Kaylee - CO #5

 CO #5 Blog

Date/Time: 01/31/2022 at 2:00 p.m.

Topic/Skill: Listening with a focus on the Civil Rights Movement

Teacher Presentation: Olivia James presented with lots of emotion. This way, even if the students did not understand all of the words that she said, they still were able to get a general understanding on what was being said. She placed a heavy emphasis on the words that were important to the lesson or were particularly difficult. If the students did not know a word or idiom, the teacher explained it with plenty of examples. 

Classroom Management: The class was very comfortable asking questions, providing input, and working with one another and the teacher. This allowed for effective engagement considering they were not worried about making mistakes. There were only 9 students in the class and throughout the class they were split into groups of two or three for class activities to check their comprehension. 

Materials: A projector, computer, speakers, and a copy of the poem “Still I rise.” 

Student Participation: The students participated through the majority of the lesson by answering questions based on the listening that served to check the listening comprehension in the classroom. Additionally, they asked many questions throughout the lesson that allowed the teacher to make sure they were understanding the content. Twice, the students split off into groups to answer listening comprehension questions after they had heard the listening mediums twice. Then, each group had to share their answer with the rest of the class.

Feedback Provided: Ms. James provided feedback to the students after each class activity based on the answers they came up with. The activities had different sorts of questions that ensured they followed along with the listening mediums and that they were able to make further connections to new topics based on the class material. Additionally, if a student had a question or comment on any material, Ms. James would explain it in detail with examples or internet searches broadcasted on the projector. 

Lesson(s) on teaching you learned: The biggest lesson I learned from observing this class was that it is okay if the students do not understand everything that is being taught. There were many times when the content would get very dense and the students did not understand every detail of it. However, Ms. James did not let that discourage the students. Instead she kept the bigger picture at hand and ensured they could use context to fill in the gaps in what they knew because of her intonation and performative speech. The class was a perfect demonstration that it is important in teaching to not waste time discussing the minor points that are not relevant to the main topic at hand.