Practicum, Day Six
Tonight only three students showed up for class, so it's a good thing no one came to observe me. I met Pedro, the assistant, and he is going to fit in nicely, I think. He doesn't seem to overuse Spanish - answers questions about English, and helps with instructions. That, I can handle. Kay brought another laptop, so now we have four laptops and a desktop, which is enough to split the class into two groups (when we have a full class, that is). Genia has been doing that already, working with beginners on computer and low-intermediates out of the book, and then switching after the break. I like the idea of having two groups, based on level, but the computer/book combo isn't communicative. I'm willing to use it, b/c the students have said they like using the book (I'll find out more when I do my needs assessment), and I can see that some of them enjoy the computer. Starting in March, I want to try a cyclical pattern with my class, since it seems to be working for Aaron. I'm thinking something like:
- 6:00-7:00 - Individual book or computer work (some students come early to catch up or review)
- 7:00-7:25 - Beginners on computer, low-intermediates on book
- 7:30-7:55 - Whole class communicative activity (with movement)
- 7:55-8:05 - Break
- 8:05-8:30 - Low-intermediates on computer, beginners on book
- 8:35-9:00 - Whole class communicative activity (with conversation)
Genia and I winged (should that be "wang"?) tonight's class, since the lesson I'd planned depended on a full class. Lee and Carmen were there early, and Genia had them started on the computer before I got there. I had just started playing with the Heinle Picture Dictionary CD-Rom when Luis came in, sometime around 7:30. It's a good program! It's not fancy like Rosetta Stone, but it will actually do more, aside from the pronunciation demo. It's divided by topic, like the print dictionary, and once you choose a topic, you can "explore" a picture which includes common vocabulary related to that topic - you click a little circle next to a dude wearing a hat, and a little picture of the hat pops up at the bottom of the screen, along with the word "hat", and a little speaker icon, which you can click to play the pronunciation demo. After you've played with that for a while, you can go up to the top and pick a tab - activities, reading, spelling, etc. I checked out the activities, which include flashcards, wordsearches, matching, and I can't remember what else. Carmen loved the wordsearches. I set her up with that, and stayed with her to help with pronunciation and explanations when needed. Genia worked one-on-one with Lee, and Pedro with Luis. It was a bit ridiculous to have three teachers for three students, but at least they got plenty of attention.
I've been thinking a lot about needs assessment, and what kind of questions I want to ask for this class in particular. I need to know if they want more or less bookwork, and if they want it, do they like the way it is or do they need something different. I need to assess their level individually, b/c I don't think Genia has identified them accurately. Do they want to work on the computer, or is it a waste of time? For those who don't want computer, would they like to work ahead in the book, or do I need to make additional worksheets for them - would they like to use flashcards? ... Do these things go in a needs assessment?
We're approaching a time of transition, when Genia leaves. It seems to be a perfect opportunity for me to reassess and implement changes.
Practicum, Day Five
If any learning occurred tonight, I fear it was accidental.
SCC has provided a few laptops for our class, and Genia has been working with the students in shifts - beginners on computer while she works from the book with intermediates, and vice versa. The program we have is the
Side-by-Side Interactive series. I miss my computer lab in Cashiers with Rosetta Stone and Internet access on every machine. I worked one-on-one with three of the five students, two on computer and one on book. I think computer skills are something we'll need to work on, if that's something they want to learn. If they will never need to use a computer, why should I waste learning time on teaching them to use the touchpad on a laptop? The program itself is not stellar enough to warrant learning computer skills just to access the few activities it provides. The listening portion is pitiful. I shall have to look into the program more closely. I may write a review and submit it to Kay so she knows what kind of materials she's giving us. I don't think much was accomplished tonight. Genia was more scattered than usual, but seemed intent on teaching me everything she knows.
See, what happened was:
Kay called me last week and asked me if I had Mondays free, and I was asleep so I said no. WTF was I thinking? I knew she was checking to see if I could take over the class (for pay) when Genia leaves, but I was too sleepy to connect that to what I was saying. Fortunately, Kay isn't in a huge hurry, and hadn't ruled me out. It helps that I'm already on the payroll at SCC, b/c of the class I taught in Cashiers for a while. I called her the next day after the sleepy-call, and left her a message that I could rearrange my schedule - I managed to make it sound like I'd been checking with several people to accomodate the Monday schedule, but really I only asked Aaron if we could meet another day to study for comps. Funny the things you can do with language without lying.
Anyway the point is, Kay called me again this morning, and though she did wake me, I was lucid enough to wake up fast and get myself a job (jeeeeoooooorb!). Genia's contract will expire March 2, so I'll be contracted starting March 6, for two nights a week, and I'll be getting paid to do what I'm already doing. w00t!!! In addition to the money (how I love the shiny shinies!), I'll be the one making decisions about class content and format! This is going to be great for the practicum.
I think it might be a positive thing that I've had to work with Genia, b/c it has definitely showed me what I shouldn't do in teaching, and it has been a lesson in diplomacy. I think I've learned my lesson nicely and now I'm ready to get the shiny shinies!
Those of you reading this, I need some help with something:Pedro is a dude SCC hired b/c he has a connection with the place where our class meets, and is a fluent Spanish speaker (when will they understand that "able to speak spanish" not equal to "able to teach english"?). Pedro works with Genia's class on Monday nights, and he will be staying after she leaves, to assist me. I don't want to offend him, but I don't want my students speaking Spanish in class, not even with each other. I need to know how to keep him occupied in some capacity other than translator, so he isn't just taking up space and getting in the way. I know that sounds harsh, but I hope you know what I mean. He'll be in my class on Feb 23, which is when Chandrika and Aaron are coming to observe me. I would like to involve him in my lesson somehow, so that he has a function. For that matter, I'd like to also involve Chandrika and Aaron. This is where you come in. Any ideas on how to do that? I'm brainstorming on my own, of course, but six brains are better than one.
Go forth and Comment, please.
:)
Practicum, Day Four ::: ProfObs1
< rant >
Chandrika observed me tonight. Only four students showed up for class. Genia theorized that perhaps they didn't want to come b/c they knew we'd be cooking again. Well, since I told her two weeks ago that I had a cooking lesson plan that I wanted to use, and that I would be using it for my observation, and she decided to rush in and "make biscuits" Monday night to start "her idea" for a "cooking theme", I blame her completely. For everything. Yes, including world hunger. I know I shouldn't be angry with her for doing that, but what was she thinking? Did she want to make it seem that I was following her lead, to retain her dubious "authority"? I feel like she resents my presence in her classroom. As we were leaving, I thanked her for letting me teach the class tonight. Her only reply was "you did fine." wtf?
< /rant >
Edited 02-08-06 @ 8:31 PMAll things considered, the lesson went well. Genia stayed pretty much out of the way, as if her pouting might bother me (it didn't). I stuck to the lesson plan as closely as I could, given my aversion to structure.
After giving up on more students showing up for class, we headed to the kitchen for the lesson. I used the
Heinle Picture Dictionary to look at cooking vocabulary. Genia rummaged through the cabinet to find a few utensils to show. I went over the utensil's use, and the word's pronunciation. I think this could have been better - identifying the words by the object they represent gives learners a solid reference, but I didn't really know how to optimize that. I wasn't expecting that, and their interest caught me off guard. I started the recipe part, and realized I had no clue what I was doing. I held up the items we'd be using for the recipe, and asked them to identify each one. Then I went through the recipe line-by-line. I've noticed that when Genia asks them to repeat words after her, they repeat the tone as well. So I was determined that I would give them a whole phrase, so they'd have more than one word to mimic. We took some time working word-by-word as well. This part felt forced, even while I was doing it.
What I want to know is how to shift gears smoothly when that happens. If something isn't working, or doesn't feel right, how do I move on or change it? I've thought of just pausing and asking them if they have any questions. I love it when they ask questions. Sometimes I find myself so lost in what I'm doing that I forget to pay attention to them, and I miss questions, or funny "I don't get it" looks. When they're asking questions, I can direct the lesson to where they need/want it to go. For example, when we were going over the word "tongs", one student asked what the difference is between "tongs" and "tongue", which then led to the difference between those words and "thong".
When they were ready to actually make the cookies, I told them to have at it, and to speak English with each other. That didn't really happen ... Chandrika interjected at some point to ask Yolande to speak English, and Yolande actually started translating what Chandrika had asked! I got tickled, but I could see the problem. I suggested that they try two different ways in English before they resort to Spanish. If I continue to insist on that, I think they'll try. I know if they try, it will improve their English more quickly than anything else I teach them. The students worked very well with each other as a team, so I think I'll incorporate more group work. They seemed to be having a good time. While the cookies baked, we sat and chatted. The ladies decided to convince Chandrika that I'm a good teacher. I was surprised when Yolande said that she and Blanca don't even come on Mondays, b/c I'm not there. Ruth said she learns more when I teach than when Genia does. That made me feel good about what I'm doing, even though I know I have a lot to learn.
We had about fifteen minutes of class left after the cookies were done, which wasn't quite enough time for the writing segment, but I was going to get it started anyway. But two things thwarted me: 1, Yolande and Blanca had to leave early; and 2, right as we were taking the cookies out of the oven, Genia came into the kitchen and said that we'd just "take our break, since we didn't take one earlier". While we ate our cookies, I casually reviewed some of the vocabulary with Ruth and Maria, and kept conversation going in English.
I think the main thing they need is more practice speaking and listening in context. So what I need to figure out now is how to give them that.
P.S.
The cookies were great!
