RTL Reflection

 

What an exciting week to be back at University park with PSUAgEd22! This week was full of reconnecting, planning, and foundational work. Wednesday our lab groups did our first RTLs (Reflective Teaching Lessons). In these labs we each had 15 minute lessons we taught to one another. My lesson was on creating Origami Butterflies. Keep reading to see how it went!

What happened? 

• I choose to use PowerPoint in my lesson to allow my peers better visualization of the different steps of the Origami folding. I started my lesson with a bit of background on Origami to give my students some context and spark their interest. This felt like a good choice for me rather than getting right into the folding steps. My biggest obstacle in this teaching lesson was that one of my peers had chosen the same lesson. Having had gone before me, my cohort member did an excellent job teaching the class. When it came time for me to teach the lesson I got confused if I was moving too fast or too slow for the class. Being that they had already practiced the technique, the students master their skills quicker than I anticipated. 

How does it relate to what I know about teaching and learning?

• 
  This lesson relates to what I know about teaching and learning in that it was a timed lesson. Regardless of if I needed 5 or 50 minutes to teach my lesson, I only had 15 minutes. This relates to what I'll experience in the classroom because I have the same amount of time with my students almost everyday. Regardless of how much time I need, I have to utilize the time I have in the best way possible. For instance, in this lesson, a wrap up might have been a good touch but given the time restraint, I was unable to include one.  
  

What did I learn from the experience?

• Something this experience taught me was that even when you plan everything out, things can still change your lesson. I had planned out my lesson step by step under the assumption my students had never tried this folding technique. However, the fact that my students had prior experience (by my classmate) changed how the lesson would be taught. 

How can I apply this as an Agriscience teacher?

• Looking at my future, I can apply this mindset to my teaching. One thing I can expect as a teacher is that nothing goes as expected. Being able to maintain flexibility with my teaching will be a huge asset in effectively serving my students in the best way possible. Little lessons like this that cause me to change my focus on the fly prepare me to do the same in the classroom one day!