For this artifact, I created a lesson that corresponds with a specific unit that my Kindergarten class was working on: Fall. Within the previous weeks they have been learning about phonics and what sounds different letters of the alphabet make. I decided to activate their previous knowledge of the phonics and add in American Sign Language where they could match up the sounds to the specific letter to sign, and then add in then add in the motion they already knew to help them remember it. With creating a lesson for Kindergarteners I had some doubts about time and how to make sure each student was engaged in the lesson. I quickly learned that the advice I was given about Kindergarteners staying engaged was correct, I needed to reduce the amount of time they were in one spot for. Moving forward, this artifact aligns with many of the Standards from the Maine Common Core Teaching Standards. When looking at it more specifically, I decided that Standard #9, Reflection and Continuous Growth, would work best for this project. Throughout the lesson, I continuously looked for what worked and what didn’t so I could reflect later on about what I could change or fix. After the lesson, I reflected a lot on what exactly I needed to change the next time I was going to teach, and I truly took in the feedback my corresponding teacher gave me, as well as my professors.
After completing the lesson plan and then reflecting on it, I was able to look back on what I wanted to change, but I also saw what I wanted to keep so I could use my strategies in the future. This lesson will help me in the future as I can adjust lessons based on strategies my students have: depending on how long they can stay focused, their different levels of learning, how they receive the information being presented to them, etc. I will use this artifact in the future when I’m creating different lessons as I can think about my student’s needs and what works or doesn’t work for each student. This artifact has expanded my pedagogical knowledge and has improved my future practice as an effective educator, as I now understand how to use reflection on a daily basis to improve my teaching strategies.
