TPA Lesson Plan Response

TPA Lesson Plan Response

In the WHAT conditions of the Context for Learning I was unsure of what to include for the requirements and expectations. It went from the district level down to the cooperating teacher’s requirements and I’m realizing I have not made myself privy to the information of the policies of the district. Last quarter I seemed to accept my cooperating teacher’s curriculum as just being based off of the EARL’s but I missed the boat on the influences that the district and school may be putting on her

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Another section was of surprise is the Parent and Community Connections. Parents are the backbone for a student and can play a large role in their successes and failures. The connection that I have seen with this in my cooperating class is that there is a class website where a parent has access to tracking their child’s success. Also, a weekly calendar is put up to let parents be aware of test dates and special events as well as daily assignments. I think this could be utilized more to allow for help with lab materials or a possible field trip. In a smaller town like Medical Lake I think it might be possible to have a couple of field trips which would have been great during our ecosystem and vertebrate grouping units. I’m not sure how to involve parents directly into the classroom and would think it would cause too many classroom management issues.

Introduction and closure in the instructional strategies section is one of the most valuable portions to the lesson plan. Setting the objective is the first thing I do in starting my lesson plan and is the first thing I communicate to my students.  The objective always takes me back to Bloom’s Taxonomy in using verbs that are measurable. It’s at this point that I make sure my objectives are aligned with my content standards and to start brainstorming to think about how my learning activities match up too.  One thing that is missing from the Introduction portion in regards to objectives is being more specific in communicating by way of sound, sight, and re-iteration by students. Simply stating the objective is not enough.

A valuable section in the lesson plan is the Differentiated Instruction especially in our quickly diversifying society. It wasn’t long ago when students would be taught in just one way and if a student didn’t comprehend then they were considered handicapped. I think there’s an understanding now that there are many different learning styles and that teachers and students can all appreciate that. Heterogeneous grouping plays well into differentiated instruction and works well for inclusion of 504 and IEP students. I’ve also been trying to use guided notes, accepting oral answers, and providing extra time. However, I’m a bit unsure of working with English Language Learners as there aren’t any in the class that I’m observing. My main concern is being able to give adequate time to each student and to be sure to not lower the standards. This section of the lesson plan has efficacy at its core.