#TESL0170
##classroomobservation
#observationreport
#teachingreflections
#evaluationfeedback
#CPD
#networking
#evaluationfeedback
#CPD
#networking
#CdnELT
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Observation Report, Teaching Journal and Continuing Professional Development
My final reports on my Observation Experience, my Teaching Experience and my Continuing Professional Development are on separate pages on the tabs at the top of this page.
#TESL0170
##classroomobservation
#observationreport
#TESL0170
##classroomobservation
#observationreport
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Teaching Speaking Day 5
Today was the final day of my Student Teaching experience. I hoped to have some fun with the students and try out some new-to-me technology. For the most part, this was successful, although most of the students are very serious about their learning and take a bit of time to relax and enjoy themselves.
On reading the blog posts of one of my classmates, I finally realized how the online quiz game Kahoot! works between the teacher's computer and the students' smart phones, and I was eager to try it. It has both a quiz function and a survey function, so I decided to use it to review the vocabulary from the last class as well as to do my Student Teacher evaluation survey. As a warm-up, I used the game to do a ten-question vocabulary quiz. The questions and correct answers are linked below. You can also view and try the game with the link in my Resources list, if you sign in as a teacher.
There is also a link to the Teacher Evaluation interactive survey. in the Resources list, and a link to the questions in document form below. Since I used the interactive app to do the survey, I gave the students slips of paper to write their additional comments and I had my sponsor teacher collect them. The students were able to answer anonymously if they chose to. The results of the survey will be part of a later blog post.
After the remaining pairs from the previous day had presented their dialogues, I reassigned the groups for the remainder of today's lessons. The second activity had the students reading a case study (The Tips Jar) on a misunderstanding about tipping in cafés. I had them take turns asking and answering discussion questions, which are in the link below. I again provided answer prompts and modeled some of them to encourage the students to answer in sentences. After time for group discussions, I asked some of the students to share their answers. I kept track of who I asked, so that each student would be asked to share at least once during the class.
For the third activity, I displayed a list of items in a table setting, and had the groups/pairs attempt to sketch a North American formal table setting on a piece of graph paper. I was impressed by the detail that some of the students included. After they had some time to sketch, I handed a paper cut out of one of the items to each student and had them arrange them on the white board (with painters tape). I used an app on my phone called Instant Buttons to provide sound effects during the activity: applause for success, air horn for something that needed to be changed, and some encouraging music while the students were placing their items. I intended to have them come up one at a time, but after the first few, everyone was up at once.
The final activity used a description of bad eating habits in the textbook. I assigned one habit to each group and after they read the description in the book, the students were to look up the same habit using their smart phones. Each partner was to use different ways of phrasing the question, in order to see that they would often get a different result if the questions was phrased differently. I provided alternate search phrases for the first two habits. (See the link for Student Instructions below.) I instructed the students to take brief notes on what they found, and then asked some to share what they found.
I did not need the contingency activity and there was not time to play the closing video. I thanked the students and my sponsor teacher and received some real-time applause. It was a great experience!
Lesson Plan
Student Teacher Evaluation Survey
Student Instructions and Discussion Questions
Vocabulary Questions for Kahoot! game
Alternate Student Work Pages (for a student who is not always able to participate in the discussions.)
My Teaching Strengths:
Resources:
Proposal
at the Drive Thru: Gaber, Jared. (May 24, 2014). Tim Horton’s Marriage Proposal. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwsRTS8Fuu8.
The Course Outline, Instructor's Guide and the Curriculum for the course were provided by the school, but cannot be cited due to privacy requirements.
#TESL0170
#teachingreflections
#CdnELT
On reading the blog posts of one of my classmates, I finally realized how the online quiz game Kahoot! works between the teacher's computer and the students' smart phones, and I was eager to try it. It has both a quiz function and a survey function, so I decided to use it to review the vocabulary from the last class as well as to do my Student Teacher evaluation survey. As a warm-up, I used the game to do a ten-question vocabulary quiz. The questions and correct answers are linked below. You can also view and try the game with the link in my Resources list, if you sign in as a teacher.
There is also a link to the Teacher Evaluation interactive survey. in the Resources list, and a link to the questions in document form below. Since I used the interactive app to do the survey, I gave the students slips of paper to write their additional comments and I had my sponsor teacher collect them. The students were able to answer anonymously if they chose to. The results of the survey will be part of a later blog post.
After the remaining pairs from the previous day had presented their dialogues, I reassigned the groups for the remainder of today's lessons. The second activity had the students reading a case study (The Tips Jar) on a misunderstanding about tipping in cafés. I had them take turns asking and answering discussion questions, which are in the link below. I again provided answer prompts and modeled some of them to encourage the students to answer in sentences. After time for group discussions, I asked some of the students to share their answers. I kept track of who I asked, so that each student would be asked to share at least once during the class.
For the third activity, I displayed a list of items in a table setting, and had the groups/pairs attempt to sketch a North American formal table setting on a piece of graph paper. I was impressed by the detail that some of the students included. After they had some time to sketch, I handed a paper cut out of one of the items to each student and had them arrange them on the white board (with painters tape). I used an app on my phone called Instant Buttons to provide sound effects during the activity: applause for success, air horn for something that needed to be changed, and some encouraging music while the students were placing their items. I intended to have them come up one at a time, but after the first few, everyone was up at once.
 |
| Photo by Vicky Isliefson |
The final activity used a description of bad eating habits in the textbook. I assigned one habit to each group and after they read the description in the book, the students were to look up the same habit using their smart phones. Each partner was to use different ways of phrasing the question, in order to see that they would often get a different result if the questions was phrased differently. I provided alternate search phrases for the first two habits. (See the link for Student Instructions below.) I instructed the students to take brief notes on what they found, and then asked some to share what they found.
I did not need the contingency activity and there was not time to play the closing video. I thanked the students and my sponsor teacher and received some real-time applause. It was a great experience!
Lesson Plan
Student Teacher Evaluation Survey
Student Instructions and Discussion Questions
Vocabulary Questions for Kahoot! game
Alternate Student Work Pages (for a student who is not always able to participate in the discussions.)
My Teaching Strengths:
- I used technology, paper-based resources and some physical activity to provide a variety of experiences for the students. (Confession: the cut-outs were made with an electronic cutting machine.)
- I prepared a paper-based back-up for the required Teacher Evaluation, in case the computer/phone version did not work.
- I followed up on unfinished activities from the previous class.
My Weaknesses:
- I did not include some information about how to tip and how much to tip in the Tips Jar activity. There was not enough focus on what to do in Canada.
- I did not control the students well during the place setting activity. I did not give them enough direction about when to get up and come to the front.
- I did not provide enough model search terms for the Bad Eating Habits activity, resulting in some students misunderstanding what they were to search.
- I did not check to make sure students were taking notes during the internet search for the Bad Eating Habits activity.
Genzel, Rhona B, & Cummings,
Martha Graves, (2010). Culturally Speaking,
3rd Edition. Boston: Heinle, Cengage Learning.
cremagames (2011). Instant Buttons. [computer software - smart phone app]. Madrid.
Kahoot! (2018) Teacher
Evaluation: Vicky Isliefson. [user created interactive game using web-based
software]. Retrieved from https://play.kahoot.it/#/?quizId=acca10f0-3e5a-4eea-a413-8496fcbd17e1.
Kahoot! (2018). North American
Dinner Vocabulary. [user created interactive game using web-based software].
Retrieved from https://play.kahoot.it/#/?quizId=6f69bc36-4154-432c-a5b2-996c43bfb8a7.
The Course Outline, Instructor's Guide and the Curriculum for the course were provided by the school, but cannot be cited due to privacy requirements.
#TESL0170
#teachingreflections
#CdnELT
Teaching Speaking Day 4
Today's speaking class lesson was about dining customs, table manners, and different types of restaurants. I started with a short video depicting some very bad table manners. While the students watched the video, I watched them to see how they reacted. Some found it funny and at least one made a face showing dismay or disgust. I then asked these students what their reactions were, and why.
I put the students into pairs or groups of three, making sure students from different countries with different L1s were together. First, they worked through an eight-question Customs Quiz about North American dining customs in their textbooks. I instructed them to take turns reading the question and then their answer from the choices. I also instructed them to choose not only the best answer, but also the worst answer, as many of the questions had more than one plausible answer. Instead of discussing the answers with the class, I used a video which showed most of the customs, along with some "wrong ways" to behave at a formal dinner. After the video, I explained some of the vocabulary that was used.
For the second activity, using the same Customs Questions and the same student groups, I had the students ask and answer according to what would be acceptable manners in their own country. I also had them discuss their personal preferences regarding eating out. I gave them prompts and examples to encourage them to answer in full sentences. (See Discussion Questions link below.)
For the third part of the lesson, I had planned to use a vocabulary matching activity in the textbook. Since time was running short, I did not assign this to the class. However, when I noticed some of the groups were finishing the discussions before the others, I assigned this activity to the individuals in those groups, so that they would have a learning activity to work on. (The classroom teacher had previously told them to study that activity for their next test.)
I used the Let's Share activity from the textbook, which explained different types of restaurants in North America. I had the student take turns reading the categories and descriptions, as well as share similarities and differences for their home countries.
The final activity involved writing dialogues for different eating out situations. The textbook provided the "waiter" portion of the dialogue and the students had to write the "customer" portion. After the pairs wrote their part of the dialogue, they had some time to practice, and then each pair read their completed dialogue to the class. I listened for any misunderstandings or pronunciation errors, and was able to give a few corrections, along with praise for their efforts. My students have very good imaginations!
Not all groups got to share their dialogues, so I will have them do that during the next class. I did not have time to play the remainder of the Table Manners video. Nor did I need to use the contingency activity.
Lesson Plan #4
Discussion Questions for Lesson #4
My teaching strengths:
Resources:
The Course Outline, Instructor's Guide and the Curriculum for the course were provided by the school, but cannot be cited due to privacy requirements.
I put the students into pairs or groups of three, making sure students from different countries with different L1s were together. First, they worked through an eight-question Customs Quiz about North American dining customs in their textbooks. I instructed them to take turns reading the question and then their answer from the choices. I also instructed them to choose not only the best answer, but also the worst answer, as many of the questions had more than one plausible answer. Instead of discussing the answers with the class, I used a video which showed most of the customs, along with some "wrong ways" to behave at a formal dinner. After the video, I explained some of the vocabulary that was used.
For the second activity, using the same Customs Questions and the same student groups, I had the students ask and answer according to what would be acceptable manners in their own country. I also had them discuss their personal preferences regarding eating out. I gave them prompts and examples to encourage them to answer in full sentences. (See Discussion Questions link below.)
For the third part of the lesson, I had planned to use a vocabulary matching activity in the textbook. Since time was running short, I did not assign this to the class. However, when I noticed some of the groups were finishing the discussions before the others, I assigned this activity to the individuals in those groups, so that they would have a learning activity to work on. (The classroom teacher had previously told them to study that activity for their next test.)
I used the Let's Share activity from the textbook, which explained different types of restaurants in North America. I had the student take turns reading the categories and descriptions, as well as share similarities and differences for their home countries.
The final activity involved writing dialogues for different eating out situations. The textbook provided the "waiter" portion of the dialogue and the students had to write the "customer" portion. After the pairs wrote their part of the dialogue, they had some time to practice, and then each pair read their completed dialogue to the class. I listened for any misunderstandings or pronunciation errors, and was able to give a few corrections, along with praise for their efforts. My students have very good imaginations!
Not all groups got to share their dialogues, so I will have them do that during the next class. I did not have time to play the remainder of the Table Manners video. Nor did I need to use the contingency activity.
Lesson Plan #4
Discussion Questions for Lesson #4
- My lesson was well planned, with a variety of activities, and additional activities if there was extra time at the end of the class.
- I required students to read the textbook information aloud to each other, thus giving them practice in speaking, and especially pronunciation.
- I included speaking prompts and model dialogue for the discussion questions, thus encouraging students to use complete sentences and avoid one-word answers.
- I gave each group some attention and encouragement as they were doing their speaking tasks.
- I kept track of which students I called on to share their answers with the class, making sure that each student was called at least once during the class.
- I recognized that there was not enough time for all the activities, so I left out the one that was least important to the flow of the class, and also required the least amount of speaking for the students.
My teaching weaknesses:
- I missed some cultural differences regarding noisy eating and tipping at restaurants. (I will try to incorporate this into the next class.)
- The second video was too long, and not as interesting as I had hoped. It had too much new vocabulary. I should have discussed the vocabulary before I played the video, so that students could listen for it and understand better.
- I forgot to note which dialogues were assigned to which groups. (I will make sure to do this next time.)
- I do not wait for and insist that students stop talking when I needed the whole class's attention.
- My on-screen displays are too small. (I will switch to PowerPoint, at my sponsor teacher's suggestion.)
- I still have difficulty remembering names. I need to devise a memory association activity that will help me and the students remember everyone's name!
Resources:
Genzel, Rhona B, & Cummings,
Martha Graves, (2010). Culturally
Speaking, 3rd Edition. Boston: Heinle, Cengage Learning.
Rocha, Mariana. (Mar. 31, 2011).
The King of Queens - Bad Manners. [video file]. Retrieved from . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVt06gKIfEU.
The Distilled Man. (May 20,
2017). Table Manners 101: Basic Dining Etiquette. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDGGv7z5r2c .
The Course Outline, Instructor's Guide and the Curriculum for the course were provided by the school, but cannot be cited due to privacy requirements.
#TESL0170
#teachingreflections
#CdnELT
Thursday, April 5, 2018
Teaching Speaking Day 3
Today was the same group as Day 2. Some students on the list seem to have stopped attending, so I was prepared to modify my group assignments to accommodate the absences. All the tech was working and I was able to play the videos and display the discussion prompts on the board.
Some whole class discussions and transitions took longer than I allowed for, so there was not time for discussion of the final video or for the closure discussion at the end of the plan. However, because this is a less formal speaking class, this is preferable to having too few activities for the students to do.
Some whole class discussions and transitions took longer than I allowed for, so there was not time for discussion of the final video or for the closure discussion at the end of the plan. However, because this is a less formal speaking class, this is preferable to having too few activities for the students to do.
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
Teaching Speaking Day 2
This was the same course as the first day, but because it is a less formal speaking class, some students have left to return to their home countries, and some new students have joined the class midway through the term.
Also, because some classes have more students and some have fewer, there was a room change to a different building that I was not aware of until just before the class started. Thus I was not able to check if my computer was compatible with the projection equipment, and I found on arriving that I could not connect to the projector due to a difficulty with the cable. I had my files on a USB drive, and was eventually able to connect with my sponsor teacher's computer. The teacher is going to inform tech support of the problem with the cable, and I will also bring my own alternate cable if they are not able to repair it.
Also, because some classes have more students and some have fewer, there was a room change to a different building that I was not aware of until just before the class started. Thus I was not able to check if my computer was compatible with the projection equipment, and I found on arriving that I could not connect to the projector due to a difficulty with the cable. I had my files on a USB drive, and was eventually able to connect with my sponsor teacher's computer. The teacher is going to inform tech support of the problem with the cable, and I will also bring my own alternate cable if they are not able to repair it.
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