March 13, 2019

Today I did my formal lesson for the principal at my school. I could not have been happier with how it
went. My principal loved the lesson, the student engagement and my classroom management skills. I
read the book “How to Catch a Leprechaun” to the class. Then we talked about STEM expectations, how
to work together as a team and the Engineering Design Process. Students were already familiar with
some of these things as they have “STEM” for a special once a week.

Domain 1 (Knowledge of Students) was used for this lesson. When I decided who was going to be
partners, I thought about who had worked well with each other in the past, what students may struggle
with the activity and need a strong partner etc. Based on my knowledge of the students, their
personalities, and strengths I was able to group them into partners that ended up working out perfectly.

Domain 2 (Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport) was also addressed during this lesson. I
knew that for many students, the person they were going to be partners with was someone they may
not have worked with in the past. Before I gave students their partners, we talked about what we should
say to our partner, how we can act as a team, and how it is important to share the jobs for this project.
Students did a great job interacting with their peers, getting along and sharing the materials.

Domain 3 (Communicating with Students)- I took my time telling students the instructions for the
assignment. We talked about STEM expectations, classroom rules, the importance of using a
brainstorming paper etc. For those students who I thought may need the directions repeated, I made
sure to approach them after everyone was in their groups and check for understanding. I also witnessed
students explaining the directions to their peers.

Domain 4 (Reflecting on Teaching)- This is important because my principal informed me that she has a
reflection she wants to do with me that is based on the Danielson’s Framework. So, after my lesson, I
reflected with my mentor and wrote some reflections down, in preparation for filling out the Danielson
chart with my principal.

https://www.danielsongroup.org/framework/

Student learning was affected because they had to think of a solution to a problem that most had never
thought of before. They learned how to appropriately work with a partner that they may not have
worked with before, and how to use the materials appropriately. In the past, their STEM teacher has
expressed frustration with our students because they have been unable to complete her projects due to
misusing materials, running around the classroom, not listening etc. This lesson showed the students
what a successful STEM lesson looks like.

In the future, I would like to continue to do engaging lessons like the one I did today. I want to continue
to challenge students to work with others appropriately. I will continue to ask them during STEM lessons
“why” they used certain materials and how they would improve their design in the future.