Reflective Journal

Candidates engage into reflection on their own practice. They will submit a Reflective Journal entries that focus on the insights and puzzling questions on their own teaching practice. The journal (350-500 words) should be a record of your journey into teaching and learning and help you grow as a teacher and a learner.
Remember, the point of the journal is to have a place to record ongoing thoughts/ideas and impressions.
Candidates earn complete/incomplete grade for this Reflective Journal assessment. To earn a grade of complete, the Reflective Journal entry will address the following questions and include the responses to all the items of the Reflective Journal Checklist below:
1. What kind of instructional and behavioral strategies did you use?
2. Why did you find these strategies effective?
3. What have you learned from the feedback you received?
4. What kind of instructional and behavioral strategies would you use if you would reteach this lesson and why?
5. What evidence from educational literature/research (LIBRARY) can support your decision to use specific instructional and behavioral strategies?
6. The presenter asks him/herself 2 questions as related to the lesson and provides the answer.
Rubric (must meet ALL of this criteria):
• Candidates’ reflective journal is focused on teaching high leverage practice, lesson plan implementation, connecting ideas from the readings to practice, etc.
• The reflective journal includes 1-2 questions as related to the teaching experience or any other theme the reflective journal is focused on.
• Reflective journal includes 1-2 references to the course readings or HLP descriptions.
• Candidate identifies strengths and areas of growth in his or her teaching and reflects on understandings and perspectives on teaching and learning.
• Reflective journal is written with correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure.

Here is the feedback I have received from 2 colleagues. I have also attached my lesson plan on the lesson.
1. Were you really teaching today? I thought maybe you were taking clips from your actual teaching but I wasn’t sure.
Glow: As usual, I notice your confidence and clarity in your focus. You are getting good at video technique as well with the fade in and out. I also noticed that you repeated the phrase “reread” often and placed an emphasis on this topic several time. I also noticed that the progression of the lesson made sense.
Grow: I wondered if you could have more visual aids – we only had a few minutes to watch so it’s possible that your computer had the visuals shared screen option. I also wondered – relating to your first lesson – in what way might a child who was not making the connection might be given help. How could you structure it so those children who need additional scaffolding could get what they need? I think this is an incredible challenge for remote learning especially. Do any colleagues have ideas? Small groups? Have a group independently work while another group stays on to work with you?
2. This was a great post!
Glow: I love how you are so enthusiastic, friendly, and calm. You energy is amazing and when you are smiling and energetic, it makes the kids happy and want to engage more.
Glow: You provided great positive feedback and did a great job keeping your students engaged. I like that you had them reread the book, this way they could see if there was anything they missed and help them get a better understanding.
Grow: A way you could help your students make the connection would be to maybe reread the book with them. This way you can model for them and point out certain words or letters to help them make the connection.
Grow: Another way you can help them, is why having them work in pairs. You could pair a student who is advancing and understanding the lesson, with a student who may be struggling. Sometimes children learn more from their peers by listening to the language and strategies they use.