My two observers, Emily and Alexia, happened to have observed my teaching in the same day. Emily and Alexia observed my morning and afternoon session respectively. Those two sessions include the same materials.
A summary of some of their comments in their observation reports and my reflection on their comments are listed below.
Students Not Giving Feedback to Each Other
Emily commented that, during the group crit, some students are quite; and some students take a while to start presenting their work.
Even though I asked them ‘any feedback’ and encouraged them to give more feedback, it was hard to make them give feedback in group crit.
Emily suggested that 1) asking to write down their feedback; 2) giving them roles: you feedback on x and you feedback on y; 3) using a gamified approach (you need to say at least one thing) may help.
She noted that when some students had language difficulties, I encouraged them to describe what they mean if they didn’t know the word (a very supportive manner).
Alexia also noted that some students are quite shy and quite; and I worked hard to get them talking. She mentioned I worked hard to keep them engaged and gave them an opportunity to talk. Emily also pointed out that it took a lot effort to get them to talk.
Reflection on the observer’s comments and ideas to follow up:
Yes, the engagement has been a problem. Some students have language difficulties; and some students are not familiar with presentation and giving feedback upon their cultural background. The fact that I have to work hard to engage them is problematic.
These comments and suggestions have been very valuable to me. I am happy to try some of the suggestions from Emily.
Engagement Issue
Both Emily and Alexia mentioned that, during the presentation, I asked my students to pay attention quite firmly. Emily noted that all students complied, but Alexia noted that some students were texting under the table at the back.
In the session which Emily observed, one student was ordering food through her phone in my class, and I firmly asked her to stop and pay full attention to the presenter.
Reflection on the observer’s comments and ideas to follow up:
At times it is hard to get the student fully participate and pay attention. I try to always pay full attention to the presentation to demonstrate my passion and engagement. However, because of that, I cannot always point out the misbehaviour and stop them immediately.
I think part of the reason is that it was the last hour of a three-hour session; and it’s partly because of the language difficulties. Moreover, some students may not be too enthusiastic about other students’ work.
The engagement issue has been slowly improving since the first term (now it is the second term). However, yes, some strategies to tackle the engagement issue may be need.
Regarding My Feedback to Students
Emily noted that I praised good work (‘see how far you have gone’) but also encouraged more work. Alexia noted that I gave ‘clear and positive feedback with helpful guidance and encouragement’ after each presentation.
Alexia mentioned that she likes how I challenged my students to think more deeply – asking them to consider the word ‘professional’ for example.
She also a mentioned that, during the group crit, I ‘spent quite a lot of time with one particular student in one of the groups which ate into the time for the rest of the group, but [I] gave feedback that was relevant to the whole group.’
Reflection on the observer’s comments and ideas to follow up:
Thank you very much for the compliment. I did spend a bit more time on one particular student. This is because the student asked for my feedback personally. Furthermore, I did address my feedback to the whole group of students. I tried to make it helpful to all students. I try to spend a bit time with each group during group crit usually. However, I should pay attention to each group evenly.
Other Feedback
They both commented on my hi-energy and timekeeping. They also both noted that I give clear instruction and knowledgeable feedback.
Emily suggested that I should warp up the session 5 min earlier and spend more time addressing the homework for the next week and achievement of the session.
Alexia pointed out that perhaps I should have introduced her to my class.
Reflection on the observer’s comments and ideas to follow up:
I am very thankful for their feedback and suggestions. I would definitely keep up the positive parts and work on the parts which needs more further improvement.
Great reflection on the observations!