Running header: PERSONAL REFLECTION

Personal Reflection Shane Revoal OTL 502-1 Colorado State University Global-Campus Dr. Nella Anderson March 2, 2014

PERSONAL REFLECTION

After reading the book The 12 touchstones of good teaching, by Goodwin and Hubbell, we see how critical it is as teachers to stay on top of what may seem as minor details. Every touchstone was interesting to review and all of them are very important, from setting standard to making sure we have meaningful interactions with students every day. The lessons in the book should be followed every day throughout a teachers professional career. The touchstone that to watch during preparation for creating and teaching my lesson was item 2: helping students with personal learning objectives. Watching the students initially being shy about their abilities and what goals they thought they were capable of reaching was interesting. After being compelled by all the touchstones, there was just something so telling about students setting personal learning objectives and expectations. Expectations can really be the turning point between success and not meeting learning goals. If a student does not expect much then they most likely will not strive for much, where as, if a student has learned to have high expectations they will work hard to reach their goals. Sometimes we set low expectations based off the fear of falling short if we set them to high. When students were asked where they wanted to be at the end of the lesson, it was obvious that many were hesitant to say because they were not sure they would be capable of doing the work. The students who were confident were quick to say they expected to be at a meets expectations level. From what was seen one would relate confidence to expectation, they seemed to be one and the same. If we grow a childs confidence then their expectations will grow as well. Goodwin and Hubbell (2013) point out the importance of starting students of with a simple challenge so they can achieve small success, which builds confidence. This strategy was used

PERSONAL REFLECTION with two students who were told to bring in two interesting facts about Cheyenne Indians the next time we saw each other. They did, and after checking in with them again they set higher

goals in what they wanted to learn. It is rewarding to help students grow that confidence that will hopefully stay with them and they will continue to take on challenges with little hesitation. Students were asked before the lesson where they wanted to be on the rubric at the end of the lesson. The results of where students landed on the rubric compared to the goals that they set are below in figure 1.1. Students who met expectations were given a 4, students who were close to expectations were assigned a 3, students who were below expectations were assigned a 2, and students who displayed little evidence were assigned a 1. Figure 1.1
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Students were not shown their final results when this paper was written, it is yet to be determined if result will be given. As you see the majority of the students who volunteered for the lesson on Native Americans met their learning objectives and goals.

PERSONAL REFLECTION Conclusion

The 12 touchstones of good teaching, by Goodwin and Hubbell, are critical so important to teachers and students. Teachers must stay on top of these steps, though they may seem like minor details. The checklist as a whole was very compelling. It was eye opening to see how what one would think is a simple strategy like setting a personal learning objective can help build confidence for students. Every touchstone was interesting to review and all of them are very important, from setting standard to making sure we have meaningful interactions with students every day. The lessons in the book should be followed every day throughout a teachers professional career. After studying the 12 touchstone of good teaching, it is astounding how the can be the difference between student success and student disconnect. The 12 touchstones are strategies that teachers should use every day of their professional careers, they make a difference in the teaching and learning experience.

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References Goodwin, B. Hubbell, E. (2013). The 12 touchstones of good teaching: A checklist for staying focused everyday. Alexandria, VA. ASCD.