Reflection
For Myself
In the moment that I was teaching this lesson, and immediately afterwards, I was quite disappointed with it. In fact, out off all the lessons that I taught for Term III I was the least confident about this one. The biggest reason for my disappointment was that I felt like I did not do a very good job of managing my behavior expectations. At times my students were very chatty, even talking over each other. They also spent a lot of time re-adjusting their bodies to try to get closer to the hermit crab cage or photo, and occasionally ended up bumping into the classmate next to them. As I was teaching I felt like I was constantly re-directing them, and I worried that in having to do so I was taking away from the quality of my lesson and from my students’ ability to learn. I ended up cutting the lesson short, stopping before we really got to dive into their observations of the hermit crab’s habitat in the book.
Now that I have looked over my observers’ notes of the lesson and watched the video multiple times, I actually believe that the lesson went pretty well. I realize now that the behavior that I originally interpreted as defiance toward me as a student teacher was in fact simply a product of 7 year-old excitement and engagement. Such inquiry and exploratory-based lessons are not something that they are used to doing in school. Being able to observe, talk about, and physically explore a live hermit crab is so far beyond any routine they have become accustomed to in our classroom. Despite the fact that I did not get through as much as I wanted to, therefore, I am actually quite satisfied with how the lesson went. My students truly did learn something, and they did so by channeling their excitement and engagement into sharing ideas with one another.
Now that I have looked over my observers’ notes of the lesson and watched the video multiple times, I actually believe that the lesson went pretty well. I realize now that the behavior that I originally interpreted as defiance toward me as a student teacher was in fact simply a product of 7 year-old excitement and engagement. Such inquiry and exploratory-based lessons are not something that they are used to doing in school. Being able to observe, talk about, and physically explore a live hermit crab is so far beyond any routine they have become accustomed to in our classroom. Despite the fact that I did not get through as much as I wanted to, therefore, I am actually quite satisfied with how the lesson went. My students truly did learn something, and they did so by channeling their excitement and engagement into sharing ideas with one another.
At this point my students have earned one star (see top-right).
In teaching and reflecting on this lesson I have learned quite a bit about how to manage behavior in inquiry and exploration-based lessons. The five-star behavior expectation system worked very well for my Literacy and Math lessons, so I just assumed that it would work well for this lesson. I told my students that excellent behavior meant listening silently, raising a quiet hand to talk, and keeping hands/feet to yourself. What I now recognize, however, is that I didn’t really want my students to have to follow the expectations that I outlined! To have them raise their hands every time they wanted to say something is neither a realistic expectation nor a desirable one given the nature of this particular lesson. What I wish I had done was to explain that this lesson would be different from the ones that they are used to and that I therefore have slightly different rules about how I expect them to participate. I could outline a set of expectations that include 1.) only one person talks at a time; 2.) practice active listening; 3.) everyone must be able to see and be seen.
I also think that my lesson could have benefitted from a more deliberate focus on creating discourse amongst students. I could have, for example, explicitly told the students that I wanted them to spend a lot of time sharing their ideas with one another, and listening to their classmates’/friends’ ideas. I could have said, “Today we are going to be sharing our observations, thoughts, ideas, and questions about hermit crabs and hermit crab habitats with one another. If somebody says something that you were also thinking, or something that you agree with, show us by giving a silent thumbs up!” Priming them to listen to and build ideas off of one another could help students channel their excitement and engagement into first listening to their peers, and responding only after.
Finally, I think that I may have tried to do too much in just one lesson! Now that I have analyzed and reflected on this lesson I realize that my students could very easily have spent all 45 minutes focused on the hermit crab alone. As such, I would split this lesson into two different ones, to be taught over two different days. Both would involve observation as a process skill, but the content would be different. The first would be just about the hermit crab—what and how it eats, the structure and function of its shell and other parts of its body (ex: pincers), and a brief introduction to where it lives. The second lesson would be the revised version of this one—a study of their habitats.
I also think that my lesson could have benefitted from a more deliberate focus on creating discourse amongst students. I could have, for example, explicitly told the students that I wanted them to spend a lot of time sharing their ideas with one another, and listening to their classmates’/friends’ ideas. I could have said, “Today we are going to be sharing our observations, thoughts, ideas, and questions about hermit crabs and hermit crab habitats with one another. If somebody says something that you were also thinking, or something that you agree with, show us by giving a silent thumbs up!” Priming them to listen to and build ideas off of one another could help students channel their excitement and engagement into first listening to their peers, and responding only after.
Finally, I think that I may have tried to do too much in just one lesson! Now that I have analyzed and reflected on this lesson I realize that my students could very easily have spent all 45 minutes focused on the hermit crab alone. As such, I would split this lesson into two different ones, to be taught over two different days. Both would involve observation as a process skill, but the content would be different. The first would be just about the hermit crab—what and how it eats, the structure and function of its shell and other parts of its body (ex: pincers), and a brief introduction to where it lives. The second lesson would be the revised version of this one—a study of their habitats.
For My Students
Because of my students’ overwhelming interest in the hermit crabs themselves I would like to do a follow-up lesson that also involves hermit crabs. I would teach and have the students engage in a new process skill—compare and contrast—as well as practicing and refining their observation skills. I would have students compare and contrast the habitat of the hermit crab to the habitat of the other class pet, a goldfish.
If I were to develop a unit around this lesson I would like to incorporate lessons on other animals that live in tide pools, their structure and function, and their relationship to the hermit crab. Eventually I would like to talk about tide pools as complete, albeit tiny, ecosystems.
If I were to develop a unit around this lesson I would like to incorporate lessons on other animals that live in tide pools, their structure and function, and their relationship to the hermit crab. Eventually I would like to talk about tide pools as complete, albeit tiny, ecosystems.