Spring 2019 Lesson Plan Reflections:

For the first lesson plan of the semester, I reused by Logical Fallacies presentation from Fall
2018. The lesson did not run nearly as smoothly as I anticipated. Timing was a major issue.
During the first portion of class we had a class discussion about the pieces the students had
chosen to complete their Rhetorical Assignment on. Although Professor Joshi and I had
originally allotted 15 minutes to discuss, the students ended up sharing for almost 30 minutes.
Which in turn, impacted the time from which Professor Joshi went over rhetorical strategies. All
this to say, by the time we got around to my lesson (logical fallacies) we were closing in on the
end of class. I wanted to spend a considerable amount of time on the PowerPoint to ensure the
students had a firm grasp on prevalent logical fallacies, but also wanted to complete the Kahoot!
activity. During the Kahoot! activity it was obvious the information was not resonating as I had
hoped (which is understandable considering the time crunch). For almost every question, less
than half of the class was unable to identify the logical fallacy in the statement. In hindsight, I
should've slowed down during the PowerPoint presentation and conducted the Kahoot! as a
review the next class for a warm-up.
For the second learning plan, I went in feeling slightly more optimistic. Surprisingly enough, I
ended up running an entire class with the help of a substitute instructor earlier in the semester.
Therefore, I was more comfortable speaking in front of the class and had a firmer understanding
of the student’s engagement. It seemed that the students reacted more positively when I provided
them with anecdotal experiences to help elaborate on class content. For example, during the
second lesson plan I presented on the revision process (i.e. editing, concision, and clarity).
Different from when I presented on the topic two semesters prior, this time I choose to go
through a past paper I wrote for ENGL101. The class and I worked through each section and
looked at ways I could’ve revised the paper. Additionally, I showed them a completed revised
draft to show how I used class concepts and applied them to the position paper. With this, I feel
like this semester were more receptive to the lesson because they could see how to apply what
they were learning.
In all, everything is a learning experience and last week’s lesson taught me that sometimes it's
better to omit material rather than rush. Nevertheless, I plan on doing a logical fallacy review in
the future compensate for any information that was missed during my lecture.
As a first time UTA two semesters ago, when constructing my first lesson plan I found myself
ruminating over every small detail with hopes of presenting the information flawlessly. Of little
surprise, this was not the case. That is not to say that planning is not important. In fact, it is
foundational for a lesson plan. But I caution stressing over every minuscule detail. It is important
to be familiar with your lesson plan while simultaneously being flexible. Perhaps you have to
spend more time on certain material because students are picking - up the information as you
thought they would. Or maybe, the PowerPoint presentation (if you have included one) took up
less time than anticipated and you're able complete an in - class activity. Things happen and
nothing is set in stone, so my biggest advice is to remain knowledgeable on the content you're
presenting, while being flexible towards your itinerary.
Something I learned is students really receive the information when you're personable (or make
mistakes). I think I have made a mistake during each one of my lessons. Nevertheless, I find the
students more comfortable with me afterwards.