Week Ten

Secondary Methods Student Weekly Reflection Sheet

Sam Houston State University

Name: Katy Wood

Date: 11/7/11

1. The most positive aspect of my field experience (or an area I showed strength) since my last reflection has been:

The most positive aspect has been when I taught my second lesson, and the students were really receptive to what I was teaching. They were excited to learn, and that got me excited to teach. I think they had fun learning even though the activity was challenging.

2. The aspects of my field experience which most need improvement or adjustment include: I suppose I just need to come to terms with theatre classes being loud. However, I think once I establish my own classroom rules, the times to be loud and the times to be quiet will be well established so I don’t have to yell. Luckily I know how to yell properly so I don’t lose my voice, but I would rather not have to yell as often. I say yelling, but it’s not as if I’m reprimanding the students. I just have to speak louder for them to hear me. And again, I suppose once I establish in my own classroom that I will not be speaking very loudly so it is important to be quiet while I’m speaking, that won’t be a recurring issue.

3. Two important things I have learned about teaching and learning through my field experience since my last reflection include: One thing would be that even though students may complain about how hard a task or activity is, they still want to participate and make an effort. So I suppose that whenever a challenging topic is introduced, it should be introduced in a fun way. Another thing I have learned about teaching is that games or activities should be used every day. In my field especially because students learn best in theatre by doing, so the more we do, the better they will be.

Secondary Methods: Reflecting on Emerging Dispositions and Diversity Proficiencies

1. Demonstrates ability to be understanding, respectful and inclusive of diverse populations.

2. Demonstrates an attitude of reflection and thoughtfulness about professional growth and instruction.

3. Demonstrates a commitment to literacy, inquiry, and reflection.

4. Practices ethical behavior and intellectual honesty.

5. Demonstrates thoughtfulness in communication and an awareness and appreciation of varying voices.

6. Demonstrates a commitment to adapting instruction or programs to meet the needs of diverse learners.

During my lesson this past week, I had to adapt my instruction during the activity. The students found the activity to be fairly difficult and did not want to be stuck with a certain emotion index card. So instead of just keeping their original partners and original cards, I had them sit in two circles. The outer circle would move around the inner circle with every new set of lines. And every so often, I would have the students trade cards with someone around them. This really helped the activity, and it also gave the students more opportunities to express many different emotions.

7. Demonstrates knowledge of second language acquisition and a commitment to adapting instruction or programs to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse learners.

8. Leads diverse learners to higher level thinking in cognitive, affective and/or psychomotor domains.

During my lesson, the students had to think on a much higher level because they were required to make their partner feel the emotion on their card instead of expressing that emotion themselves. The activity was quite challenging, but I believe the students got a lot out of it and will be able to use what they learned in the future. I also received many comments from the students afterwards about how much they enjoyed the lesson.

9. Uses assessment as a tool to evaluate learning and improve instruction for all learners.

10. Demonstrates a commitment to using technology to create an authentic learning environment that promotes problem solving and decision making for diverse learners.

During my lesson this past week, I showed a video on youtube of Lee Strasberg, a famous theatre historical figure. The cool thing about the video was that it was filmed in the 1960’s, during one of Strasberg’s acting classes. Many times, there are not videos of the actual historical figure themselves, so it’s as if they don’t exist. But because the students could actually watch this great teacher in action, it made the figure more relatable.