Ngozi Ejim

Drexel University

March 19, 2019

Reflection

Professor Giampietro
Today I had an eye-opening experience during my math lesson. In math, I introduced the new

lesson on customary units of length. The lesson is part of the unit on fractions and students

should make a connection back to fractions. What a ruler is and how to use a ruler is a concept

that is part of second grade, so I didn’t spend much time introducing it. Not thinking, I assumed

that the students would be able to use a ruler to measure. I opened up the lesson by reviewing the

lines on the ruler, showing students where a half inch mark is, the one-inch mark and a fourth of

an inch mark. I then had students work in groups to measure their desk, first with a pencil. Each

group had a different size pencil, and the groups consisted of various academic abilities. Before

they measured the students had to estimate how long the desk was using a pencil to measure,

then they measured the desk with the pencil. Then the students had to predict how long the desk

was in inches. I gave each group a different size pencil and a ruler.

As I was walking around, I noticed that the students didn't measure correctly, and they were not

starting to measure at the correct spot. Also, students were not taking advantage of their group

member to help them measure. I had to show each group how to measure and where to begin the

ruler when measuring the next section of the desk. The activity seemed to fall apart, but I still

moved on to the worksheet. The worksheet required students to measure the line to the nearest

half an inch using a ruler. I went through the first two problems together then I had students do

the next three problems. Some students were able to measure correctly, but others were still

having difficulty. I tried my best to walk around and help those who were having difficulties.

The lesson got cut short due to an assembly, but it gave me some time to evaluate the lesson. I

had a chance to reflect on what went wrong during the lesson and how I would fix it. The first

thing that I noticed was that students had difficulty with the ruler. I looked online for a ruler that

I could print out that would have each inch cut into fourths and was labeled.
The next issue was that I need students to see each inch as four equal parts. I looked online and

found a video on YouTube that explained measuring to the nearest fourth. The students would

break the inch into fourths and the shade up until the end of the line that they are measuring. I

did a few practice problems on my own, and I believe this will be an excellent technique to add

for tomorrows lesson. Lastly, I wanted to find a worksheet where students would get practice just

reading the ruler; I found one from an online resource. I am hoping that these adjustments to the

lesson will help students gain a better understanding tomorrow.

This lesson was one of the most difficult lessons I had to instruct, and I felt I had let the students

down. The lesson was the first math lesson I had taught, and I thought that the students were

ready to use a standard ruler. Reflecting on the lesson I was mostly concerned with what when

wrong and I how I was going to fix. Looking back, I realize that I was tough on myself and I

should have commended myself for finishing the lesson. When planning the lesson, I used the

pacing guide and the math resource that the district has students follow. The math resource had

students measuring for three days and then taking the unit test. I learned that there are going to

be times where I will need to adjust plans and be on a concept for more than a day. The resources

the district provides doesn’t take into consideration the previous exposure and the abilities of the

students. If I could have changed anything during my planning, I would have done a

preassessment to see what the students already knew about measuring. I would have also used

more resources to design the lesson.

The classroom environment throughout the lesson was respectful, and I clarified things for

students. Even though the students we split into groups I was still able to manage the classroom

and students were engaged in the activity. The transition from the math discussion on the carpet
to the group activity were smooth. I selected which students would be in each group and had the

list ready before the start of the lesson. No instruction time was lost during transition, and even

though the lesson was interpreted, I still paced it well. For Domain 3 instruction, I opened the

lesson by first reviewing the marks on the ruler and told the students that by the end of the lesson

they would be able to measure using a ruler. I provided clear directions for the group activity and

restated directions when necessary. Students still showed enthusiasm during the activity even

though some were having difficulties. I know the students enjoy working together but I could

have taken the group work a step further and assigned roles. Adjusting the lesson and researching

another approach for the following day showed persistence. As the weeks have gone by, I have

realized that teaching is not perfect and being flexible is essential. Finding more resources and

changing my approach aided in students have a clearer understanding the following day.

Domain 4 professional responsibilities, I reflected on my lesson immediately and modified the

lesson to help students have a better understanding. I also spoke with my cooperating teacher on

ways I had planned to change the lesson.