STEP Standard 5 - Implementation of Instructional Unit

Implement the unit you have designed. You have already implemented and analyzed the pre-assessment. In this topic, you will implement all lesson activities, correlating formative assessments and the summative post-assessment. Choose one of the lesson activities to video record a 5-10 minute segment, review, and reflect on your teaching. Have your cooperating teacher/mentor review the recording and provide feedback, if possible.

Video Recording Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OdX3O75f8exJv89xsSDPNtviI2yoCnmN/view?usp=sharing

Summary of Unit Implementation:

1. My students completed their notes and moved on to Angle Pair task cards. Students were challenged when it came to the notes and task cards. I knew this would be challenging for them so gave students a graphic organizer to assist them. The task cards required students to know how to identify angle-pair relationships as well as prove the angle-pair relationships in two-column proofs. This lesson started out rocky but after giving my students their graphic organizers it seemed to help them with conceptual understanding. Think-Pair-Share was also a contributing factor of conceptual understanding.
2. This lesson was more focused on students learning how to discuss and debrief about concepts being taught in the lesson. For the majority of the lesson, students were investigating angle-pair relationships to prove lines are parallel. This consisted of them doing a lot of group work. The execution process to a little longer than expected because students were not used to completing an investigative lesson of this magnitude. Students were used to relying heavily on me. This lesson ended up being a great way for students to learn the proper way to discuss academic concepts in a math classroom.
3. I presented students with the notes on perpendicular lines. Students were required to build on their discussion and debriefing skills from the previous lesson to investigate theorems that prove lines are perpendicular. Students were required to complete their notes, guided practice and independent practice. After this was completed, students got on IXL, which is a computer program. This computer program allows them to practice specific skills assigned to them. The students practiced angle-pair relationships and proving lines are parallel and perpendicular. The execution process for this lesson went smoothly as students already knew what was expected of them. Creating representations and activating prior knowledge were the strategies used. Both of these strategies contributed to conceptual understanding.
4. Students completed their notes on slopes of parallel and perpendicular lines. Students were investigating the differences between parallel and perpendicular slopes. They were given lines and in groups they were given the responsibility of determining whether they were parallel or perpendicular lines. The strategies used: Activating prior knowledge, visualization, and debriefing were very helpful as students worked through this review lesson of slopes of parallel and perpendicular lines.
5. This was the last lesson of the unit. Students were writing equations of parallel and perpendicular lines. Students were given a short set of notes. We played kahoot so students could show their understanding on all the topics learned throughout the unit. Students were a little confused when we started the kahoot but as we kept playing the conceptual understanding improved. Plus, kahoot was a quick way to assess student understanding.

Summary of Student Learning:

My initial perception of the overall student learning was a little rocky. I had no idea what to expect from my students. In the past, my students have not been very successful when it comes recalling concepts from previous courses. It has been a struggle to get students to memorize any key information or concepts from this class so I was very nervous.

From my observations, I gathered that my students still struggled on slopes of parallel and perpendicular lines even though they have learned this concepts in previous courses. Once we went over the concepts in depth, my students started to understand well enough to complete their work without depending solely on me for assistance.

One student was confused on how to tell the difference between parallel and perpendicular lines. There was also a misconception when it came to understanding opposite reciprocals for perpendicular slopes. This misconception made me realize I needed to spend more time on going over what opposite reciprocals are and how they relate to perpendicular lines. This helped the students with the confusion between the slopes of parallel and perpendicular lines.

Reflection of Video Recording:

My first perception of this video was this activity could have gone so much smoother. Even as a fourth year teacher, there are still days where components of a lesson can crash and burn. This part of the lesson was not a crash and burn but I believe my students were so excited about playing the game that they forgot about all of my classroom rules. My students were not following my directions and speaking over me. I believe I needed to give clear, concise directions prior to starting the activity. Since I did not give clear, concise directions, my students were not clear on their expectations during the activity. I can say that I did a great job at engaging students in the activity. They were very into it and I had 100% participation.