Kaylee - CO #4

 CO #4 Blog

Date/Time: 01/24/2022 at 9:00 a.m.

Topic/Skill: Composition with a focus on coordinating conjunctions. 

Teacher Presentation: Dr. Kennell wrote the majority of the new content, mistakes, and difficult words on the board for the students to see to make sure they were able to truly understand it, rather than only relying on their listening skills. This also allowed the students to take their own notes and remember it in the future. Dr. Kennell explained every new topic or word thoroughly with pictures and hand motions to ensure the meaning was understood. 

Classroom Management: The classroom sat around a table and worked collaboratively as an entire classroom. Dr. Kennell asked many questions that kept the students engaged and made sure they were comprehending the lesson. 

Materials: Computer, projector, whiteboard and markers, and the Group 1 composition textbook. 

Student Participation: The students participated heavily in the majority of the class. In the beginning of the class, he asked each student to talk about what they did that weekend as a way to use relatable sentences to introduce the lesson of the day. In the class activity of filling in the correct coordinating conjunction, Dr. Kennell would randomly call on students to answer the questions. This kept all of the students engaged because they did not know when they would be called on to answer. 

Feedback Provided: Dr. Kennell provided feedback to the students during the class activity of filling in the correct coordinating conjunction in the sentence. He did not just tell them if they were right or wrong in their answer, but he asked them further questions to help them reach the correct answer themselves. This helped in teaching the students the skills to get to the right answer on their own, rather than simply memorizing the answers. He also provided feedback on all things the students would say, considering this was a Group 1 class, and helped them correctly say what they were trying to say. However, he only commented on the mistakes that were based on the skill the class learned that day and common mistakes to ensure not to discourage the students. Additionally, he provided a homework sheet to the students on the same skills they reviewed in class that would be reviewed the next day to ensure the students understood the skills taught. 

Lesson(s) on teaching you learned: Considering this class was a Group 1 class during the first class of the week at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, Dr. Kennell asked every student individually questions about their weekend. Dr. Kennell explained to me that Group 1 students often do not use English at all during the weekend and it is important to slowly get them back into the English mindset through discussion, even if it does not connect directly to the lesson. An important lesson on teaching I gained was that the time and day of the classroom has an impact on how that class will be structured and the engagement from the students and needs to be considered when planning the lesson.