Video Reflection from 3.2.

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4.2 Systems of Equations (Substitution)
1. Was my content knowledge appropriate and evident for this lesson?
I believe it was appropriate. At no point prepping for, or during the lesson did I feel as if I was
under prepared in my knowledge of the topic. Additionally, I felt like my ability to portray, or
explain that knowledge showed as well.
2. Did I challenge the students?
Unlike some days I have taught, I felt like I did a great job reaching the students of all levels. At
one point during the video, I am circulating around the class and I spotted that one students
work in the back of the class. She had already done the next two examples in the note guide
correctly. I told her to go ahead and try the rest, knowing the harder ones lied ahead, and told her
I would check back in during the next independent work time. Most days I forget about her
because she is so quiet, and is more than content just sitting in the back of the class quietly.
However, since I have begun to make it a point to make contact with her every day, she has
started to warm up to me and raise her hand to have me check her work. Unfortunately, the rest
of the class was challenged as is. With it being their second and in some cases third attempt in
the class, the beginning examples were hard enough. When walking around during their work
time, many students just skipped the problems that required finding the LCM between two
numbers to set up the elimination.
3. Was my lesson appropriately adapted for all learners? How did I differentiate
instruction to meet the needs of all students during this lesson?

As previously stated in my response to prompt 2, I have started trying to seek out the students
who are excelling and challenge them, and see if they can think their way through an example
they havent necessarily learned the technique for. Throughout the lesson I am gauging the
understanding of the class based off the responses of the class. There is a handful of students that
will respond every time I ask a question. They also happen to be the middle of the pack
students with regard to grades. When that group stops readily responding to the open ended
questions I ask, I know it is time to stop and go back over the process. Additionally, when
walking around during this lesson, I am constantly looking at what work students have down for
each independent practice problem. If I see they have a proficient work I move on. However, like
in many cases in this lesson, I stopped to provide the initial steps for students with little to
nothing written down.
4. How did the students demonstrate understanding of the concepts presented?
Students who responded to my questions showed me they were understanding the concept. I
asked specific questions about the process of elimination, and those who understood were able to
respond accurately. Students also had numerous opportunities to show me their understanding
during independent practice examples when I would pace the room checking work. Lastly, with
it being a 90 minute block, there is almost always time for homework at the end of the class. I do
the same thing during that time, walking around seeing what students understand the topics.
5. Were my procedures and assessments effective in helping the students master the
learning objectives?
During the direct instruction, I modeled exactly what I expected out of my students when setting
up the elimination problems. I choose to use the simplest form of elimination first to let the

students see what we wanted to achieve, two equations with one set of variables as opposites like
2x and -2x. So to begin with, all we did was examples where that was already set up for the

2 x y 10
students. The next type presented equations like 2 x 7 y 34

where they only need to

multiply one equation by (1) to achieve opposites. This scaffolding help students build
confidence about the topic, but also be able to see over and over again what the end goal is in
elimination.
6. Did I set clear expectations (academic and behavioral) so that the students knew what
was expected of them? If not, how can I make my expectations clearer?
Students knew exactly what was expected of them for the majority of the class. They knew to get
started on their I can statements as soon as the announcements ended. I also made it clear
which homework we would be doing what problems from, and how many we would be doing.
Since day one, the students have known what the expectations are as far as cell phones, food, and
talking. Whether or not they uphold those expectations every day is a different challenge all
together. Every day right before we get started on the notes I make sure to say something about
putting cell phones away and how it is time for math.
7. Did I find it necessary to make adjustments while teaching the lesson? If so, what
adjustments, and were these adjustments effective?
One crucial strategy I noticed I did in the middle of the lesson was labeling the equations as
number 1 and number 2. I was walking around and saw that some students had made sign errors
and jumbled up their equations. I thought to myself how I can stress to these students the

importance of rewriting an equation after you have multiplied it by something. I then decided
labeling the equations as the new number 1 equation or new number 2 equation could better
show students the transformation occurring, and show the similarity to the previous, more simple
examples.
8. Were there any classroom behavior issues? How did I handle them? Did my methods
work?
There were no major classroom behavior issues. This group really doesnt have any behavior
issues. There is one student who uses a little bit of disrespect when talking to any teacher. He
uses things like bro, dude, and other informal pronouns. Today was not much of a problem
so I didnt redirect him. It was extremely interested going back and watching the video to see
two girls off task for a large majority of the lesson, simply because they were communicating
silently back and forth across the room. I like to call on students to grab their attention when they
are off task, and I only did that one time with this particular pair of girls. Aside from them, I had
one student in the front row who I thought was a pretty good influence on the people around him.
However, this was not the case as I learned after watching the video. He obviously had some sort
of snack or candy, and he was obsessed with sneaking in as many bites as possible during the
lesson. The worst part was the distraction he was causing for the 4 other people around him, as
he was sneaking them food too. Again, only once did I notice he was off task and redirect him. I
have been under the assumption that he was a hard working kid, but it was obvious why his
grade is what it is. Because I gave him that benefit of a doubt, and it is a quiet distraction that
didnt catch my attention, I really never even looked closely to that side of the room.
9. What should I change about this lesson if I taught it again?

I wish I would have circulated the room more. I feel just getting up and interacting more with
kids would have made some of them more on task. Additionally looking up from the SMART
Slate would have helped as well.
10. Conventions: Grammar, Punctuation, and Mechanic
I have noticed sometimes that I speak very informally to the students. I dont think it is
necessarily a bad thing, but is definitely a concern, and something to keep track of. Things like
what the heck or dang are phrases I say out of habit that dont necessarily reflect the most
professional vocabulary.