The Broken Weld {Problem Solving Lab}

This weeks lab was the Problem Solving Lab and it threw me for a whirlwind before, after, and during. I found it difficult to reflect on this lab because I received inconsistent scores and so I utilized the video compare and contrast the feedback.  I also took the categories we were graded on, watched the video, and graded myself. This helped me understand my feedback as well as take notes on what to improve for the next go around. I am going to break this lab down by sharing my thoughts, reactions, and reflections in sections of before, during and after the lesson.

Before:
- I prepared a lot. So much that I think I overcomplicated the lesson

- I was indifferent about switching my lesson because I was not sure how to teach it to 3 students

- My goals were to stay in the correct timeframe and give directions and instruction with clarity

- I was nervous to teach it because I was not confident in what I created

During:
- I became frustrated. This has never happened to me before and it was a different mindset to work through. I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve and due to that I need to be careful. If I do get frustrated, to keep a smile so my students do not feed off of that

- It was not going the way I imagined it because I think the lesson would have been executed better with a class of 20 students

- Have more questions then the main ones written out. (sub questions) Be more prepared with details and quick on my toes to feed off of the students questions.

After:
There are plenty of areas I need to work on. Specifically pertaining to the Problem Solving method, I needed to formulate more questions and set-up the problem so the students thought deeper and I made them think even more then what I did. Aligning with that I should have reinforced the concepts we did talk about throughout the lesson and not just at the end. I thought as a teacher, I overall taught better, but did not execute the concept of the problem solving lab well. 

I talked about wanting to improve my clarity of directions and instructions and I think I have been improving but still have strives to make in that area. One technique I am going to try is typing up or writing down directions or instructions for students to read or look at after I give them. As far as staying in the time frame, I was closer. This was my first week for having to think about shortening what I was teaching to fit within 20 minutes, but I believe without my explanations to the class of what I would be having my high school students do, I was only a minute or two over. 
What I did well was interact with my students, created a comfortable environment, and had a variability of activities. 

Looking Ahead:
I came out of the lab frustrated because we are closer to the end then the beginning and felt like I took steps backward instead of forward. This motivates me to plan better and try to take leaps and bounds forward in executing the next lab.