Self

Reflection

Writing a unit plan gave me a chance to think about the tripod of the three

important components in education: students, material, and teachers. Starting from

the stage of writing the Topic/Purpose statement and pondering on the big
questions to the stage of planning the lessons, I continually tried to be mindful of all
three by intentionally keep switching my mind as a teacher to a student, while also
paying attention to the learning process as well as the materials.

This process also helped me to reflect on the most fundamentals. For

instance with the students, doing the research for the context part made me to
understand better the students and shape the lessons according to their interests
and needs rather than my own expertise, interest, or field of research. In case of the
topic/theme/purpose statement section, I spent most time pondering and searching
for the big questions and ideas that need to be addressed in this unit, for it becomes
and is the fundamental cornerstone of this unit. This process definitely made the
unit to be more meaningful and focused, and for me to be more aware of the
foundation and the purpose.

Interestingly, I struggled with the Integration of Faith and Learning part of

the unit, not because I was unaware of my worldview or faith, but more of because I
did not get a chance to relate the content of the unit with faith. One of the main
reasons, I believe, is that since I am aiding in a public school, I never actually thought
of how to integrate faith to teaching Spanish and to this unit in a more explicit way.
Hence, this process not only enlightened my lack of relating the subject to faith but
also led me to appreciate more the Christian education; through that, students can

learn not only the content but also how it fits into the world that is created and
governed by God.

Furthermore, doing professional literature reminded me of the research

component that my teacherfrom aidingand the principal underscored in their

interviews. They both emphasized the importance of continual research as a teacher
to understand the students better, improve the lesson plans, and ultimately provide
a more relevant education for the students to learn the material more effectively.
Through reading the articles and books on the research about foreign language
classes and instructions, I became more conscious of the various important
components in learning and was able to incorporate those strategies.

Having all those at the foundation of the unit, I was able to write the lessons

with a better focus and direction. While at first I questioned the function of each
component of the unit plan and the connection among them, now as I finish the unit,
I can see the purpose of each. Moreover, many elements from this unit can be
transferred to the future unit plan writings, even to different grades.
The two main projects of this coursecreating a unit plan and aiding at a
schoolwent hand-in-hand and complemented each other. Based on my
observation and the experiences, I continued to revise my lesson plan throughout
the semester. At the same time, I was able to apply the findings from my research
and reflection to my actual teaching at the school.