Documente Academic
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Documente Cultură
Victor Brancati
Professor Rasmussen
LS Connections in Education
April 6, 2017
For the second lesson study of the semester our class visited a public school in San
Rafael. The class we observed was a fifth grade class taught by a student teacher. We were able
to see a math class where the students were learning about dividing decimals by whole numbers.
While at the lesson study, we observed how the teacher implemented two teacher performance
expectations (TPEs). TPE: 2 Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Learning was
demonstrated through the classroom setup and student expectations. TPE: 4 Planning Instruction
and Designing Learning Experiences for All Students was shown in the lesson plan and how the
teacher ran the math class. Last, evidence of student learning and assessment occurred
throughout the lesson while walking around the room, or asking the students to show their work
on the board.
One very important part of a classroom is the learning environment. TPE 2 explains how
the learning environment can be maintained to be effective. The teacher we observed changed
the seating arrangement to help students who were struggling and had various decorations for an
effective physical environment. The class was set up with the students in various table groups.
The teacher arranged the seating so that the students who excelled in math were separated among
the groups to help the students who were having a difficult time. There was also a table group in
the back with one student who only spoke Spanish. The teacher put two students next to him who
could speak Spanish and were able to help him with the work. That student also had a math
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textbook in Spanish so he would be able to understand the material. The physical environment
and decorations of the classroom helped the students get focused once they entered the room.
The students knew that the classroom was a place to focus on learning and not messing around.
Since the school was a GLAD school there were various posters on the wall that related to
GLAD. I was also encouraged and happy to see that the teacher had a library set up in the
classroom. Since the school did not have a library before and the one they do have now doesnt
have very much. The teacher bought books to put in her classroom for the students. It was clear
Teachers always have to be aware that every student learns in a different way. That is
why TPE 4 is important in the classroom. The teacher we observed used a lesson plan and guided
practice to ensure that the session was designed for all students. Using the lesson plan, the
teacher was able to plan out the class. The class started with mental math questions and the
teacher tossed a ball around to students who would answer the question. This kept the class fun
in the beginning to keep the students attention. The lesson plan could also help by planning for
students who are aided by different instructional strategies. The main strategy that the teacher
used in this lesson was guided practice. The teacher read a math problem to the children and then
had them work on their own to find the answer. After, everyone would do it together as a class.
This gave the students a chance to work at their own pace using different techniques that suit
them the best. As mentioned earlier, one student uses a math book that is in Spanish and his table
group partners can help him with the material. This gives the students an opportunity to support
each other in learning. All the students in the class were able to have a beneficial learning
An effective teacher should always be evaluating their students to see if they understand
what is being taught at that point in time. During this lesson, the teacher used multiple techniques
to observe student learning. The evidence of the assessment occurred throughout the lesson while
walking around the room, or asking the students to show their work on the board. In the
beginning with the warm up question, the teacher had the students go over each step that they did
to get to the answer. During the guided practice section of the lesson, the teacher walked around
the classroom watching to see how the students were figuring out the problems. When it seemed
like the class was not sure of how to do a problem, the class went through the problem together.
The teacher called different students to come up to the whiteboard and show their work on a few
questions. Not only does this help the students who were having a hard time, but it also gave the
teacher a chance to check for comprehension of the material. Evaluation is an important part to
During this lesson study, we observed how the teacher implemented TPE: 2 Creating and
Maintaining Effective Environments for Learning was demonstrated through the classroom setup
and student expectations. TPE: 4 Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for
All Students was shown in the lesson plan and how the teacher ran the math class. Even though
there were no tests or quizzes evidence of student learning and assessment occurred throughout
the lesson. The teacher walked around the room, or asked the students to show their work on the
board. After this lesson study I realize how variability there is in a lesson. Not only do you
prepare different techniques before the lesson, but you also change what you are doing during the