Reflective Essay

REFLECTIVE ESSAY

It has been a great experience having had this opportunity to work and grow with
my counterparts. My goal going into this class was to leave out with more
knowledge about the college; to have a better understanding of he expectations
of the college; and to increase my overall awareness of instructional practices,
strategies and resources that are available. I would say that this goal has been
accomplished!

If someone asked me the purpose behind this class, I would tell them simply put,
to help you grow as an instructor, by also as a professional. This class has
enhanced my strengths as an educator and improved my instructional focus. We
as educators sometimes become complacent and habitual. This class reminds the
instructor of how essential lesson planning really is.

The Adjunct Certification Program provides a foundation for the novice educator
and a training and development to the experienced one. Throughout the class we
were introduced to a skeleton process, which outlines the key elements of a well
thought out lesson and provides the foundation for good instruction. It increases
your awareness in planning and preparation while employing effective strategies
that encourage higher level thinking.

This skeleton framework is called BOPPPS. (B-Bridge; O Objective; P Pre-
assessment; P Participatory Learning; P Post assessment; S Summary/Closure).
Similar in structure to another framework called SIOP.

One of the factors that continue to be reiterated throughout my experience is the
importance of beginning with the end in mind. Knowing what student need to
achieve and the method you will use to accomplish this mission.

This class has given me a more focused approach for future planning of my
classes. For example, my objectives will be introduced through well thought out
questions which ultimately lead to a pre-assessment of what my students already
know. I also will include a rubrics forall lessons. I now see the importance of a
rubric as a guide for student assessment and accountability. However more than
anything else my learning curve was the use and introduction to the massive
amount of resources and technology that is available. This information alone was
tremendous! I will definitely refer back to the class and my notes for months and
months to come. Thank you again.

I feel that this was an excellent class for the Lone Star instructor. It presents a
unified manner of offering instruction and a philosophy of what Lone Star feels is
important in the lesson cycle. This class could also be extended to those students
that intend to enter the teaching field.
My time has been well spent and I appreciate the insight, suggestion, and overall
experience. Perhaps this class could possibly become a multiple level class with a
continuation that focuses with more intensive use of technology.

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