Tutoring Reflection

Name: Cassie Mayer Lesson: Seven Date: November 9th, 2015

Listen to your recording and reflect on your tutoring session by addressing
the following areas. Pay specific attention to the dialogue that you have with
the tutees and what insight you can gain from that. Write a short
paragraph for each section.
1. Identify and analyze strengths of the lesson, include reflections about
written and oral comments from the Coach and/or professional peer and
insights gained after listening to your recording. [TPE 1A, 10]
This weeks lesson went very well. One strength was a change of scenery. We
read our story outside today, then the transition back inside helped my
tutees stay focused on our next activity, connecting to TPE 4.1 Candidates
incorporate specific strategies, teaching/instructional activities, procedures and experiences that
address state-adopted academic content standards for students in order to provide a balanced and
comprehensive curriculum. Our conversation before the story about fairytales went great. My
students were engaged and used text evidence to back their reasoning. Even though both read at
a preprimary level my tutees were able to predict what the text would be about based on the
cover art. They also had a good discussion about fairytales and what is common in them. We
switched back to literature from expository text this week. My tutees did not respond well to the
texts I chose and were not enthusiastic about writing about our content. In order to make tutoring
a positive experience I listened to their concerns and they told me that they are more interested in
fictional stories. Their own opinion plus review on their quick writes after the article solidified
my decision to switch and my tutees responded so well to it. Candidates reflect on and improve
their planning based on their instructional experiences and analyses of student work TPE 9.8.
2. Identify and analyze problematic aspects of the lesson include comments
from the Coach, and/or professional peer and insights gained after listening
to your recording. [TPE 2,3]
One problematic aspect I found in my lesson was engaging Jennifer in
educational conversation before reading the text. She was happy to fill in
details with personal stories or repeat what Jackie said, however it took extra
digging and prompting for me to get her to predict or describe fairytales. I
did my best to make sure she knew we were in a safe environment and that
she can take a risk with her answers even if she is not completely positive
they are correct. This connects to TPE 6.8, Candidates support students' taking of
intellectual risks such as sharing ideas that may include errors. Another problematic aspect of
my lesson was the pre write for the tutees opinion piece. Jackie wanted to make sure everything
was perfect before she wrote, but my encouragement just to do her best and we will correct later,
didnt help her feel encouraged. She ended up freezing up for a couple minutes. I got Jennifer
started on her pre write and then I gave Jackie my undivided attention and I modeled the pre
write for her on my own paper as well as on the white board. This helped get her going.

3. Describe possible changes to lesson if implemented a second time. [TPE

9,10]
If implemented a second time I would have gotten together with my co
teachers before the Readers Theatre, but time did not allow it. Also, one of
the tutees moved so we didnt have time to rewrite or pass out parts, which
left us doing it as we went along. It went smoothly and the tutees did
fantastic, but it still would have been more efficient to have pre planned. This
would connect to TPE 13.3 Candidates use reflection and feedback to formulate and
prioritize goals for increasing their subject matter knowledge and teaching effectiveness.
4. Discuss insights about tutees. Discuss and analyze tutees work, describe
tutees behavior/attitudes, etc. How did you differentiate your
instruction/materials to meet the different needs of your tutees? What will
you work on next session based on your analysis of this session? [TPEs 4,5,7]
My tutees are very similar interest wise, however Jackie is a little further
along than Jennifer on writing and reading. Jennifer struggles with decoding
while Jackie, I feel, needs more exposure to reading and to gain some
confidence. In order to differentiate their differences I give Jennifer a
sentence frame while writing and let Jackie construct her own sentences.
Jackie still needs guided help from time to time, but that is more because she
needs the affirmation that what she is doing is correct. While doing our word
study, Jackie uses slightly more advanced words, and Jennifer is working on
more basic words that can be sound out if she needed. Because of these
ongoing assessments that I make through monitoring my tutees I can make
better instructional decisions. This connects to RICA competency one on
page two. This section suggests that I provide direct instruction to the
students that need it. Luckily, that is exactly what these tutoring sessions
provide.
5. Discuss progress made toward becoming an exemplary teacher. Refer to
the RICA Competencies, TPEs, learning theories, etc.
Progress I have been making as an exemplary teacher is through the collaborative efforts of my
co teachers. It is so refreshing having people to gain insight from, as well as bounce ideas off of.
This connects to TPE 13.2, Candidates improve their teaching practices by soliciting feedback
and engaging in cycles of planning, teaching, reflecting, discerning problems, and applying new
strategies. I have also been managing our instructional time better to ensure that we are
completing each lesson and meeting our goals this connects to TPE 12.5, Candidates improve
their teaching practices by soliciting feedback and engaging in cycles of planning, teaching,
reflecting, discerning problems, and applying new strategies. Every week as I write my lessons
and include supporting details, which was complimented by my coach last week, I am using
RICA competency 1: Planning, organizing, and managing reading instruction. Using the RICA
has benefited my tutees, especially when using site words and high frequency words. Using

Competency 6 on page 51 I have used both whole to part lessons as well as part to whole, and I
have already seen great improvement from my tutees.