Meagan - CO #3

 CO #3


Date/Time: Thursday, September 9th at 2:00PM 

Topic/Skill: Listening, Technology, Art, Robotics

Teacher Presentation: Ms. James had students spend the majority of class time working on their own individual listening projects. I was let into the class a few minutes after it had started, but it appeared that she allowed students to go off on their own with their laptops and complete individual listening activities. She also allowed students to choose listening activities based on their interests. 

Classroom Management: Because this was an advanced class, the students seemed very intrinsically motivated, which meant that Ms. James could allow them some freedom in choosing individual projects. This also optimized class time for each student to practice as much listening as possible. 

Materials: Students needed their own laptops and headphones to complete their individual listening projects. Ms. James also used Google Docs to distribute a class content survey and information about their individual projects. 

Student Participation: Because each student had the freedom to choose their own listening text from a list of suggestions, the class was very student-centered and tailored to the group’s specific needs. Giving students individual projects maximized their time spent listening to material that was intended for native speakers. 

Feedback Provided: Ms. James answered students questions about the project and responded to their survey answers throughout the class. 

Lessons on teaching you learned: It makes perfect sense to give advanced listening students a survey about their interests. Because they should be listening to content aimed at native speakers, there is a broad range of topics for teachers to choose. Therefore, it makes sense to build time into the class for students to listen to topics that interest them, especially if they intend to study a specific field. Many of the advanced students were in Ph.D. and Master’s Programs. Therefore, it is a wonderful idea to give them time to practice listening to more advanced materials in their field.


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