problem solving lab reflection

Problem solving lab has been done. For this lab we had to choose one of the 4 problem solving approaches. The 4 approaches are:

1.) forked road

2.) different possibilities

3.) effect/cause

4.) situation to be improved

The one I chose to demonstrate was the forked road approach. I had the students read about a fish (everyone had a different one) and pull out some information on it. I then had them test for pH in water and they had to guess whether or not their fish could survive in the water they had chose. The reason this represented the forked road approach is because the fish they had either could live in the pH level or it couldn’t. There was no real gray area to work with. 

When it came to classroom management the 4 behaviors I had to work with were: 

1.) hard worker

2.) class clown

3.) a student always on their phone 

4.) the average student

The hard worker and average student were not difficult to manage. The student who was always on their phone got one warning, then when I saw it a second time I had the student move the phone to the back of the room. That way it was away from him and he couldn’t use it again. The class clown was probably the most difficult because she decided to throw out jokes about fish at inappropriate times in the class. I cut off the behavior as soon as I could and kept reinforcing that this wasn’t a place or a time to be joking around and that she could share her jokes after class. 

When it came to the group reflection I had how I handled the class clown as both a gem and an opp. I believe that there is a time and a place for jokes and I could have handled the situation differently, allowing the student to make her jokes while we were transitioning between different steps of the class. However, I don’t think I necessarily handled it incorrectly. I just handled it in a more stern fashion than what I had wanted to.

For my own personal gems and opps:

Gems:

I handled the different behaviors calmly and didn’t get frustrated with what I was doing. Going back to my very first lab when behaviors were implemented I know I was very frustrated afterwards, but I really think I have improved and was able to keep my cool and handle the different situations in a calm manner.

I had a hands on activity, hands on activities are always good for keeping students engaged. 

Opp: 

I feel as though I stumbled a lot through my words as I was trying to explain different aspects of the lesson. I KNOW what I’m talking about, but I need to take a second, so that I can collect my thoughts and not stumble through what I’m saying so that way I sound more confident in my knowledge. 

Overall, I think I did fairly well during this lab. Just a couple things here and there, but hey I’m learning.