Reflection

Evaluation Reflections 

During and after our classroom lessons and field trips we asked for teaching evaluations from observing team members, teachers, chaperones, our project manager, and our professor. Throughout the nine weeks of teaching we used these evaluations to evolve and improve. During our final week I took time to reflect upon all the evaluations we received and identified common themes and points of growth. 

Consistent feedback after each classroom lesson and field trip was instrumental in the growth and evolution of our lessons. One area of our field trip that exhibited tremendous growth was the “Doug-Quest-Fir” scavenger hunt. My professor, Dr. Katie Lynch, was able to give me substantial feedback about the activity after my first field trip and continued to give us feedback in the first few weeks. In our original lesson, we gave students species medallions after they found the species that the clues were leading us to, but she suggested that we begin by giving students the medallions as visual cues for the species they were supposed to find. This allowed for observations and inquiry about the species around them to happen more organically. This change also gave students the opportunity to look for multiple species at a time and allowed the quest to continue throughout the day for species like the Pacific Wren that were harder to find. Students were much more engaged when they had a visual cue rather than written clues that were slightly confusing and hard to remember. This change also allows the activity to be scaled up by adding new species medallions for larger groups or changing up the species for repeat field trips. The changes also center close scientific observation in a more effective manner, which is one of our key learning outcomes.  

Another theme in my evaluations was to offer clearer instructions for lessons. Specifically, my teaching partner Tiana and I received important feedback about our instructions for the classroom lesson “Working Together.” In this lesson we introduced and taught second graders the concept of symbiosis and the three different types of symbiotic relationships: mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. After receiving feedback about the difficulty level of this lesson during our classroom pilot in the winter, we knew teaching it would be a challenge but we were eager to embrace it. The lesson explains symbiotic relationships using a matching card activity and block activity where students demonstrate the different types of relationships through building blocks. For example, to demonstrate mutualism, one student begins building a tower with blocks while another removes the blocks like an annoying parasite! While the lesson was interactive and engaging, giving concise yet effective instructions proved to be an initial challenge. In our first few classroom visits, our project manager, team observers, professor, and teachers offered us advice to make our instructions more clear. For example, a first grade team member explained that we should lean into using thumbs up/thumbs down/thumbs sideways to model the different relationships in front of the class. She also invited us to give more detailed explanations of how the different species interact with one another and why they represent a symbiotic relationship. Feedback from our project manager and professor also emphasized the need for clearer instructions. This shift was instrumental in students understanding how to approach the block activity. The feedback and evaluations we received helped support the growth of not only the classroom lesson but also our ability to be strong instructors overall. As my teaching improved in the classroom I also noticed my instructions becoming more clear, concise, and effective on the field trip. Through this process of evaluation and growth I learned that introducing activities and setting expectations is integral for students to effectively learn and complete the activities. As our instructions improved, so did our learning outcomes!