Journal – Wednesday, 2nd March 2011
Reconnaissance phase: Writing lesson 1
I am teaching Communication Skills course to BS 3rd year, Mathematics department. It is a three credit hours course with 50-minutes duration for each class and classes are held thrice a week. A total number of 110 students are enrolled in the course. These included both the BS 3rd year students and repeaters from the previous year. The classroom is a huge round-shaped auditorium on the ground floor of the Mathematics department. The auditorium has three staircases (one on each side and one in the middle of the room) leading down to the front of the classroom. There are wooden benches fixed in an arch in three long rows of the stairway. Each row had around 7-8 folding benches. In the front centre of the classroom, there is a huge arch shaped wooden board or table behind which the teacher stands and delivers their lecture. There is a green writing board fixed on the wall behind the arch shaped wooden board. Under the board is a thin cemented wall covered with a thick layer of chalk powder. There are only six fans attached to the ceiling and no windows for ventilation. The thick glass walls on two sides of the room are the only source of light as there is no light in the room. There is no audio-visual aid in the classroom and the teachers have to almost shout in order to make themselves clear to the students sitting at the back. Since there is no audio-visual aid in the classroom, the lecture handout and tasks are usually given to a student representative for photocopying.
Today there were around 74 students present in the classroom. I went to the classroom and started the by revising the previous day’s lecture in which I discussed with students, the various aspects of effective writing. I also revised the formal letter writing styles which I had explained in the earlier lessons. After spending 15 – 20 minutes in revising the last lecture, I asked the students to write a leave application keeping in view the formal letter/application style. I dictated the application question to the students and the students then began to write their individual applications. This was a practice task and students were supposed to finish it in the class only. The number of students is so big that it is not possible for me to collect their class work for corrections. It would take at least a week to correct students’ work and give any kind of feedback. So I thought I should make them practice in class and give feedback during the class.
Since the class duration is only 50 minutes I called out students’ attendance meanwhile they were doing the task. It takes almost 10 – 15 minutes to call out all the names. After I finished calling out their attendance some students came to me to get their applications checked. I checked the basic layout and style of the applications and gave feedback accordingly. My feedback included comments on the date format, line spacing, and missing subject line. I read the main content of students’ application, but did not provide any feedback on grammatical errors and proper paragraphing as there were too many students and less time for individual feedback. Not all students showed their work to me and I checked around 15 – 20 students’ work (particularly those who came to get their work checked). Most of the students who didn’t get their work checked agreed that they had done their work. I told the students that we will practice letter and application writing in the next class and asked them to finish today’s work if they haven’t and let me know if they have any problems. With that I ended today’s class.
Journal – Tuesday, 8th March 2011
Reconnaissance phase: Writing lesson 2
I went to the class on time today. I started off with some general announcements about the repeaters. Some students asked about the date for midterm examination and I told them to check with the department office as I have no information on the matter. There were comparatively more students present today as compared to the previous class. I assume this is because the midterm examinations are approaching and students want to know the topics discussed so that they can prepare well for the examinations. I told the students that so far they had written a request application and today they will write a job application. First I had a whole class discussion session in which I asked students about what kind of jobs they are planning to do once they graduate. Most of the students said that they are interested in teaching and would apply in a college whereas some said they would apply in a bank. Then I highlighted the importance of job applications by telling them that they will soon be applying for a job and they need to develop relevant skills in order to aim for a good career. I then asked what they would do to apply for a job in a particular organization/institution. Some of them said they will send their C.V. in order to apply for a job in any organization. Others remained quiet. I told the students that sending a C.V. is sometimes not enough and we also write an application or a cover letter along with our C.V.
After spending almost 15 minutes in this discussion, I then asked the students to write a job application assuming they are applying for a job after graduating from the university. I called out their attendance while they wrote their applications. Some students asked questions about how they should start but I told them to discuss with their peers and decide whatever they think is best. Given the difficult circumstances where the class duration is only 50 minutes, the classroom seating arrangement is such that it is not easy to move around, and other constraints like the greater number of students, no sound system or visual aid, I find it extremely difficult to check whether everyone in the class is doing the task. Therefore, I tell the students to complete their work and get it checked in the class if they want. A few students came to me for feedback on the written task and asked questions about effective writing. Then I reminded the students about the importance of effective messages. I discussed with them the 7 C’s of communication so that students can understand how to write effective messages. I could only discuss three of the 7 C’s with them today as the class time was over so I told them that we will continue the remaining C’s of communication in the next class.
Since today I spent most of the time discussing the significance of job applications, I did not have time to check students’ work. So I asked the students to complete their work at home and bring it in the next class so that we can discuss. I then finished and left for another the class.
Journal – Wednesday, 9th March 2011
Reconnaissance phase: Writing lesson 3
Today when I went to the class I started with the previous day’s work. I asked the students to show me their job applications to me. Some of them shared their work and I check it. My feedback was again general comments on application format and layout. I also pointed out that some applications were very direct and impolite. Also they were not giving complete information. After spending 10 minutes on giving feedback on the previous task, I started today’s class.
In today’s class I first reviewed the three C’s of communication and then discussed the remaining four of the 7 C’s of communication. For each C of communication I explained the concept first and then gave examples of how they can use it in both oral and written messages. I also discussed with them the relationship between the purpose of the message and the right approach for design effective messages. I told them that the purpose of the message decides the kind of approach we should use to write a message. I gave them examples of how they would write something in a direct approach and similarly where they would use the indirect approach. There were no handouts on the lecture and students only took notes in their notebooks. The main reason for not giving any handouts is to allow the students to understand the concepts in the class when they are being discussed and apply them later in the given task. Students often do not pay attention to the class activities if they have the photocopied handouts with them as they think they will learn or memorize the lectures for the purpose of examinations.
The lectures are usually followed by a practical task (which is an in-class activity) so that students get a chance to practice what is taught. The in-class practice activity is emphasized more for several reasons: firstly, to some extent it allows the teacher to monitor students’ learning, secondly, students become independent learners and particularly those who are keen to learn take the tasks very seriously. Thirdly, if students find any difficulty in practical application of knowledge, they can discuss among peers or can ask the teacher to clarify the concept further. Finally, this classroom practice discourages the weaker students to plagiarize and they are bound to perform in the class. Therefore, lectures and in-class practice activity blend in well for the purpose of optimum learning. For example, even in today’s class, after explaining the 7 C’s of communication and the different approaches, I told the students to write a complaint letter which was an in-class practice task. I gave them a question that asked them to write a complaint letter to the customer care of some company for a recently purchased product that does not work properly. They began writing their letters; meanwhile I called out their attendance. Some of them finished and came to me for feedback. I checked some students’ work. This time I particularly focused on how they had used 7 C’s and the approach in which they wrote their complaints. I mostly circled or underlined the phrases and sentences that needed to be revised. I told them to revise their subject line keeping in mind the politeness principle. I could only check around 15 – 20 students’ work. I asked the others to discuss with me if there were problems. Some students gave their work to me for correction so I took their work and told them that it will be returned next week. I then finished today’s class.
Journal – Tuesday, 21st March 2011
Reconnaissance phase: Speaking lesson 1
Today was the first day of presentations. All the students were sitting in the class and waiting for me when I went to the class today. The presentations were held in the same classroom where we have our routine classes every day. One of the students switched off all the fans because she could not speak in a loud voice. Since there is no sound system, multimedia or overhead projector in the classroom, all students needed to speak loudly and prepared chart papers as visual aid for their presentations.
Three groups had given their names during the previous week for presenting today. When I went to the class today, there were three chart papers posted on the writing board. I sat in the third row toward in right side of the room so that I could hear the presenters. When I asked the groups about who would come and present first, one of the groups volunteered and came to the front where they would present. Before the group began presenting, I told them the rules for the presentations which included the time for each presentation, the format of question-answer session and the assessment criteria. The presentations were assessed out of 10 marks with 5 main categories including content, body language, technique, appearance and question/answer in which I assessed students’ performance. Although these were group presentations where each group presented for 10 minutes, but the assessment was made on individual performance i.e. students’ performance in the 5 main categories was evaluated only when they presented their part. After I finished giving the instructions, the first group started their presentation on the topic ‘Recycling’. The first member was a little nervous while presenting. She stood behind the wooden board and kept reading from the chart paper. The chart papers were not quite visible even from the third row where I sat. All group members came one by one and presented. Only the last member stood on the side of the wooden board instead of standing behind it. She was very confident. Only one student asked a question from this group after the presentation finished and one of the group members answered it.
The second group came and posted their charts. They also chose the topic ‘Recycling’. This group had four members only and they all looked nervous. Although they did make charts but only one member used them during the presentation. All members read their presentation from paper. The group’s voice was not audible. While this group was presenting, some of the students constantly kept talking in the last rows. I also noticed that there were some students standing at the door and they were trying to peep inside. They also exchanged non-verbal signals with their friends sitting inside the classroom. The students standing by the doorway were from some other batch and were not enrolled in my course. Since I was getting distracted I went to the door and asked the students to stay outside. The group who was presenting also finished and nobody asked any questions. The room is so big and also the number of students that it is extremely difficult to key an eye on every student. When this group finished, I told the class that if they talk during someone’s presentation then I will deduct 2 marks from their presentation.
The third and the final group came to present on the same topic ‘Recycling’. This group looked confident except for one member who did not perform well. Almost all of them used their visual aid and spoke in a clear voice. Also during this groups’ presentation, I had to turn back and ask some students not to talk. When the group finished the presentation, some students asked questions and two members answered them. When all three presentations were complete, I told the students that I will give the results once we finish will all presentations. A few students asked me about my feedback so I told them that I will give general comments based on the three presentations that took place today. I asked the students who will present in the next sessions to learn from today’s presentations and not to repeat the same mistakes. I told them to improve the quality of chart papers and rehearse before presenting here so that they develop confidence. I did not have enough time to give detailed feedback and results because I had to rush for a class in another department so I left saying that I will mark everyone present for today.
Journal – Tuesday, 22nd March 2011
Reconnaissance phase: Speaking lesson 2
Today we had the second session of presentations. There were three groups who were supposed to present. I went to the class ten minutes early today. When I entered the classroom/auditorium, some students were doing their rehearsals. There were fifteen students sitting in the classroom/auditorium so I waited for 10 minutes for other students to come. Meanwhile, I distributed some students’ written work that they had given to me the previous day for correction and feedback. After 10 minutes, I asked the students to begin their presentations. All three groups who were supposed to present seemed a little hesitant when I asked which group would come first. They all seemed nervous to go and present first. So I told them to decide in 1 minute or I will randomly select a group. One group hesitantly got up and decided to present. They went in front of the classroom and pasted their chart papers on the green board. Like the previous day, there was no multimedia and the students used charts as visual aid for their presentation. I was sitting at the second last row today so that I could see everyone in the class. But sitting at the far end I realized I could not see the charts clearly as the charts were hand written in normal font size that I think could only be seen clearly if one was sitting in the front two rows. So I relied on listening to the groups’ presentation. Like the previous presentation session, I had an assessment sheet with me in which I marked students on their performance.
The first group started presenting and they chose the topic ‘Recycling’. The first group member started by introducing herself and the topic and continued with her presentation. She was a little nervous and read her points from the paper. She quickly finished her presentation and invited the next group member. The next member was also very anxious and also presented her part by reading from a paper. In the same manner all five group members presented without using/discussing the charts. I could hear the group clearly even at the back row. While the group was presenting, there were some students who come late to the class and sat in the last rows. I could see some students talking in the middle rows. Two students sitting in front were busy reading and preparing for their own presentation. Another girl sitting with these two students was busy arranging her chart papers. The first group finished and some students asked questions from the first group. When the first group finished, they removed their charts from the board. I did not tell the marks to the group and also didn’t give any feedback as it would waste too much time. One group took almost 15 to 18 minutes to present and I thought that if I spent another 5minutes in giving feedback then we will not be able to finish all three presentations in 50 minutes class. So the next group came and pasted their charts on the board and began their presentation.
The second group chose the topic ‘Bad eating habits’. During the second groups’ presentation, I was constantly giving non-verbal cues to some students’ sitting on my left to stay quiet. One student sitting in the middle row asked one of the presenters to speak a little loudly as her voice was not clear. Even I could not hear her properly. The presenter got nervous and stopped presenting. She invited the other group member without completing her part. One student left the class quietly during the presentation. The second group finished the presentation but one girl from this group made a request for some extra time before they could invite questions from the students. She continued to talk on the topic and gave examples from her personal experiences. Some students sitting in the class and also the group members started talking while the girl shared her personal experience on the topic. It seemed that the students did not take interest in what the girl had to say. Two group members from the same group looked quite surprised about what their group member was talking about. It looks like it was not planned. The girl took more than 5 extra minutes so I told her to finish quickly.
I quickly invited the third and the last group for today. They posted their charts on the wall. The third group also chose the topic ‘Recycling’. The first member stated. He looked nervous as he moved around hastily in front during his presentation. He was speaking too fast and it was difficult to understand what he was trying to say. He quickly finished his part and called the next member to present. The girl came and stated reading from small note cards. She did not maintain any eye contact with the students. She then invited the third group member who looked a little more confident. She tried to explain her part very clearly. When the fourth member came to present he looked nervous. In the beginning, he spoke fluently, but then he suddenly forgot his part and called the fifth member to present. The last girl presented confidently and showed some samples of recycled products that the group had made. After the group finished the students had many questions and only two members answered the questions. The others stood quietly at the back.
After the presentations I could not give any feedback as there was no time left and I had to rush for another class. Some students asked me about their marks in the presentation, but I told them that I will announce the marks when all the presentations are complete. I did not have enough time to call out their attendance so I told them that I will mark everyone present.
The presentations continued for another three lessons as there were 16 groups with 5 members in each group. Since each group presented for 10 minutes excluding the question/answer round which took another 5-8 minutes each group, only three groups got the opportunity to present in each lesson. All presentations followed almost the same format and after all the groups completed their presentations the result/marks were then displayed on the notice board. Since individual feedback was not possible, therefore, at the end of all the presentations, I gave a general feedback to students. I pointed out the common mistakes that the students made while presenting.
Reconnaissance phase: Writing lesson 1
I am teaching Communication Skills course to BS 3rd year, Mathematics department. It is a three credit hours course with 50-minutes duration for each class and classes are held thrice a week. A total number of 110 students are enrolled in the course. These included both the BS 3rd year students and repeaters from the previous year. The classroom is a huge round-shaped auditorium on the ground floor of the Mathematics department. The auditorium has three staircases (one on each side and one in the middle of the room) leading down to the front of the classroom. There are wooden benches fixed in an arch in three long rows of the stairway. Each row had around 7-8 folding benches. In the front centre of the classroom, there is a huge arch shaped wooden board or table behind which the teacher stands and delivers their lecture. There is a green writing board fixed on the wall behind the arch shaped wooden board. Under the board is a thin cemented wall covered with a thick layer of chalk powder. There are only six fans attached to the ceiling and no windows for ventilation. The thick glass walls on two sides of the room are the only source of light as there is no light in the room. There is no audio-visual aid in the classroom and the teachers have to almost shout in order to make themselves clear to the students sitting at the back. Since there is no audio-visual aid in the classroom, the lecture handout and tasks are usually given to a student representative for photocopying.
Today there were around 74 students present in the classroom. I went to the classroom and started the by revising the previous day’s lecture in which I discussed with students, the various aspects of effective writing. I also revised the formal letter writing styles which I had explained in the earlier lessons. After spending 15 – 20 minutes in revising the last lecture, I asked the students to write a leave application keeping in view the formal letter/application style. I dictated the application question to the students and the students then began to write their individual applications. This was a practice task and students were supposed to finish it in the class only. The number of students is so big that it is not possible for me to collect their class work for corrections. It would take at least a week to correct students’ work and give any kind of feedback. So I thought I should make them practice in class and give feedback during the class.
Since the class duration is only 50 minutes I called out students’ attendance meanwhile they were doing the task. It takes almost 10 – 15 minutes to call out all the names. After I finished calling out their attendance some students came to me to get their applications checked. I checked the basic layout and style of the applications and gave feedback accordingly. My feedback included comments on the date format, line spacing, and missing subject line. I read the main content of students’ application, but did not provide any feedback on grammatical errors and proper paragraphing as there were too many students and less time for individual feedback. Not all students showed their work to me and I checked around 15 – 20 students’ work (particularly those who came to get their work checked). Most of the students who didn’t get their work checked agreed that they had done their work. I told the students that we will practice letter and application writing in the next class and asked them to finish today’s work if they haven’t and let me know if they have any problems. With that I ended today’s class.
Journal – Tuesday, 8th March 2011
Reconnaissance phase: Writing lesson 2
I went to the class on time today. I started off with some general announcements about the repeaters. Some students asked about the date for midterm examination and I told them to check with the department office as I have no information on the matter. There were comparatively more students present today as compared to the previous class. I assume this is because the midterm examinations are approaching and students want to know the topics discussed so that they can prepare well for the examinations. I told the students that so far they had written a request application and today they will write a job application. First I had a whole class discussion session in which I asked students about what kind of jobs they are planning to do once they graduate. Most of the students said that they are interested in teaching and would apply in a college whereas some said they would apply in a bank. Then I highlighted the importance of job applications by telling them that they will soon be applying for a job and they need to develop relevant skills in order to aim for a good career. I then asked what they would do to apply for a job in a particular organization/institution. Some of them said they will send their C.V. in order to apply for a job in any organization. Others remained quiet. I told the students that sending a C.V. is sometimes not enough and we also write an application or a cover letter along with our C.V.
After spending almost 15 minutes in this discussion, I then asked the students to write a job application assuming they are applying for a job after graduating from the university. I called out their attendance while they wrote their applications. Some students asked questions about how they should start but I told them to discuss with their peers and decide whatever they think is best. Given the difficult circumstances where the class duration is only 50 minutes, the classroom seating arrangement is such that it is not easy to move around, and other constraints like the greater number of students, no sound system or visual aid, I find it extremely difficult to check whether everyone in the class is doing the task. Therefore, I tell the students to complete their work and get it checked in the class if they want. A few students came to me for feedback on the written task and asked questions about effective writing. Then I reminded the students about the importance of effective messages. I discussed with them the 7 C’s of communication so that students can understand how to write effective messages. I could only discuss three of the 7 C’s with them today as the class time was over so I told them that we will continue the remaining C’s of communication in the next class.
Since today I spent most of the time discussing the significance of job applications, I did not have time to check students’ work. So I asked the students to complete their work at home and bring it in the next class so that we can discuss. I then finished and left for another the class.
Journal – Wednesday, 9th March 2011
Reconnaissance phase: Writing lesson 3
Today when I went to the class I started with the previous day’s work. I asked the students to show me their job applications to me. Some of them shared their work and I check it. My feedback was again general comments on application format and layout. I also pointed out that some applications were very direct and impolite. Also they were not giving complete information. After spending 10 minutes on giving feedback on the previous task, I started today’s class.
In today’s class I first reviewed the three C’s of communication and then discussed the remaining four of the 7 C’s of communication. For each C of communication I explained the concept first and then gave examples of how they can use it in both oral and written messages. I also discussed with them the relationship between the purpose of the message and the right approach for design effective messages. I told them that the purpose of the message decides the kind of approach we should use to write a message. I gave them examples of how they would write something in a direct approach and similarly where they would use the indirect approach. There were no handouts on the lecture and students only took notes in their notebooks. The main reason for not giving any handouts is to allow the students to understand the concepts in the class when they are being discussed and apply them later in the given task. Students often do not pay attention to the class activities if they have the photocopied handouts with them as they think they will learn or memorize the lectures for the purpose of examinations.
The lectures are usually followed by a practical task (which is an in-class activity) so that students get a chance to practice what is taught. The in-class practice activity is emphasized more for several reasons: firstly, to some extent it allows the teacher to monitor students’ learning, secondly, students become independent learners and particularly those who are keen to learn take the tasks very seriously. Thirdly, if students find any difficulty in practical application of knowledge, they can discuss among peers or can ask the teacher to clarify the concept further. Finally, this classroom practice discourages the weaker students to plagiarize and they are bound to perform in the class. Therefore, lectures and in-class practice activity blend in well for the purpose of optimum learning. For example, even in today’s class, after explaining the 7 C’s of communication and the different approaches, I told the students to write a complaint letter which was an in-class practice task. I gave them a question that asked them to write a complaint letter to the customer care of some company for a recently purchased product that does not work properly. They began writing their letters; meanwhile I called out their attendance. Some of them finished and came to me for feedback. I checked some students’ work. This time I particularly focused on how they had used 7 C’s and the approach in which they wrote their complaints. I mostly circled or underlined the phrases and sentences that needed to be revised. I told them to revise their subject line keeping in mind the politeness principle. I could only check around 15 – 20 students’ work. I asked the others to discuss with me if there were problems. Some students gave their work to me for correction so I took their work and told them that it will be returned next week. I then finished today’s class.
Journal – Tuesday, 21st March 2011
Reconnaissance phase: Speaking lesson 1
Today was the first day of presentations. All the students were sitting in the class and waiting for me when I went to the class today. The presentations were held in the same classroom where we have our routine classes every day. One of the students switched off all the fans because she could not speak in a loud voice. Since there is no sound system, multimedia or overhead projector in the classroom, all students needed to speak loudly and prepared chart papers as visual aid for their presentations.
Three groups had given their names during the previous week for presenting today. When I went to the class today, there were three chart papers posted on the writing board. I sat in the third row toward in right side of the room so that I could hear the presenters. When I asked the groups about who would come and present first, one of the groups volunteered and came to the front where they would present. Before the group began presenting, I told them the rules for the presentations which included the time for each presentation, the format of question-answer session and the assessment criteria. The presentations were assessed out of 10 marks with 5 main categories including content, body language, technique, appearance and question/answer in which I assessed students’ performance. Although these were group presentations where each group presented for 10 minutes, but the assessment was made on individual performance i.e. students’ performance in the 5 main categories was evaluated only when they presented their part. After I finished giving the instructions, the first group started their presentation on the topic ‘Recycling’. The first member was a little nervous while presenting. She stood behind the wooden board and kept reading from the chart paper. The chart papers were not quite visible even from the third row where I sat. All group members came one by one and presented. Only the last member stood on the side of the wooden board instead of standing behind it. She was very confident. Only one student asked a question from this group after the presentation finished and one of the group members answered it.
The second group came and posted their charts. They also chose the topic ‘Recycling’. This group had four members only and they all looked nervous. Although they did make charts but only one member used them during the presentation. All members read their presentation from paper. The group’s voice was not audible. While this group was presenting, some of the students constantly kept talking in the last rows. I also noticed that there were some students standing at the door and they were trying to peep inside. They also exchanged non-verbal signals with their friends sitting inside the classroom. The students standing by the doorway were from some other batch and were not enrolled in my course. Since I was getting distracted I went to the door and asked the students to stay outside. The group who was presenting also finished and nobody asked any questions. The room is so big and also the number of students that it is extremely difficult to key an eye on every student. When this group finished, I told the class that if they talk during someone’s presentation then I will deduct 2 marks from their presentation.
The third and the final group came to present on the same topic ‘Recycling’. This group looked confident except for one member who did not perform well. Almost all of them used their visual aid and spoke in a clear voice. Also during this groups’ presentation, I had to turn back and ask some students not to talk. When the group finished the presentation, some students asked questions and two members answered them. When all three presentations were complete, I told the students that I will give the results once we finish will all presentations. A few students asked me about my feedback so I told them that I will give general comments based on the three presentations that took place today. I asked the students who will present in the next sessions to learn from today’s presentations and not to repeat the same mistakes. I told them to improve the quality of chart papers and rehearse before presenting here so that they develop confidence. I did not have enough time to give detailed feedback and results because I had to rush for a class in another department so I left saying that I will mark everyone present for today.
Journal – Tuesday, 22nd March 2011
Reconnaissance phase: Speaking lesson 2
Today we had the second session of presentations. There were three groups who were supposed to present. I went to the class ten minutes early today. When I entered the classroom/auditorium, some students were doing their rehearsals. There were fifteen students sitting in the classroom/auditorium so I waited for 10 minutes for other students to come. Meanwhile, I distributed some students’ written work that they had given to me the previous day for correction and feedback. After 10 minutes, I asked the students to begin their presentations. All three groups who were supposed to present seemed a little hesitant when I asked which group would come first. They all seemed nervous to go and present first. So I told them to decide in 1 minute or I will randomly select a group. One group hesitantly got up and decided to present. They went in front of the classroom and pasted their chart papers on the green board. Like the previous day, there was no multimedia and the students used charts as visual aid for their presentation. I was sitting at the second last row today so that I could see everyone in the class. But sitting at the far end I realized I could not see the charts clearly as the charts were hand written in normal font size that I think could only be seen clearly if one was sitting in the front two rows. So I relied on listening to the groups’ presentation. Like the previous presentation session, I had an assessment sheet with me in which I marked students on their performance.
The first group started presenting and they chose the topic ‘Recycling’. The first group member started by introducing herself and the topic and continued with her presentation. She was a little nervous and read her points from the paper. She quickly finished her presentation and invited the next group member. The next member was also very anxious and also presented her part by reading from a paper. In the same manner all five group members presented without using/discussing the charts. I could hear the group clearly even at the back row. While the group was presenting, there were some students who come late to the class and sat in the last rows. I could see some students talking in the middle rows. Two students sitting in front were busy reading and preparing for their own presentation. Another girl sitting with these two students was busy arranging her chart papers. The first group finished and some students asked questions from the first group. When the first group finished, they removed their charts from the board. I did not tell the marks to the group and also didn’t give any feedback as it would waste too much time. One group took almost 15 to 18 minutes to present and I thought that if I spent another 5minutes in giving feedback then we will not be able to finish all three presentations in 50 minutes class. So the next group came and pasted their charts on the board and began their presentation.
The second group chose the topic ‘Bad eating habits’. During the second groups’ presentation, I was constantly giving non-verbal cues to some students’ sitting on my left to stay quiet. One student sitting in the middle row asked one of the presenters to speak a little loudly as her voice was not clear. Even I could not hear her properly. The presenter got nervous and stopped presenting. She invited the other group member without completing her part. One student left the class quietly during the presentation. The second group finished the presentation but one girl from this group made a request for some extra time before they could invite questions from the students. She continued to talk on the topic and gave examples from her personal experiences. Some students sitting in the class and also the group members started talking while the girl shared her personal experience on the topic. It seemed that the students did not take interest in what the girl had to say. Two group members from the same group looked quite surprised about what their group member was talking about. It looks like it was not planned. The girl took more than 5 extra minutes so I told her to finish quickly.
I quickly invited the third and the last group for today. They posted their charts on the wall. The third group also chose the topic ‘Recycling’. The first member stated. He looked nervous as he moved around hastily in front during his presentation. He was speaking too fast and it was difficult to understand what he was trying to say. He quickly finished his part and called the next member to present. The girl came and stated reading from small note cards. She did not maintain any eye contact with the students. She then invited the third group member who looked a little more confident. She tried to explain her part very clearly. When the fourth member came to present he looked nervous. In the beginning, he spoke fluently, but then he suddenly forgot his part and called the fifth member to present. The last girl presented confidently and showed some samples of recycled products that the group had made. After the group finished the students had many questions and only two members answered the questions. The others stood quietly at the back.
After the presentations I could not give any feedback as there was no time left and I had to rush for another class. Some students asked me about their marks in the presentation, but I told them that I will announce the marks when all the presentations are complete. I did not have enough time to call out their attendance so I told them that I will mark everyone present.
The presentations continued for another three lessons as there were 16 groups with 5 members in each group. Since each group presented for 10 minutes excluding the question/answer round which took another 5-8 minutes each group, only three groups got the opportunity to present in each lesson. All presentations followed almost the same format and after all the groups completed their presentations the result/marks were then displayed on the notice board. Since individual feedback was not possible, therefore, at the end of all the presentations, I gave a general feedback to students. I pointed out the common mistakes that the students made while presenting.
I can only say that reading your entries helps me think about what I need to observe and document. This is really motivating!
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