Instructor: Anik Chartrand

Site: Ross 37

Class observed: English 150

Date: 9/14/18         

Time: 12:10-1:00 pm

Lesson topic(s): Requirements for Assignment #3(Exploring a Campus and Organization),  concepts of Plagiarism, and the essential components of an essay.

Peer: Shamini Shetye

Principles taught in the class

The concepts covered in the class included how to cite sources, and how to avoid plagiarism. The instructor also overviewed some important components that an essay should include: hook, purpose,  audience, some background information of the organization and concepts of a research paper based on I-Search(a concept that we learned in our English 500 class).

As an observer, I found a striking similarity between Anik’s teaching and mine. She reasoned out to her students why the concepts taught were important at this particular point of time in the semester. From my experience, when students understand the reasons they have to learn certain concepts, they cultivate an interest in learning and put in their sincere efforts. Encouraging students to write some hook statements and evaluating their effectiveness brought some enthusiasm and involved active participation as several students volunteered to share their creativity.

All these principles were pertinent because Assignment 3: Exploring Campus and Organization was the first research-based assignment that was introduced to students of English 150, and students needed to learn the basics techniques of writing a research paper. Introduction of new concepts may at times be overwhelming for students, but in my perspective, modeling the concept of I-Search Paper at this point in the semester was effective in that vein. Students demonstrated their understanding of the concept by responding to Anik’s questions appropriately. 

Methods/Materials used to teach the concepts and curricular coherence

Students worked in pairs on computers. The method was used because it was a lab-day, and students had easy access to web resources for research and could collaborate in pairs and share their work with other class members.

This method actively engaged all students and therefore I thought it would be effective in my lab rooms too. Working in pairs instead of large groups made everyone participate in the activity and elevated students’ comfort levels and confidence when working on a new concept, that otherwise would have been perceived as daunting if students had to work individually.

The instructor used the Farm House museum’s website. It was a great example to model Assignment 3 because it brought the significance of ISU’s mission and vision. Students were made to focus on one paragraph on the Farm House museum’s website to paraphrase and summarize. Choosing an adequately short paragraph as an excerpt to teach the concepts of paraphrasing and summarizing was a great technique to create uniformity in learning. Accountability was factored in by encouraging each pair to share their work.  Each pair shared their summary or paraphrased material with the class by reading aloud, and Anik provided appropriate feedback as needed. Reading their work aloud help other students to learn from the feedback the instructor gave. So this concept of collaborative learning from the individualized yet shared feedback, I thought turned out as an excellent approach and in my opinion would be best to incorporate in my classroom too.

The instructor also had used Powerpoint presentations to discuss Assignment 3, updates and general agenda of the class. Presentations were effective as they were in the form of bulleted points and therefore appeared easily comprehensible to follow. Instructor announced that they would be uploaded on canvas for students to view later. In my classroom, I have used the traditional blackboard for writing the day’s agenda, but I see the benefits of using slides to forecast key concepts. The materials could be accessed any time later as needed.   

The concept of WOVE  interweaved in this lesson plan formed the scaffolding needed to establish a curricular coherence. To help students transition from Assignment 2 to the current one, Anik asked students to reflect on parts on WOVE they used in assignment 2, and the parts they could possibly use for Assignment 3. Urging students to reflect on some of the similarities between past assignments and the current one, made students understand that they basically write an essay keeping a specific audience in mind and state their purpose early on in the essay. Anik’s method of creating curricular coherence was remarkable to me, as I sometimes find it challenging to teach students to make connections in their work assignments.

Classroom dynamics and ways the instructor dealt with problems

The atmosphere in Anik’s class looked very formal. It somehow reflected the one in my classroom. Students were quiet and did not turn around to chat with each other. Mostly Anik had to assign students in pairs for the think-pair-share activity.  When Anik posed questions to the class, only a few voluntarily answered but the rest of the students avoided eye-contact with Anik by looking at their computers to avoid to respond to the questions. The instructor in a friendly tone called out class members using their names to participate and share their work. When students were called out, they readily shared their work. When Anik asked students the reason(s) for not volunteering, a student responded saying that he did not volunteer as he was apprehensive of the correctness of his work. Anik assured everyone explaining that they are all a part of a learning community including herself, and she added saying that she does not expect perfect responses, but is encouraging students to learn from their attempts in writing. According to me, this explanation was reassuring and motivating and I saw more students volunteering and raising their hands to respond to Anik’s prompts thereafter.

Anik encouraged students to think outside the box and come out of the five-paragraph theme essay that they were accustomed to in high-school. She mentioned that she would not confine them to a specific format as long as they had the required components in the essay. They could be innovative and come up with their own style of writing. Opening avenues for students to reflect their creativity in a way was exceptionally impressive. Adopting a similar attitude in my classroom would be tremendously impactful in my classroom too since I have observed some of my students conform to the five-paragraph theme in their previous essays. 

Besides some of the problems that Anik addressed, she created an inviting atmosphere for students and announced that they were welcome to share special occasions like sorority events with everyone in the class and invite class members if they liked.  She prodded students to share any tips and tricks they had about writing their “Works Cited” sections. Having a  discussion later with Anik about my observations on her strengths and steps to be followed revealed some more insights in her teaching styles.

Post-observation discussion and implementation of effective strategies in my classroom

Discussion with Anik later brought more of her rationales behind the methods and strategies that she used in her class. Anik believed that she wanted to make it an all-inclusive classroom. Allowing students to share their customs or special events created students to talk more openly about their cultures and others to respect other students’ customs. My initial concern that using a few minutes of classroom time for this activity would confine the time needed for other important agenda, disappeared and thought it was important to establish an open and friendlier environment for students to express their identities. Although I still battle to incorporate this concept in my classroom for English 150 due to time constraints and the amount of material needed to cover, I think with proper planning, I should be able to implement this system in my future classes.

Secondly, Anik’s nurturing of her student’s learning styles and fostering their creative needs was apparent when she passionately talked about how students benefit when they are not conformed to a certain style in writing. Our mentor, Dr. Tremmel’s was of the same opinion about the five-paragraph format for essays and how they can limit students’ ideas to three paragraphs with the other two paragraphs left for introduction and conclusion. I realized that I had missed addressing this point in my classroom, and it would boost students’ imaginations and confidence to write essays. Addressing the limitations of five-paragraph theme essays was certainly something I had to work with my class.

Moreover, while observing Anik’s class, I felt that she had adequately planned time for all the activities. It did not feel that she had to rush students through their thought processes. I was astounded and wondered how someone could perfectly estimate the time for activities. Anik later explained that if I had observed carefully, she just gave minimum time to students and then extended more time as needed. She used the spacious lab room tactically to walk around and check on students and estimate how much time was needed and if anyone was lagging behind. Allowing students to work in pairs instead of large groups also saved time and they were efficient in reporting their work. Managing time and having students to work efficiently has always been a challenge for me, but after talking to Anik on how to use class time effectively for students to get their work done productively, I feel confident on handling this issue in my classroom.

A thorough introspection in my teaching strategies and what I could gain from Anik’s classroom after observing her class and understanding the motives behind certain teaching styles, I feel greatly appreciative that there is hope to bring some change and transform some of my teaching patterns to incorporate what I learned from Anik. The sense of belonging students could have when they feel they are valued and their learning styles are taken into account would make them more productive.  Allowing students adequate time for their activities and using think-share-pair activities for critical analytical tasks would further bring more value to a classroom.