Chemistry in ACTion

Well, I decided that I could just as well put my reflection on the mini-lesson up here as I could email it to leanna, so here it is.
I felt that the lesson went well and that everyone was able to get into it enough even though we were pressed for time, and everyone was wanting to leave... thanks to everyone for sticking it out and letting Donald and I go. Looking back on it, I can see that the lecture part of the lesson went a bit too long... we had planned for 3 minutes, but it went for about 6. The part where everyone was brainstorming how to act out the different bonding forces could have also used a bit more time. I did not anticipate so many questions during that time, and I should have because that is the time when everyone is working out how to REALLY understand it all. The questions that everyone brought up were relevant, and I could honestly see high school students asking them. Because of the rush for time, the presentations and conclusions were rushed, and not as effective as I had hoped, but the presentations were very telling of how well the students grasped the concepts. That part would have been good to have more time, because it can be used as an informal way of assessing the students. Also, it would have been a great time for peer-to-peer teaching so that the information would have been able to settle into the students minds if there was more time.
I felt comfortable in front of the class, and it was great to be able to work with Donald because we both had the same concept in our minds that we were wanting to get across and I felt like we were on the same page.