Nine Time Trick

Program Values # 2: Reflective Practice

BC Standards # 3: Understand and apply knowledge of student growth and development

The day I bombed my lesson:

Program value # 2 refers to reflective practice and BC Standard # 3 states that teachers need to understand and apply knowledge of student growth and development to make decisions about instruction, assessment and classroom management. I believe that I demonstrated these traits during a mathematic lesson on multiplication.

For a math lesson, I planned to use a YouTube Video and a basic hand trick to teach my students a strategy to learn the “Nine” time table. While I was confident that my lesson was following an effective gradual release of information and that all my students should experience success, my plans went downhill quickly and my class was filled with frustration and confusion. My students did not have the fine motor skills to successfully master the trick I was trying to teach them and after exploring different strategies, it was obvious that I bombed my lesson.

While I was being observed by my faculty mentor, I paused for a second and reflected on the spot. I made the decision to stop my lesson and try again from a different angle. I apologize to my students and we started fresh with a different approach. I believe that it takes courage to fail and to admit my mistake. However, it would have been worse to pursue my lesson and to rush students through a process that they were not ready for.

I know that teachers need to be reflective practitioner and that serious consideration should be given after a lesson to evaluate what work well and what can be improved. I also know that fine motor skills acquisition takes time and can not be rushed. Therefore, I reflected instantly on my strategy, and I used my knowledge of content and students to alter my lesson on the spot and change my approach. Through that process, I learned that reflective practice, flexibility and knowledge of subject are key elements to avoid frustration in the classroom.

Part of my teaching philosophy is to meet my students were they are and to scaffold my lesson to achieve maximum success for all my students. While conscious planning is important, effective teachers need to alter their strategies if the goals of the lesson are not met. I will conclude with a quote by Ignacio Estrada “if a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.”