Post-Lesson Thoughts

When I implemented my lesson into the classroom for the first class I taught, I thought that
overall the students understood the lesson but it got a bit boring when they had to copy down the
definitions. Also, I didnt expect to have much time left after the last example but since I did, I was able
to allow students time to work on the 2 backup problems from their packet. We had time to go over it
and then got through the last summary question in time before the bell rang. The second time I did this
lesson however, I ended up altering things around a bit. I originally went through what the definitions
meant and then after the slide with the relationship between two-sided and one-sided limits I went on
to using the notation in the Scooby example. However, the second time I kind of rushed on the
definitions and after each slide (definition of limit, one-sided limit, and relationship slide) I would go
back to the Scooby problem and implement the notation. This ended up confusing students and I found
that they didnt really understand what a limit was as well as I would have liked. Also, I ended up not
asking some of my key questions which I think also hurt my lesson.

During my period 3 class, I felt that my goals were met with students knowing what a limit was
and them being able to determine the limit from the graph. A few struggled with the problems as I was
walking around but I was able to work with them and help them understand what was going on through
questioning. Also when I asked students questions individually as they were working they were, for the
most part, able to answer my questions. During my period 6 class, I found that students knew how to
find the limit from a graph but that they couldnt tell me what a limit was. I noticed as I was going
around 3 students that needed further help with determining limits from graphs but after talking with
them, they seemed to get it. However, when I was coming around and asking 2 to 3 students what a
limit was, they struggled. During the summary, I called on 2 lower performing students to see if they
could answer what a limit was and they couldnt. At that point I decided to go over the definition with
them more thoroughly to further their understanding.

I would alter this lesson by making my own homework assignment with both problem solving
and conceptual questions such as Draw a graph that contains a function where the function has
( ) and ( ) . What is the ( ) or In question 1 from the packet,
why doesnt the ( ) . Also I would have maybe have changed my lesson so that I
introduced what a limit was after the Scooby slide but instead of putting up the definitions immediately
after, I would have done the 3 examples as a class and lead into the definition better by asking some key
questions that were on my lesson plan. This way, by the time they see the definition and the notations,
it will make sense to them.

What went well in my first lesson was the questioning. I thought I asked good questions and that
I was able to come up with new ones based on students answers. I also think students enjoyed the
Scooby slide. I think they liked seeing a graph in a relatable way, even if it was with cartoon characters.
The do now was a good choice as well since some students didnt remember what an open or closed
circle meant in a piecewise function. As mentioned earlier, I think my sequencing could have been
better so that I led more into the definition rather than just giving it to the students. Also my
questioning during the second lesson needed improvement or to have at least followed my original plan.