After teaching a practice lesson this week, sit down and reflect on the experience using the five aggregates as a guide:
Form: describe the classroom context in which you taught and your own physical presence as a teacher. What was the room like? How many students were present? How old were they? What did they look like? What were you wearing, and how did you feel standing in front of the class?
Sensations/feelings: What do you remember hearing, seeing, touching, tasting, or smelling during or after teaching? How did you feel about any of theses sensations? Did anything make you angry? Happy? Sad? Confused?
Conciousness: During the teaching practice, were you ever conscious of any of these sensations or feelings? Did you ever notice them in addition to experiencing them? If not, try to take note of them now. Instead of allowing yourself to be lost in a feeling or sensations, take a step back and reflect on how it feel. For example, if you became angry as a result of a student comment, step outside the anger and consider why the comment was infuriating. Be curious about the anger.
Perceptions: Try to connect feelings or sensations to forms. In other words, reflect on what was going on in the room when the student comment made you angry. Where were you standing/sitting? What was the student doing? What exactly did she/he say? Perception is an important component of consciousness.
Intentionality/actions: What did you say during the teaching? (Be specific as possible). How did you move about the room? Did you modify anything during your lesson, based on the situation? How did you respond/react to student questions, comments or actions? What did you do directly after the lesson ended?
Assinar:
Postar comentários (Atom)
In the last class, I gave them a video about global warming to practice listening. I first corrected the homework, later I played 2 videos with images and another one form geographic channel with a passage. After that, I asked them to discuss some questions which were on the board, about the video, and to finish I gave the listening activity. In this class, the classroom was full, and I think they enjoyed it. Although there are some who never participate, in general the class was good. I was wearing casual clothes, as always. I like to feel comfortable while teaching.
ResponderExcluirThe only thing I felt uncomfortable about was when correcting the activity. I don´t know whether they were ashamed, or lazy, they did not want to give the answers I saw they had done, and because of that I was a little aggressive. I said _ Are you lazy or you just don´t want to speak, what´s going on? rsrsrrs… I think it happened because the class at the end, maybe. After some minutes the class finished, and they waited me leave to stand up.
The classroom where I taught this lesson was in good conditions, although there were not desks for everybody (including me). There was a pen-drive TV, as in every classroom in this school. There were about 30 students, and they were from the 1st year of the high school. They worn uniforms, and looked to have good life condition. I did not have a ‘jaleco’, but I was wearing discrete clothes. In the beginning I felt uncomfortable in front of the class, but then I got used to that.
ResponderExcluirI remember that students were enthusiastic with my presence (as they always get when there is something new), and although they were talking a lot, they participated and did the exercises. I just got angry because every time I tried to speak in English, someone said “I can’t understand anything teacher, speak in Portuguese!”. I got so angry because as I am trying to use the four skills in classroom, I must speak in English, but they did not let me, and the worst thing was that the ones who were complaining did not do anything. I tried not to loose control, as it was my first time, and I tried to help them, but it was very difficult to control the anger I was feeling, forget their bad behavior and help them. Based in this situation, I started to walk around the classroom to help them with the activity, ask if they had questions (and this they had a lot), and of course, I began to mix English and Portuguese when I spoke. I think it helped a little bit. I did not change many things, with the exception of some questions I had planned to ask them before, and the time of the class got right with my plan, but I was afraid of not having enough time. The first class was a very good experience, and even with some little problems, I think I managed to do that as well as I could.
The last teaching practice this week was an upper-intermediate group with some students aged 16 and 17 years old. It was a Saturday afternoon and two of the seven students missed the class. I was very tired, because in the previous day, it was the school “Festa Junina” and we teachers had worked on it the whole Friday. I was wearing my jeans, sneakers and the school T-shirt and in spite of the tiredness, I was giving my class really electric, cheerful and trying to call my students attention through a game review with a mysterious prize. Before the class, I had lunch and I drunk some coffee, and it made me fell alive and awake. I could saw in my students face that they were a little sleepy but they were participating as always. Because it was a review they were all paying attention – I remember they looking at me all the time, or looking at the board - and asking me questions. We heard cars passing on the streets and we listened to other groups’ noise at class. It was a very happy class, because it was our last class together as the semester is ending, the next book they are changing the teacher, so we had a good time together. The only thing I remember that made me angry is the way they complain in all the tasks or activities I suggest. But I need to be patient and motivate them all to participate, and when they start complaining such as asking me to skip the exercise, or instead of writing something, they just say or also, asking me all the time what is the time, I try to interrupt their ideas and also make them aware that they are in a classroom and they are supposed to learn. I realized when one of my students asked me what the time was that we were discussing and reviewing many contents for one hour, and I told them that in some minutes we were having a break and before that, a game. In fifteen minutes I could finish the review and everyone was expecting the game, and there weren’t more questions about time. Generally I try to be very polite and funny with them, because I believe that any person needs respect and good mood is the best I can offer to make them comfortable and free to talk to me anyway, but when they show they want to be at home, it is very boring to me, because I’m there trying my best and I’m also very tired. The difference is that I don’t show them or even tell them about it. As teacher and also a student, I know that sometimes the class can be good but my will is to be anywhere but there, so when I feel they are not working and not interested, I get some extra activity such as a song, a conversation in pairs, a dynamic exercise to make them wake up, and them I continue with the content. While I’m teaching I talk too loud and I move my hands, and when I let them talking or writing I move around the classroom, desk by desk to check their performance. While I’m explaining something I gaze them all as much as I can and I make many gestures, miming and making face expressions to call their attention or to make easier their interpretation of the contents. I also use to connect new words, sentences and grammar topics singing pieces of music at classroom. When I ended this class, I made comments about the classes in general, about the test and also about our work together, and then they lived the class, some of them use to hug me and wish me a good weekend.
ResponderExcluirEste comentário foi removido pelo autor.
ResponderExcluirThe last class I taught this week was part of my internship in a public regular school with teenagers about 17 years old. To start with, I felt the room was too crowd, and some students (and even me) couldn't move to the back part of the room. As I was teaching by myself, I tried to speak a bit louder and, as it was a class based on revision for their test, students seemed to be interested in the explanations.
ResponderExcluirI remember I hear some comments about Brazilian Players' performance in the World Cup, and then I decided to take part in the conversation and make some questions - I think it worked becuase students had to answer my doubts in English. Some funny news that students told me made me laugh, as well as the regular teacher. As this was the first class of the day, it served to create a nice environment to start the class.
I don't remember any situation in which I got angry/frustrated. However, the regular teacher got sometimes nervous because some students tried to confront him. In my case, I remember I was impressed with a student's behavior: the regular teacher was giving some instructions and a boy started clapping his hands, and it caused much noise. I felt that was impolite, and asked him to stop and respect the teacher.
To grab students' attention, I try to move around the classroom...and yes, sometimes we have to modify some parts because, if I see students still have doubts on certain subjects, it's better not to move on to another one.
Usually, shortly after the end of the class, I talk to the regular teacher to make some arrengements and after that I come home.
My week's stage is being really interesting. Today I recorded a video called "Rehab", from the singer Amy Winehouse, and there were students from the 2A who were already familiar with the theme approached by the singer in the video, and there were students who didn't know much about it. It really caught my attention, the fact, that although there were students who already knew the song, they remained quite, meanwhile the others had the opportunity to listen to the song for the first time. I asked students to make some inferences from the previous text "Harry faces Eton drugs test", which I gave them last week. It was really significative, because, many things from the vocab,they could understand because of the similarities existing between the texts.
ResponderExcluirI put the song 4 times, and they almost died! hahaha..The activity was to fill in the gaps, from the lyrics I gave students...oh, yes, it's interesting for them to listen to the song, and try to understand the meaning of it!
That's it for today! Hope you enjoy it!
This week was not so interesting because we had to apply a test according to what the teacher had taught them, so, we were not consciouss about the present situation of the class even though we had already observed some classes, but we weren't able to evaluate their difficulties. The class was okay, it just seemed to be little for all of them (because the class was full). Every week it lasts a chair or a desk in that class, what is amazing. Even we as teachers didn't have a chair to put our things, so, it is really horrible to see that. It sounds a lack of respect with teachers and also with the students.
ResponderExcluirAbout the class itself I just felt uncomfortable in the sense that the class is too big and you can't walk around it because it is impossible. So, sometimes I felt myself far from some students but near other ones. It was strange for me. I felt the necessity to be near all of them to help them ,but it was impossible.
On the other hand, i really like to be there. The students are between 14 to 15 years. They wear jeans and seem to feel free there. They are well behaved. We just have to call their attention sometimes, but in the most part of time it is okay to be there. I feel comfortable in front of them. For the first time in my life I feel okay about it. The presence of the teacher doesn't disturb me and I feel free to talk to them.
I feel myself conscious all the time. If I think that some way we can go out the way, I quickly think and start talking things that make sense.
The only thing that bothers me sometimes is the fact that they don't answer our questions. In a classroom with 38 students, if 4 or 5 do participate, I say it is a miracle.
Another thing is that they always have something to complain about, they are lazy, but it seems to be common. They complain because they usually do that, and it is not because they don't like the class. At least it is the impression that I got.
Something that I realized is that I love to interact with them and tell some funny things. They like it and laugh and become more interested in the lesson.