Teaching
Teacher’s Classroom Reflection Questions
- When you have completed your lesson, ask yourself these questions.
1. Did the students co-operate with their peers or seem to have much contact outside of class with proficient L2/Foreign Language users?
The students did co-operate with their peers. I think the best way to do this is through the instructions of the teacher. I said ‘talk to four people’, this made them at least talk to more than their partner. I think the next time I will get them in groups but mix the groups up.
My thoughts are on building a community spirit
2. Did the students often ask for clarification, verification, or correction?
All these factors are important for the lesson and I encourage them. I thought the students were using them. There were still some students relying on other students to help. I wrote some Concept Checking Questions (CCQ) for the students to ask. At least, it highlighted factors to address.
3. Do your lesson plans incorporate various ways that students can learn the language you are modelling, practising or presenting, in order to appeal to a variety of learning styles and strategies?
I got the students up in lines, and they had to sort out an order. I had pictures to relate the words. I think I should have done the opposites of some of the words to make the words clearer. Also, I think they could have learnt more, so I could have got them out to write more words on the board, although I did put three pictures on the wall and let the students get up and write their ideas.
4. Does your teaching allow learners to approach the task at hand in a variety of ways? Is your LLS training implicit, explicit, or both?
I think I use a variety of ways for the students to learn. Also, I go around the students when they working and ask them questions and check their work to see how they are tackling the task. This gives them a chance to ask questions.
5. Is your class learner-centered?
At times, I still feel I talk too much although I used a lot of group work. This group is tempered because the students always like to chat.
6. Do you allow students to work on their own and learn from one another?
I encourage students to talk to their partners. I try and focus them on asking their partner questions. I also had it in mind to get them conversing with each other. I have a feeling that at times I should allow the students to do my work and then they ask me questions. For example, in this class, I reviewed some sentences the students had written on the board about three pictures and all the students were quiet. This I thought was valuable time wasted. I think I should have given the pictures to the students and checked their work as they worked in a group.
7. As you circulate in class, are you encouraging questions, or posing ones relevant to the learners with whom you interact?
I think I do this well. It is fascinating because some of the students do not understand the questions you ask. This shows that they still need a lot of one-to-one practice. One lady in this lesson kept saying ‘I do not understand’. I made it a focus of mine to get her to understand. I feel as though some students are not real learners. They come to our school thinking that just following the teacher and speaking a few words makes them a student. So, by circulating in class, and encouraging questions I can install the learning spirit in them. I think also my relevant questions about their learning and showing that we are all in this together, they will benefit from asking questions and learning in this class.
8. Do students seem to have grasped the point?
My first exercise was to get the students to write some sentences about what they feel they want from this class. I think I should have explained it better. They were not sure why we were doing the exercise. Saying this though I feel if I give them the answers they will just copy and give the answers that are the right answers but not what they really feel. Again I can look back at the questions for understanding. If they do not understand they should ask.
9. Did they use the LLS that was modeled in the task they were to perform?
They were hesitant to use the sentences I gave them about understanding. Some were not sure why they had to do it. They do the task but for some reason, they hold back. I think this idea of LLS was new to them. I have 30 hours with the class and I will try to improve their ideas on how they learn.
10. What improvements for future lessons of this type or on this topic might be gleaned from students’ behaviour?
I think I will try to have the students working together more and mixing the groups up also. I need to install some questions for understanding that will always be needed. I will try and keep them thinking that they can ask the teacher when they do not know.
11. What did you do at the start that got them thinking?
For this lesson about general appearance, I first asked questions about their height, and length of hair. I then talked about my general appearance. I did this by using my hands. I also wrote a spider’s web on the board to help with the words.
12. How did the students show they were trying to acquire the knowledge?
I said to them ‘Am I short?’ and the students answered ‘No, you are short.’ This showed to me who was listening. Some students asked me for clarification. This was good because it became more personal. I also said ‘am I young?’ which most people said ‘no’.
13. How did the students show they had learnt the grammar point?
I made them write some sentences on the board about the pictures I had put up. I let them write freely without any checking then once they had finished I checked over the work. I also had them write in the book about themselves and their partner and I went around and checked this.
14. With respect to language acquisition, how can you show this factor has been achieved with your students?
This was the first lesson and I do not think that they could have acquired the grammar. I think for this first lesson it was just to show them the words. I think in the next lesson I will allow them to try and use the words as it is easier to write than speak.
15. What do you wonder about in your teaching and your students’ learning?
I wonder why so many students when they do not understand either forget about it or ask their friends. Their friends may tell them the answer but it is in their native language. This dismisses their chance to listen to a native speaker explain. I wonder why they think they can not ask for clarification.
16. What puzzles you about your students, the content, or the organization of your classroom?
I think the organization of the room is fine but the class is too big. My content needs to be more learner-centered and less talk from the teacher. I need to have exercises that allow the students to be puzzled and ask questions.
17. What aspects of the students’ learning do you want to understand better?
I want to know how much they have learned in the class. I want them to show that they have understood the lesson and like speaking their new language
18. What are some of your teaching situations that you are intrigued by or want to change? Why?
I want to change the way I use the board and teacher talking time. I notice sometimes that I can be talking and the whole class is listening but I could have done this task a bit differently and got the students to do the work.
19. What do you know about your teaching or their learning that you are interested in verifying?
I want to know that my language is not too slow or fast for the level and also am I testing them to their fullest.
Apps, Apps and more Apps (when will it stop!)
I now have a new iPad, and there are many Apps to work with. Also, after speaking to other teachers and using the web to find other useful ones, downloading them, I am presently overloaded with Apps. My endeavour is to find out which Apps suit my teaching style and others that have a real benefit to the students. As a side-note, one major factor is that I have an iPad, but my students are normally used to old computers. So, I just wanted to make a note of some of the Apps I found quite interesting. I did start using iTunes U, but this meant the students need to get an Apple ID. For any student, this would a task, so I would recommend using up Edmodo. This is a great site for uploading class material. I then ventured to NearPod which impressed me after using Prezi, Powerpoint, and Keynote. It is not your usual presentation site because you can add quizzes and polls squeezed into your presentation as you deliver it. It will keep the students busy. It also allows you to give the presentation to the students slide by slide when needed. Once they are signed on and you give them the code for the class, you are ready to go.
I do have many Apps, but the last one (I don’t want to bore you, too much) that I will mention is GoodReader. This one allows you to store all your class material. PDF files can be AirDropped to your students through the iPads. Once they have done this work they can send it back to you. This is great for marking as you can use your fingers (as like a pen) to mark their work and then send back to them. Hey presto no paper!!. Oh yeah, TeacherKit is a great way to remember student names, you take their picture and write their names underneath. You can take attendance with this too. I could go on but as you see from below this is my iPad with many more Apps. Good luck with your iPads if you have them (they are becoming hard to avoid)!
Video Lesson – Rhianna lesson
Last week, my class had a week of lessons on the subject of music. I thought about who I should choose to focus on for one lesson, at least one quite famous popstar, so I chose Rhianna. This lesson worked out fine as they all knew her somewhat. I opened by asking if anyone knew Rhianna, and we got some facts up on the board. I, of course, did (had to do) some background reading as to show the students at least I knew something about her. There are many ways you can take this lesson. The video is Rhianna being interviewed on the red carpet at an awards ceremony, so meeting/interviewing famous people is what it is all about. What would you ask, what would you say? I ended up getting them to be popstars, and a showbiz reporter interviews them Grammy/Oscar style in front of the class for our own awards show. In the dialogue, below, I picked out phrases to focus on as a study part of the lesson. I was thinking about chunking language and how we use phrases and collocations that marry up to make sentences. I went through this before the listening part and blanked out the words as an exercise. Anyway here is the interview and video.
Interviewer: I was looking at a fact. You have been on the AT40 chart.. 177 consecutive weeks which is a record!
Rhianna: I did not know that. That’s sick.
Interviewer: It’s crazy. What does it mean to you, though, to have all of that success in such a relatively short time…at a young age?
Rhianna: It blows my mind. It’s hard to really grasp.. a hold of what’s happening . Really, I just can’t believe it. I can’t believe the success that I’m having. I’m just really grateful. More than grateful because it has surpassed everything I have dreamed of. So, it’s exciting. Now is the bonus.
Interviewer: Tomorrow on E-news right here. We’re gonna world premier the new video for your new single Stay. Lots of excitement for that.. and this is a song that has some breadth to it. It’s a very very slow.…finesse ballad. Tell us about the video.
Rhianna: The video was really really simple. I pretty much stayed put in a bath tub.. and we shot it really tight….really close. There’s Micky Echo in the video as well which is… you know.. this is the first time I have ever collaborated with him. So I am excited about that because he’s actually the one who wrote the song. I kinda just fell in love with it so much…in love with the tone of his voice. So, I wanted to keep him a part of it so you will see him in the video.
Interviewer: I would have to imagine you would have to get into a zone to sing that song. What is that zone you have to get into?
Rhianna: It’s very emotional song and it’s personal so you just think about.. it’s almost like telling a story. And that’s. When you tell a story even to yourself…you know…If you’re saying it out loud, expressing the way you feel. It needs to be powerful because it needs to be authentic.
Phrases
all of that success, blows my mind, has surpassed everything, world premier, collaborated with him, get into a zone, that’s sick, saying it out loud, lots of excitement, have been, needs to be, you know, get into
An analysis of the experience of being a teacher
(1205 Words)
I wonder what motivates teachers to start the profession. For sure many reasons make someone begin a career in teaching. Is it pay or job security or is it a fall back option? This being said, initial motivation does not mean that years later the same can be said. The fact of the matter I feel is the evolution of the new teacher into a mature tutor. This is then the professional person who has recognized the true meaning of teaching. This person recognizes their role in helping to shape young minds and impart moral values through education. Teaching has to be a vocation. In part an autobiographical story and analysis, for this piece, I feel that there are many aspects that any teacher has to realize to fulfill true potential.
Certainly, ongoing professional development highlights certain challenges in teaching that a teacher has to face up to. A focal point for me was the realization that students do not really know how to learn. How can any teacher, great as they may think they are, not realize that the students are naive about how to get the most benefit from a lesson? Any teacher has to look at the students’ own learning traits in light of the imperative that they both foster lifelong learners in their classrooms as well as become lifelong learners themselves (Bernard-Powers et al., 2000). The teacher definitely has to play a huge part in a student’s education although every student and the class as a whole have to progress to help the teacher get the most out of them.
Giving and Receiving Feedback, It Will Never Be Easy But It Can Be Better
(633 Words)
I think at times teachers can have a little trouble with receiving and giving feedback. Their feedback skills could be said to need a little practice. I think this is important because as a teacher you will need feedback from your students to tell you if they like your teaching. Also, the students will want feedback on their learning. Each piece of feedback needs a positive, constructive base.
A first reaction, when thinking about feedback, may well be to go on the defensive when it is given. On the defensive, I mean that you are not really listening to the person giving the feedback. The point is feedback is information that can be heard by the receiver as evidenced by the fact that they do not go on the defensive. I agree that feedback has great value but only to us if we can let the feedback in and effectively use it.
There is also ineffective feedback. These are judgmental statements and can upset people. During a reflection, a teacher was told they were talking too much in class but the observer seemed to forget to look at the students who were fine with this talking. Other people said it was a lower level, and the students did not talk much anyway. Would you feel bad for the teacher? Was the observer too opinionated?
Another aspect is getting feedback but not using the experience as a positive move forward. The observer is just making a comment. The teacher needs to ask them such questions as ‘Why’? and ‘What do you think is better?’ For future actions, a teacher should take the time to realize that they could be wrong and that they should take in the information (feedback) that has been given. They should ask for clarification and realize that it is not a battle, and the comment is to help. They should reply with what they think. Thus hopefully getting a discussion going.
Moreover, the information that is given in the feedback can be shut out. Teachers sometimes lack the skills to send and receive feedback. For example, a teacher thought of a lesson plan idea and mentioned it to another teacher. Basically, they were told that the lesson plan was off-target because the lesson was not student-centred thus in the lesson plan the teacher would speak more which they are not supposed to do. The problem was that the teacher had thought about this lesson for a long time and had it planned. Now the first reaction, when they were told it was off-target, was to get a little angry. They felt as though it was an attack against them personally. Maybe they felt as though they were not good enough; their ideas were not good enough. So, they felt a bit sorry for themselves. One idea could be to say, “shall I forget about that lesson plan?’ and if they said ‘yes’, say to them “what do you think then?” or “how can I develop it?” The teacher could have asked why they thought it was off-course and what ideas the teacher should think of. The teacher should have got to the bottom of their thinking as they might think up another lesson plan like this and have the same trouble again.
In conclusion, a teacher’s acceptance of feedback does not mean that they need to always act on it. The feedback should have been encouraging, helpful, and given with clarity. If so, then the teacher needs to consider the feedback, and decide how, if at all, they wish to act upon it. This is strictly their choice, but it is important to bring to mind that the person giving the feedback felt strongly enough that they mentioned it. Let’s face it, how would you react in any given feedback situation?
