I went in to class today, excited about my plans. I thought I had a great idea for peer review and had prepared some really helpful documents for memo writing, however nothing really went as planned. Several students came unprepared, no original flyer and no revised flyer. I think this is what threw me off. I ended up giving them a quick talk about my expectations and how my class isn't any different from any other class: any time anything is assigned, the work must be completed in full and brought into class the next day. I also emphasized that they must ask me questions when they are confused.
In spite of a few things going wrong, I felt like the day ended up going well. The students came up with good responses for the writing prompt (If you could eat a meal with any 3 people, alive or dead, what would you talk about and how would your guests respond to each other?) As I mentioned, they didn't do well with the peer review, but I know that each student that at least came prepared for class went home with a few comments with which they could revise their flyers. I also mentioned that the memo handouts weren't the best, but I know from walking around that almost every student left class with at least an idea of how to begin their memo and an example of format and a sheet with guidelines.
The most meaningful parts of the class for me were the times when a few students asked for help and clarification during class and also the discussions during teacher consultations. During class Nicole asked me how to drop and add a class and was really grateful for help. Another student asked me for help writing a paper for another class in response to a lecture. And my new student from Japan was really able to follow along today, despite being limited proficient in English and only had to clarify a few things.
What did I learn from today?
-I should have modeled the memo more. It would have been more effective than explaining the same thing three times, once to each small group.
-I should prepare explanations more so that I can communicate effectively.
-Keep creativity in mind when planning lessons (relevance and engagement).
New ideas:
-Have students write on the board, instead of always writing myself.
-Incorporate writing process into next consultations.
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