the context clue task is that students can easily use this technique at any point during their reading of a text. Whether they are alone or in a group, they can quickly make an inference of the meaning of unfamiliar words. The limitation of this task again relates to the willingness of the students to put forth an effort to use the details surrounding vocabulary words and combine it to produce some meaning. Even if students do perform this task, they may still be unable to determine the meaning and will need further research to learn new words.

·         What did you notice about yourself as a teacher? What questions do you have? 

I noticed my patience level with students when they are performing a new task. I have ample amounts of patience for students who are contributing positively or even somewhat positively. As long as students are making an effort, I am fully capable of working with them to help their understanding. Once, students begin being off topic or contribute poorly to an exercise, my patience is none. I will stop abruptly and tell students “no” or “stop.” I think students understand my mood and will respond. These responses are varied and do not always entail stopping their misbehavior.

Am I too relaxed with students? How do I show my personality while maintaining an environment that is focused on learning and does not lead to too many side conversations?