June 9th: Flying (Semi) Solo

Note:
I decided to call this blog post "Flying (Semi) Solo" because I knew that although I would be leading out in the lesson Wynne would help with a supportive smile or nod and chyme in where I was... stumped. Wynne allowed me full control of the class room and offered help where I needed it.

I arrived at LAGCC at 8:30 AM with a feeling of nervousness. But, not the nervous feeling you get when you are certain things would go awry. These nerves were different, more like stage fright before a show stopping performance. This was nerves caused by having a bit too much adrenaline than normal. I was excited to teach! Even with that excitement, I was worried that I would make some horrible mistake I would not be able to recover from. Or, even worse, loose control of the class and not be able to get through the lesson! I think this has to be a teachers worst nightmare. I figured these distractions could happen when reviewing such a monotonous topic as grammar, specifically capitalization, commas, and transitional words/phrases. The students might get bored or already know the subject matter and simply stop paying attention and start speaking with their classmates. Worst case scenario. Thankfully, none of this occurred; the entire experience was stellar!

After Wynne and I discussed a few protocol items about the lesson (for example, letting the students know the agenda and informing them about the use of PowerPoint for the lesson), she said, "This experience will be good for them." When initially planning the lesson, I realized that writing all the information about grammar rules would be difficult for me as well as for the students.  I decided to use PowerPoint because my penmanship isn't the best and did not want to add additional work to the students by having them try to decipher my scribblings. I also chose this medium for a more self-serving  reason: it's what I am used to from business, and it places me in my comfort zone.

Before class, we placed paper on the walls around the room so that students could write their answer to activities. We placed them by student's desk so they wouldn't feel shy about writing on the board; the paper was right next to them so they could easily participate. Once in the class, Wynne spoke with the class briefly and turned it over to me. I began by explaining the agenda, introducing the title of the lesson, and what they should be doing during the lesson. (Wynne reminded me of this part by asking the students if they should be asking notes from the PowerPoint.) After that, I briefly discussed the warm-up capitalization activity and passed it out to the class. They were focused and seemed to breeze through it.  After about 15 minutes, I asked the class to tell me what they know about capitalization instead of me just lecturing right away. They had great responses! Everyone seemed to understand capitalization rules although they weren't always utilizing it in their writing.  A few students had questions about this, but,  overall, everyone understood.

After I reviewed the "Top 4 Capitalization Rules,"  I went into the next section on commas. The students seemed excited to discuss this. One student in particular seemed really engaged and I utilized his enthusiasm by having him help to explain each rule I discussed. Admittedly, I was somewhat nervous about his knowledge of grammar because I was afraid that I would say something totally off and then he'd point it out and the class would loose faith in me. There were moments when we debated usage in class, and it was great! I felt like I were in a real academic classroom. The back and forth was good and even helped students clarify specif misconceptions about commas usage. Once the lesson was through (and it took longer than I planned for), we did the accompanying comma activity. Wynne and I walked around the class to help the students where needed.I realized, while helping them, that the activity might have been a little too complex. However, I think the students liked the challenge and they worked through each sentences. One tip I used to help the students with placing commas was to read the sentence out loud. if they made a pause while reading, usually, the comma would be placed there. (I made sure to emphasize "usually" because many students read without emotion or pause.) Half way through the activity, we asked students to start writing answers on the papers that were placed around the classroom. I was surprised how many students participated, even students who typically don't go to the board (when I'm there at least) were up there writing their answers. 

Finally, we reviewed transitional words and phrases. I provided 5 common uses. One thing I noticed about myself in this section of the lesson was my poor questioning of the class to see if they understood. Wynne helped me a lot with this, and I was grateful. She asked really keen questions. (I asked her about this during lunch and she said that when planning a lesson I should consider "big questions" that relate to the topic. I am still uncertain about this, but I will keep this in mind when planning the second lesson.) After the transitional phrase lesson, I decided to change my planned activity. I had a handout in which I wanted the students to add transitional words to a paragraph to make it flow better. I decided, instead, to have them make capitalization, comma, and transitional phrase updates to their essays. Wynne suggested I have them work in pairs and swap papers and edit each others work. That turned out to be a great idea and very productive!  (Some of the student comments were harsh and mean. I think they need to work on respecting each other. I am trying to figure out ways of addressing this before the end of the course because when they start college they need to know how to provide constructive criticism.)

To close the class, I asked the students to evaluate the lesson so that I could improve for next time. (I will post some of the evaluations on another blog post without student names.) All the evaluations were good. (Wow!) Some students still have questions, and I plan to answer them next week one-on-one.

Overall, I think it went well.

Now, let's see how the next one goes because "some days are better than others." : )

Lesson 1: Plan Documents

Lesson Plan Outline with Activities

https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AaaDL3cIrNTAZGdmNm54bTNfN3IyM2dianJ3&hl=en

Lesson Plan Accompanying PowerPoint Presentation

https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AaaDL3cIrNTAZGdmNm54bTNfOHg1ZnBjdjUz&hl=en

Enjoy,

~Stace

Lesson 1: The Preparation Process

After class on June 2nd, Wynne and I discussed my first solo lesson. I had expressed interest in focusing on essay writing, and we decided to make my lessons be around composition and grammar.
We discussed covering transitional phrases, conjunctions, commas and linking thoughts together. We also discussed how the class should go. We'd continue with using the warm-up activity to get the students ready for the lesson and in the attitude of learning. She also provided me with sample outlines, activities, websites and readings to help me prepare for my first lesson.

Our discussion was very productive and it left me with many ideas. I was excited and jotted down potential ideas in my notebook while on the train heading home. I really wanted the lesson to be informative, engaging, and interactive.

At home, the preparation process took way longer than I expected. I told Wynne during our meeting that I'd have my lesson plan to her by Thursday; I didn't sent it to her until Friday morning. I first wrote my objectives and then constructed the lesson based on them. I wanted to cover:

-Capitalization
-Punctuation Rules (commas, semi-colons, and colons)
-Transitional Phrases
-Conjunctions

I realized when I hit the punctuation section that I had taken on more than I could handle, but I kept through and covered everything. I sent my draft to Wynne knowing that I probably would not get through the lesson in the first 1/2 of class (although my time break down stated I would). Maybe if the students had no questions, I'd be able to. But this is unrealistic and would not help the students and only confuse them more.

Wynne provided great feedback and confirmed my feeling of taking on more than I could chew. She asked me to focus on introducing the rules "thinking about where [I] see the most errors in capitalization, and just choose the most common rules." I tried to have all 1,000 punctuation rules, but she knew the students wouldn't grasp all this in one session. She also pointed out where I could be more interactive or use the students existing work to facilitate or supplement the activity sheets I created.

I went back to the drawing board and tried to address the things she pointed out. It was good to go back and actually look at all the things I expected to teach. It reinforced my need to hone in on the top 4 or 5 rules the students needed. I updated the lesson plan and realized than I could probably teach all the rules in two more lessons. I decided to rename my lesson "Essay Writing Workshop 1.5" (1.5 because Wynne and I had already introduced the lesson in previous weeks, and I'd just be building on the concepts).

I think the final product is good, although I may have to solicit Wynne's expertise tomorrow during the lesson. Maybe I will not be able to clearly explain a concept and ask her to chyme in with an example or simpler definition. But, that's what team teaching and collaboration is about. I am ready to do this!

Note: All lesson plan items (lesson plan outline with activities and PowerPoint presentation) will be posted on the next blog for easy access.

June 2nd: Impromptu Lesson : )

Today’s class session was an improvement from last week. Overall, the students were focused and attentive. Wynne and I attributed this to the small class size. About 6 students were absent from class, so there were fewer opportunities for arguments, disruption, and distraction. The class was also not as tiresome this week because a substantial portion of the morning was devoted to informing the students about “College and Certificate Programs” post taking and passing the GED examination. The presentation was conducted by another LAGCC staff member who focuses on advising students and helping them navigate the college world.

The students were very involved and engaged during the presentation. They had great questions about the difference between a certificate program and a college program, about using certificates to get college credits, how to select the best program, paying for the programs through scholarships and grants, and the like. The presenter made sure to ask students to sign-up for individual sessions with her so she could answer personal questions/concerns.

An extra special treat was that two students who "graduated" from the LAGCC GED program (they are still waiting on their test results) came to speak to the class. I thought it was awesome of Wynne to invite them. They provide hope for the other students, I believe. The two students talked about how the class was like a family after the first two weeks. I hoped the students in the current program heard this and would work on how they treat each other in class.

After the presentation we took our lunch break. Upon our return, we continued the lesson on paragraph development. Wynne set up the lesson and activity and asked the students to read a sample (“good”) body paragraph. Then she dropped a bomb on me. She asked me to execute and review the activity with the class. I felt like was on stage and the spotlight was beaming on me. I was not prepared for that since we had not discussed it during lunch. Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous or anxious. (Maybe that was her strategy. Telling me during lunch would have given an hour to think about all the possible ways I could screw up the lesson/exercise. Being told impromptu allowed me to “think on my feet.” I think she did the right thing by simply asking me to do it while in class and in front of the students. Otherwise, I would have over thought the lesson and probably “freak out.” Brilliant!)

Because of the confusion in last previous weeks class, I decided to start the lesson by setting up ground rules. I told the students (which was very anti-Friere and oppressive in nature) that I would not acknowledge them unless they raise their hands; I would not stop talking/teaching if they blurted out random ideas, and I would not repeat myself. This required them to listen and be polite by waiting their turn to speak. In my opinion, that strategy worked well in terms of keep everyone focused. I do, however, think I alienated some students who participate by blurting out good ideas that come to mind and forget to raise their hands. One student in particular did this and I cut her off and said, “Your classmate is still speaking. Please wait.” When I asked her to add her point she said never mind. I felt sad on the inside and my face began to burn, but I kept moving along. (After class I told her not to take my cutting her off personally. I just wanted to make sure we had order in the classroom. She said it was fine, and the read she did not speak was because she forgot her point.) After setting up the rules, I began the activity by asking the students to define the word “paraphrase” in the first question. I used this tactic throughout the lesson to prompt interaction as well as to get the students to think and use their own knowledge to answer the questions. I was a one trick pony (constantly questioning the students), but I thought it was effective.

All in all, I thought the brief activity went well. The students were engaged and I did not stutter or pass out! : ) I did forget to point out one key thing I thought was important when developing a paragraph, but Wynne was able to add that it once she resumed her portion of the lesson. That’s one of the pluses of collaborative teaching! You always have someone to make up for your shortcomings.

Wynne used this impromptu lesson to tell the student that I would be doing a workshop with them the following week. I think she decided to have me do they activity with the class to not only get me used to leading the class, but also to get the class used to me being the “leader.”