Lesson 1 Reflection Johnson

Malea Vitt

Entry #1

October 22, 2021

Experience Narrative: Friday was our first day of Service Learning teaching at Johnson Elementary. I taught our 4th grade class which has about 28 students in total. They were very energetic and excited to learn more about me and just Art in general. They all have different learning styles and personalities which will guide how we differentiate and instruct our projects. In this class I introduced the first lesson which is One point perspective names. Several issues arose, none of them were large concerns, just things to keep in mind in our future lessons. One point was some use of tools during the lesson. Reminders on how to do things that allow students to scaffold this lesson in a more productive way. The insight I gained is that when building a lesson constituency is very important and having things like boxes and instructing kids more detailed on how to draw a consistent and square letter will help them accomplish the task easier.

What Worked Well / Interpretation/Content Meaning: This was my first time meeting these fourth graders and so I felt as though I was still learning a lot about them and they were learning about me. I was a little nervous, less so than my first day at Lopez, but still nervous that I would somehow do something wrong. I was very focused on them and building a connection with them which I believe showed in our class discussions and they seemed comfortable talking to me as a teacher and asking questions or for assistance. I think focusing on taking more time to instruct and guide them even more in the future through certain aspects of the lesson will be greatly beneficial to their learning.

What Did Not Work / Personal Significance: As was discussed, my classroom management was lacking during this lesson. Establishing that at the beginning of the next lesson will be something that I will do going forward. I think I struggled with this as Mrs.Burnham had an established call and Mrs.England typically uses things like a gong or clapping and I was unaware of that until after the lesson. However after talking with my partner we have agreed upon a call for class management to keep it consistent throughout our teaching and allow for more than a few moments of class management. Moral of the story is, I learned more about what I am able to accomplish as a solo teacher, and what I need to work on personally to become a better, more reliable educator.

Future Actions: In the future, I will take into consideration small details of lessons and provide tools and clearer instructions to make the process easier for students, because taking the time upfront will help their learning and ultimately save me time later. I will also take more control in the classroom when it comes to managing and working with the students so it is less of a hectic environment. This lesson was difficult because I did not know what to expect, and we had not worked with this group prior so we did not know their names, personalities, or even what to expect as far as abilities. Now that I have met them I have a better understanding of their capabilities and where they need more assistance in the lessons we plan on teaching. My goal is for them to become more confident in themselves and their abilities in the classroom and their art.