Class Observation # 3

Today I viewed Ramin's IN-HI Reading class. He opened up with a bit of conversation, it is much different being in this advanced class , it feels just like a regular college class since most students are speaking without hesitation and with more ease now. One thing I really found not only more conducive to learning but created more interaction among students was the large oval, conference table he used. This isn't always available but sitting in some sort of circle really works guess this is why they did it during storytelling in elementary. First, he administered a short quiz based on a short, highschool level book(Frindle) and news article then collected it. The quiz had a vocabulary section where you found it's synonym and some multiple choice. Then he did a timed reading using a simple nature-related article about 1-1/2 long. He had the students raise their hand when finished and Ramin write their time on the board. I asked how he chose the readings, he said a good method is to do a diagnostic at the first class to find the average word/ min. He suggested a book, Time Reading Book Series, for finding appropriate articles. The class was very engaged when he started the discussion . He made this class student centered, letting the students do the work instead of lecturing. Some students would shy away from answering; Ramin would use prompting to engage them instead of calling on them which tends to scare some. Now looking back I realize how important a student centered class is to education and so many teachers make it teacher-centered. He consistently throughout class would ask students if they understood and the purpose for these activities. Everything he taught in our TESOL class was displayed in this class. Obviously feedback from students was very important and I found this to be so beneficial and something I will definitely make a part of my teaching repertoire.