Vocabulary Lesson

Vocabulary Lesson Plan


Vocabulary Lesson Video

A week and a half ago in our classroom we were asked to create a mini lesson about one vocabulary term or concept related to our content and teach it to a small group. This assignment was especially difficult for me. I felt as though I didn't have a clear focus or direction as to what to teach about. Consequently I spent so much time thinking about what topic to choose, I was not able to put enough time into my lesson. Overall, this is not my favorite lesson I have ever done and I was not particularly happy with my final product. The lesson plan goes over my idea of how I wanted to present the material to the class, while the video is actual footage of me teaching the lesson. As I stated before, it is not my best lesson and upon watching the video, I have found quite a few things that I could improve on.
  
This lesson experience most closely relates to the following pillar in our mission statement:

          

       "Our graduates are reflective and contemplative practitioners. They thoughtfully implement curriculum and assessments, drawing from a solid theoretical base to guide their instruction and leadership decisions. They balance action with reflection to stay centered and purposeful in active environments, offering a role model for students. "

While it is not my best lesson, I take this experience and learn from it. Teachers, just like students and all human beings don't always do their best, and sometimes make mistakes. Being able to recognize what you did well on and what you can improve on as a teacher models a reflective behavior that all student's should have. Of course students should not be overly critical of their work, but as any human there needs to be a strong balance between looking and  assessing your own work. What did I do well on? What could I improve on next time? Yes of course the teacher's opinion is important to an extent, it is a student's self reflection that is most crucial to their learning. Not only are they learning more about themselves but they are growing as a student.

   I know I have a lot of hard work ahead of me and I am not always going to get it right, and I am not always going to get an A+ or Proficiency with Distinction. I do know however that these experiences such as a bad lesson are going to help me grow as a teacher and a person, and I can only hope that an experience such as this will shape me to be a role model for students and prove to them, we don't always have to do our best work to succeed or improve and it is possible to learn from your mistakes.

While I am not happy with the final outcome of my lesson, I have learned a lot about myself and how I can improve my teaching. I know that I am learning and I can't be expected to be a perfect teacher just yet. I need to be more confident in what I say and what I do. My voice is quiet and I am not interacting with my students as much as I would have liked. I was so nervous and anxious I ended up standing behind the podium the entire time. While my discussion questions looked good on paper, they did not receive a good response from my students. The questions were too easy and only elicited one word or no answers, proving that my questions were just a tad elementary for my audience. While I am very disappointed in how my lesson unfolded, I did have one small victory, I did not say "um" (yay!). This is definitely a lesson that I can learn from (no pun intended) and I am hoping that my teaching and confidence will improve by the end of the semester.