Shanna Pittman – Video Self Reflection

I watched the videos of my PBL lesson for the first time with my daughter. She said what I was thinking, “Mom, why are you talking like that and what’s up with your hands! Ha ha ha ha ha”. After watching the videos the first time, I realized that I really was not being myself because I knew I was on camera. Knowing I was on camera made me self-conscious, so I was not acting or talking as I normally do. It took several viewings for me to get past the way I looked and sounded and get to the content of the lesson I was teaching. Some aspects of the lesson were good; some aspects need work.

     The lesson I chose to video was the second lesson in my PBL unit in which students ate the snack for which they had voted during the entry event. Students are listening quietly while we discuss their choice and whether or not they voted for our snack, Oreos. This piece of video showed students listening and participating in my discussion about which snack they chose and if they like it. Students in the video are quiet and listening to what I say but I am not sure if this is because they were interested in the content of the lesson or if they just wanted their snack. I know from subsequent lessons during the implementation of this PBL it was m uch more difficult to hold students’ attention when there was not a snack involved. In order to gain a more accurate perspective and more valuable information from the Selfie-Reflection process, in the future I will video a lesson that does not involve a snack, treat, or reward.

     Another observation about the video clip showed that While I am talking, students are sitting at tables listening to me. I ask questions both before and during the distribution of the snack. Students appear to be listening and engaged. This evidence is valuable in that shows me asking students if they voted for Oreos and if they liked them. I ask each student if they voted for the snack and if they liked what they ate. I did not go to the next step and adequately help students make the connection that the majority rules in any vote and we do not always like the outcome of an election. In the future, I plan to offer students a choice in snacks and allow them to vote. However, the choices will not be candy/cookies that all students like. The snack choices will be more varied and diverse.

     During the lesson I chose to video students are sitting at tables and facing me, the teacher, while I do most of the talking. Students had little interaction with me and each other.  They ate their snack and each waited their turn for me to ask how they liked their Oreos. This evidence from the video is extremely important. As a result of students waiting on my (although they were busy chewing), opportunities for discussion and communication were lost during this time. One of the main goals of this PBL is to improve and facilitate communication between students. Young children need many opportunities to communicate in order to become better speakers, expand vocabulary, etc. Communication, as well as cooperation and collaboration, are core components of Project Based Learning. I missed an opportunity to facilitate communication in groups.  In the future, while students are enjoying their snack, I will facilitate