Week Journal 7 (20 March 2014)

 

Significant Situation 

This week, the two first year classes (1IGH3 and 1IGH5) had to do their orals for the first time. This was the first time I did this at Deltion and therefore I wanted to reflect about it here.
The students had to speak English for 5 minutes per conversation and there were two conversations they needed to do in order to pass this test.
During this test, I listened, wrote notes, wrote tips, and asked the students questions relating to do their chosen topic. I noted that interaction was a crucial part of this test; that's why I asked the students pointed questions and sometimes this helped the students when they were in a rut.

Reflection

It was a very calm setting but I noticed the students were all nervous. I recall seeing ticks, shaking palms, and sweaty shirts. That's why I chose to welcome the students with a joke or a question about their internship, weekend, etc.
This relaxed the students a bit, because then they can already start speaking English to me as a warm-up to the test in a relaxing manner.
This situation is important to me because the students need to be in the right type of setting in order to perform at their best or close to their best for this test. A lot of times students get shy, too nervous to remember, or start to stutter or have blackouts because of nerves.
I try to be a teacher who will give her students a chance to perform at your best, who will give students a chance to talk, to explain if you're dealing with nerves or more serious problems. I want to be an 'open ear' for the students, because I find it important to not only teach but to really get to know and be there for my students.
In conclusion, I think as a teacher we should always listen, talk, and calm our students when we realize that we should. The trick is to get to know the students in order to realize exactly when they need your assistance.

My learning question for this week journal is:
What can we as teachers do in order to get to know the students better?

I will be using or reading these articles:
1. http://busyteacher.org/classroom_activities-vocabulary/gettingtoknow_each_other-worksheets/
2. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb12/vol69/num05/How-You-Get-to-Know-Your-Students.aspx

Internship Progress

Next week, I'm going to be taking orals with all of my classes: 2IGH1, 1IGH3, and 1IGH5. Maybe something interesting will come up then!
 Until next week!

Week Journal 6 (14 March 2014)

Significant Situation 

As I've mentioned the previous week, this week I was proctoring the English reading A2 test for class 1IGH5 and the English writing A2 test for 1IGH3.
The 1IGH3's test taking was a bit rowdy at first, but I waited until they were all calm to hand out the test. After this, they got to work and were quiet.

 

However, the supervision of the 1IGH5 reading test went a bit amiss. The reason for this was because the students noticed after flipping through their test that they were missing a couple of pages.
I had separated the text and answer section beforehand, but I completely did not check if all the pages were accounted for. I trusted that the printing house had it all covered. Next time, I will double check everything before the students need to take their test.

How did I resolve this problem?
-I picked one of my most trusting students, gave him the correct pages, my teacher's card and asked him if he would be so kind as to print those pages.
-Also, I gave the whole class 15 extra minutes because they had to wait for the copies.
This was a hectic and unforeseen situation, but it turned out alright at the end because nobody even needed the extra time I had given them.

Reflection

I was at first quite panicky, because I had already given the students the test and I wondered if I should leave the classroom in order to make the copies myself. Deciding that was not very wise, because the students would surely cheat; I asked Daan, one of my best students, to make the copies.
The effect of my actions was that the class stayed calm and waited patiently, because I stayed calm and told them that they will have 15 more minutes because of my mistake of not checking the pages.
At first, my students were very confused as to why the question booklet skipped over 13 questions and why they were missing texts. They were also understandably annoyed at first, because they all wanted to finish the test on time.
I was told by my colleagues that I should always check the pages, because the printing house have made mistakes before and that it's my job to make sure I am prepared for the tests.
This situation is important to reflect on, because it shows how flexible I can be as a teacher when things go wrong during a test. I think I solved the problem pretty quickly, fairly (15 extra minutes) and with less commotion if I would have panicked during this situation.
I own up to my mistakes and told the students I was sorry for not having checked the pages beforehand. This shows that I believe in being fair with my students as a teacher.
In sum, I will always check the tests beforehand and I will keep my head on during upsetting situations like this one.

Internship Progress

Next week, I'm going to be taking oral tests at Deltion for the first time. I have never done this before, so it will be interesting to reflect on this at the end of the week.
 Until next week!

Week journal 5 (7 March 2014)

Significant Situation 

During a resit, I caught one of my students texting on his smartphone while he was busy making his listening and reading test. This is of course unacceptable and I told him so as I took his phone away from him. The student got up and asked numerous times for his phone back in a commanding voice. Each time, I told him that he wasn't allowed to use it while taking a test because using it meant that he was cheating.
We resolved this stand-off by compromising on him turning his phone off and putting it in his bag.

Reflection

I decided to compromise with the student because I didn't want the situation to escalate unnecessarily into aggression territory with the student.
The effect of doing is that the student became calm once more and continued with his two tests. The potential crisis was averted.
I think the student in question thought I was being unfair. However, I totally disagree because I told him no phones during tests and that he had to only have his laptop and ear-buds with him for the test.
I was crystal clear with my instructions and that was advice that I got the week before from one of the staff members at Deltion. He said that you need to be crystal clear in order for them to not be confused, lost, and also in order for them not to make excuses.
This situation is important for me because it was the first incident where I felt slightly unsafe with a student. It was interesting and eye-opening to see how I handled this situation, because inside I was scared but outside I acted calm. This definitely helped the situation, because I think if I was aggressively angry at him it would have been a catastrophic lesson.
I value calmness and peace and strive to achieve in any given situation, because I want what's best for the class but also the individual students. A safety environment where students can learn and be comfortable is very important to me.
In conclusion, I think the best ways in most cases like these is to stay positive and calm. It's better to come up with compromises than to be aggressive towards a student. You can avoid a situation getting worse by keeping your head on and radiating a sense of calmness. 
I will try these tricks again when (hopefully if) the moment arises.

Internship Progress

Next week, I'm going to be taking tests for the first time. I have never done this before, so it will be interesting to reflect on this at the end of the week.
 Until next week!