Methodology – Week 9 – Applying the 2nd Micro Teaching LP to 6th Grade L2 Class- Reflection

2nd Micro Teaching LP in Action

I took a listening exercise straight from the students’ textbooks (Everybody Up 6). The title of the listening exercise was “An Afternoon at the Opera”. I started the lesson with a TD approach of activating the student’s schema with regards to Opera. We had open discussion about what opera is, and then I showed two short famous opera videos. The Ss were not that excited by the performances. I had hoped ‘O Fortuna’ would give goose bumps all through the classroom, but no joy to be had there.

After the preview, we moved into the presentation phase of the lesson and I used a lot of CI techniques that Tom suggested in my last micro teaching with Andrew. I made sure I modeled questions on the WB, and then had Ss ask other Ss questions. The students were definitely taken aback by how much speaking I suddenly expected them to do. The Ss did not nominate their friends to answer their question, but rather chose a rival in class. I got the feeling that the Ss felt like answering a question had a negative connotation attached to it.

Other than that, we got through listening exercise, and I only played it once to keep the experience “authentic”. Most students could answer the questions (true/false) with no problems. I see that I gave the students some of the answers to the handout BEFORE I played the recording. Doh! I only realized this after having it pointed out in my 2nd STG micro teaching. Other than that, I felt the lesson went as well as can be expected. My students are still very new to these CIs and having to negotiate for meaning in class. 

Methodology - Week 8 - Reflection on ICC Lesson

For this weeks assignments we had to write a lesson plan for our ICC class. I was also informed that at some point before week 12 we needed two ICC videos uploaded for analysis. So I figured I would kill two birds with one stone.

Here is a link to a lesson on understanding different cultures that I taught to my 6^th grade class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMxDYg2MTk4

I chose my oldest students for this lesson, as I thought they would be the most mature about the lesson content. However, with this particular class, I only have one shot to record the lesson. I had edited the video to remove unnecessary activity transition times. The file is still 350 megabytes after using windows movie maker to edit, hence my uploading to YouTube and providing a link.

Keeping in mind the constructive criticisms from our reading micro teachings last class, I tried to adjust my LP for a more interactive lesson.

As has been pointed out, I am a fan of PowerPoint’s, and using T initiated monologic discourse to rapidly  force-feed my students  information to lead in to another activity. We discussed that the Ss memory retention of these slides is probably minimal due to them having no meaning to the Ss at this point. I had not given them a reason to remember it.

So this time round I gave my students a handout with the slide pictures on them, and told them to draw a line to match the definitions with the pictures. The students were seated in groups and could try to work out the activity together.

I found this to be a more effective in engaging Ss and activating their schema.

Some main points that I tried to strive for in this recorded class.

·         More Ss interaction

·         Have Ss question other Ss

·         Don’t give the answer in PPT schema activation – use a handout

·         Be animated and show interest to the Ss

·         Be consistent using time limits for activities

·         Model an answer 1^st where possible

·         Use pairwork / groupwork

·         Nominate Ss to answer

·         Try to maintain a default of letting the Ss come up with the answers

Here is the LP for the lesson. Note: the dialogue represented was predicted discourse, not a transcript of the class recording.

ICC Discourse Analysis Lesson Plan

Date/time: Saturday 19^th 2013                                                                                           

Location of Lesson: STG Class

Student Profile: Grade 6 students at a afterschool culture centre program in Yongsan-gu. 15 students  of about 12 years of age, ACTFL Proficiency Ranges Intermediate low.

Discourse Source(s):  “Baraka” BlueRay DVD; http://vimeo.com/34874282, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maasai_people, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butoh, http://www.ninapaley.com/Sitayana/epic.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufi_whirling

Source Selection Rationale: I wanted to show my students other country cultures and expand their minds in order to show that their way is not the only way. Nor are their ways right or wrong. Different cultures have their beauty and this should be celebrated, not feared or ridiculed.

TLC:

           

Grammar:  This will be a lesson on culture, not syntax, so grammar will not be a focal point.

Vocabulary: Ss will learn cultural key words e.g. nationalities, ancestral, Catholicism, worship, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism , Hinduism, Islam, praying, priest, incense, ritual etc.

Pronunciation: There will be no focus on pronunciation for this lesson.

Function: The function of this lesson is to expand students understanding of the different cultures at play in the world. By  comparing and contrasting these cultures with their own, the Ss will come to appreciate the different cultures around them.                                                                                                                                                                                    

Task: Ss will gather into small groups and discuss the different religions, dances and cultural rituals that they observe in the given cultural video.

Terminal Objective(s):  

• To have students leave the classroom with a deeper appreciation of cultures different from their own.  To influence their young minds in a way that will enable them to grow into adults with lower levels of xenophobia.

Enabling Objectives:  

• Students will be divided into focus groups for discussion and debate.
• Local culture and norms will be compared and contrasted with that of other countries.
• Students will have to negotiate for meaning with each other to make their points understood.

Anticipated Difficulties/Solutions:

· Conceptual – Ss may not be very familiar with the new vocabulary for the lesson.

                Solution: Ss will be given a handout and given a chance to match vocabulary to images.
· Structural – As this is not a lesson focused on grammar, I do not anticipate any structural problems.
· Phonological – There may be some pronunciation problems with new words.

Solution:  T will practice some choral repetition with Ss on any problem words.
· Cultural – We have a Nigerian Teen girl in the class, there may be some awkward moments during the

                      African tribal ceremonies segment.
· Other – There are 25 students registered for the class but only about 15 students will attend at any 

                 given time. Some Ss arrive late, but have been instructed not to disturb the flow of the lesson.

Students attend this class at 5:00pm after a full school day, and afterschool private lessons.    

Most of them are mentally exhausted before they step through the door.

Materials: A vocabulary matching worksheet, TV, laptop, “Baraka” DVD, possibly some use of the whiteboard to further explain any difficult concepts to the Ss.

CI & MIC use:

*Preview – Activating Ss’ Schema

*Visual scaffolding

*Ss giving opinions

*Teacher initiated IRF (evaluative)

*Repetition

*Question Types - Open-display questions

*Encouraging Ss t negotiate for meaning

*Rephrase (if Ss don’t understand any sentences)

*S asks T for help

*Pair work

*Turn taking

DETAILED LESSON DESCRIPTION

Phase/ Aids	Activity:      Procedure	Skill Prac.	CI Mode	Time
Preview TD	1.       Greeting: Interpersonal, T greets Ss (wave: “Hello”) Random ss volunteer responses simultaneously: “Hi Mr. M” Hello teacher.” 2.       T hands out vocabulary matching worksheet to help lead into the planned video. T checks answers with Ss. 3.       T plays video clip and initiates discussion on the given material. Class starts as a monologic discourse that morphs into a dialogic discourse with Ss speaking in groups. <Show custom edited  video clip> Shows a quick look at all of the video clips that the class will more closely  examine individually later in the lesson. T: With the idea of different cultures in mind, what did you notice in the video? What is similar or different in the cultural behavior of the different nationalities in the video? Get into groups and talk about it with each other now. Students speak in groups of 3-5 people. T: Alright, let’s start with group 1, what did you notice was similar in all the cultures shown in the video? S1: They all have religion. T: Yes, that’s true. What were the different kinds of religion that you could see? S2: I could see Buddhism, Judaism, ancestral worship, and Catholicism. T: Did they all worship their God in the same way? S3: No, they worshiped in different ways. T: Can you give some examples? S3: The Buddhist lighted many candles when he was praying. The Catholic priest spread the incense when he was praying. <T then moves on to question the other groups in the class> T: Now let’s think about that video again, what was another common way that the different people from different cultures liked to express themselves?  S4: They liked to dance. T: That’s right. Did they all dance the same? S5: No, it was different. T: It was different. In your groups talk about how the dancing was different, and what you think the people were trying to do in those dance sequences. Were they just dancing for fun, to show their cultural history or as part of their worship ritual? Let’s watch the video again to remind ourselves. <play video clip again> T: S6, Were the dances different or the same? S6: They were different. T: What do you think they were doing when they were dancing? Were they just dancing for fun, to show their cultural history or as part of their worship ritual? How about the Kenyan Maasai Jumping Dance, what do you think it is done for? S1: To pray to their god? T: Every ceremony is a new life. They are rites of passage, and every Maasai child is eager to go through these vital stages of life.  They are the ceremonies that children go through to become adults. <show focus video on the Maasai dancers> T: What do you like about this video? Speak about it in your groups. Students speak in groups of 3-5 people. S1: I like the rhythm of the song.  T: Lets look at this video clip again. <show Butoh dance clip> Students speak in groups of 3-5 people. T: What do you think this clip is about? How does it make you feel? Discuss it in your groups. S2: We think that It feels like a sad song and dance. T: Yes, it is supposed to be. Why do you think they are all painted in white? S3: Because they are ghosts? T: Yes, they are the ghosts of the dead after the atomic bombing in Japan. They are the people who didn’t get to say goodbye to their families and are still trying to say goodbye. T: let’s take a close look at the Balinese Monkey Dance. I want you to think about whether they are doing this dance for entertainment or part of a religious ceremony. Be ready to give reasons why you think so. <Show monkey dance video> Students speak in groups of 3-5 people. S3: We think it was part of a religious ceremony because it seemed to be lead by a kind of priest. T: Yes, that’s right. It is the story of Sita, the beautiful wife of the god Ramayana, and her abductor, Ravana, the evil demon, Hanuman, the monkey-general.   These performances are spectacles of color and sound but their main purpose is to please the deities and ancestral spirits … The art expresses the values the Balinese hold dear, such as balance and harmony. T: before we look at the next clip in more detail, I want everyone to go to the playroom. Now we are going to spin around for 10 seconds and see how dizzy we get. Alright, that’s enough, back to your seats please.   T: Lets look at this Sufi Spinning video again. Would you like to try it? Do you think it is difficult? How long can you spin around for and not fall down? Do you think this dance is just for entertainment or is it a religious dance? <Show Sufi Spinning Video> Students speak in groups of 3-5 people. S4: We think they just do it for fun, because spinning is fun. T: Actually it is a religious meditation. They spin themselves in order to focus on God. It is a branch off the Islamic faith, and is still popular in Turkey among other places. Alright Ss, now I want you to reflect in your groups what you learned today about other countries and cultures, compared with your own culture. Alright, lets discuss what you learned. Yes. S6: We learned that people live in different ways around the world. Each country has it’s own culture and that culture is special. T: Excellent work, your homework tonight is to think about the different culture you can find right here in your home country. What examples have you seen? List them and be prepared to discuss them in the next lesson. Thanks you everybody, see you next time.	L S L L S L S L S L S L S L S L S L L S L S L L L S,L S L L S,L L S L S L L L S,L S L L L L S,L S L L S L	Tà Ss Sà  T SsàT Tà Ss SsßàSs Tà Ss Sà  T Tà Ss Sà  T Tà Ss Sà  T Tà S Sà  T Tà Ss Tà Ss Sà  T Tà Ss Sà  T Tà Ss Tà Ss Sà  T Tà S Sà  T Sà  T Tà S SsßàSs Sà  T Tà Ss SsßàSs Tà Ss Sà  T Tà Ss Sà  T Tà Ss Tà Ss SsßàSs Sà  T Tà Ss Tà Ss Tà Ss SsßàSs Sà  T Tà Ss Tà Ss Sà  T Tà Ss	3” 5” 7” 3” 5” 3” 5” 3” 5” 5” 3” 5”

Note to reader: When I copy the table across to the blog the interactions column misaligns with the intended dialogue. I've tried adjusting to no avail. If you should harbor a burning desire to see the original document with the columns aligned, feel free to request an emailed copy of the original document. 

Methodology - Week 7 – Reflection on week 6 LP and Micro Teaching

 For this weeks reflection I want to look at the week 6 lesson plan activity that I ended up teaching and video recording in class. We did a micro teaching presentation to the other teachers in class on last Saturday, where we took the first 10 minutes of our lesson Plan (LP), and taught it to our peers who role-played the part of our students.

While role-play can be a useful tool to simulate a certain experience, I felt like it fell short in this instance. While I value, and have the utmost respect for our lecturers, and their methods, I felt that this 10 minute simulation did not convey a real picture of what was really happening in the classroom.

Allow me to further explain my thoughts. By taking only the first 10 minutes of the class, we could not showcase in our micro teaching the monologic / dialogic ratio that was intended for the lesson. In my particular case I went into the planning process, fully embracing the idea that my first 10 minutes would be strongly teacher initiated monologic discourse, followed by 30 minutes of almost pure dialogic discourse. That is a ratio of 25% monologic content Vs 75% dialogic content. However, because of the 10 minutes time limit on the mini simulation, the situation is taken out of context and to my fellow teachers, my intro probably looked too stiff and monologic.

Bottom line: I had an idea of how my LP would go. IMHO it worked in the actual lesson, and I was impressed with the results. Watch the main activity video below, and you see students communicating with each other, albeit in basic English, all negotiating for meaning to make themselves understood.

The monologic visual scaffolding (PPT) used was effective in activating the students schema in all the nouns and adjectives that they would come across when describing the three set pictures that I handed out to each student team. This fact was probably lost in the simulation, where my students didn’t even get to see the pictures. Taken out of context, the LP PPT intro probably just seemed too long. However, I was using it to set up the next dialogic activity with strong foundation in a short amount of time. Something that monologic discourse excels at.

All this being said, the LP probably did not impress in the STG simulation, with it being seen as completely monologic for the 10 minute duration.  Should this really be how the LP is to be judged? Are we learning and practicing these techniques to look good in a 10 minute simulation in front of our peers? Or are we learning these techniques to be better teachers in the actual classroom?

I don’t want to come off as making excuses, I already admitted I could have made the intro more dialogic than I did. At the time however, I justified the 5-10 minute monologic schema activation sequence with the fact that a 25-30 minute dialogic activity was just about to follow. As STG students, I would like us to keep in mind the context of each other’s lesson plans as a whole, so as not to pigeonhole each other’s efforts into stiff absolute categories. 

Methodology - Week 6 Lesson Plan In Action (Main Describing Activity)

Methodology - Week 6 Lesson Plan In Action (Main Describing Activity)

Methodology - Week 6 Lesson Plan in action (intro)

Methodology – Reflection Week 6

I once again had most of this week’s classes canceled due to school events or the public holiday. This has given me time to deal with STG assignments, but as I work multiple part-time contracts, if I don’t work I don’t get paid.

Nonetheless, I did have some classes and managed to record the one 6^th grade class for my lesson plan assignment. With all the cancelled classes this week I only had one shot at the recording. Furthermore, I had to interrupt the class scheduled textbook activity, to insert a more dialogic discourse activity.

Having limited time and opportunity to get this homework assignment done, I found myself rushing a little bit. When showing the PowerPoint and asking a question to activate the students schema, I would then rapidly fire off the answer or echo the students answer, in order to move the lesson on more rapidly.

We then moved on to the main activity of having three opposing teams of students describe an image to their team artist. No Korean was allowed to communicate, but the students were allowed to point out the location of nouns on the paper. With the co-teacher and I moderating the game, it went fairly well. I was a little frustrated to see that under pressure, some of my star students reverted back to very basic sentences, or just answering with single words. They are usually able to better express themselves, in a more relaxed setting. I should keep this in mind for future discussion activities.

In retrospect I should have had the students engage in more pair work in order to enable more authentic interaction. By simply asking the students to come up with five nouns and five adjectives, after explaining those concepts, they would better remember the target language I was trying to teach. I justified the long PPT vocabulary refresher with the fact that the main activity was strong in dialogic discourse, but this doesn't excuse the opportunity cost of my monologic introduction.