Domain C:Reflection On and Assessment of Teaching
C1. Teaching Assistants will monitor and adjust instructional strategies during teaching based on assessment evidence of student learning and development.
C2. Teaching Assistants will critically analyze own effectiveness in promoting learning and development.
C3. Teaching Assistants will inquire systematically into their practice in order to improve curriculum and instruction for all learners.
Domain C1: Teaching Assistants will monitor and adjust instructional strategies during teaching based on assessment evidence of student learning and development.
During my first semester teaching, I was very focused on finishing everything stipulated in the Master outline given at the beginning of the semester by our course coordinator. As the semester progressed, I started noticing how, by being so determined in finishing the outline, I was not really taking the time to make sure students were understanding everything. While I knew they may have understood the concepts, the readings, and the writing, I was unable to see if they were conceptualizing all aspects of the lesson and be able to take it to the real world. Due to this, I moved to take things slower during my teaching, taking executive decisions of eliminating stories or activities if need be to extend the lessons.
One thing I worked my second semester very hard to maintain was time keeping. I received feedback during my first semester teaching of letting the students be able to visually see the time they had left for work. This was praised by my course coordinator during my second visit. She points out how I:
managed time in the classroom exceedingly well, providing specific time-frames for the various activities in order to ensure that she met her aims for the day and that students were on-task.
Another point I worked hard to make my own was the Speaking Logs. Speaking Logs are supposed to be done with tutees at the English Writing Center (EWC). However, I noticed how I was not getting to know student’s areas of strengths and weaknesses. There was no communication between the EWC feedback to me. I do not collect the papers until the end of the semester, and I was unable to see where they needed support. By doing the Speaking Logs myself, I was able to see the problem areas, their strengths, and get to know them. The connection I made with my students during those 15 minutes were incredible. My coordinator mentioned on my letter:
Laura decided instead to conduct the speaking logs herself during her office hours. She opted for this route in order to get to know her students better and to obtain a heightened sense of their oral communication strengths and weaknesses in English. Based on her model, I gave this option to students this semester and found it highly useful for the above-stated reasons. Moreover, because the EWC is currently running on a limited budget and is short-staffed, this possibility will soon be included into the master syllabus of the class. I think it is important, therefore, to acknowledge that Laura, with another peer, piloted this project in her first 3201 classroom.
Domain C2: Teaching Assistants will critically analyze own effectiveness in promoting learning and development.
During the third semester of my MAEE program, I worked alongside Faculty members of the English Department in the UPRM to deliver Alternative Pedagogy Workshops. These workshops developed from my thesis project, where I am looking to see how does the inclusion of alternate pedagogies and non-canonical or popular culture texts support the teaching done by graduate students who are instructors of record in general education English courses in an ESL environment? Through my project, I prepared a group of Alternative Pedagogy workshops where students were given different 15-minute presentations where on Visual Pedagogy, Creative Writing, and the use of Film in the classroom. With these workshops, I, alongside the professors, gave students new tools and ideas which they can adopt and adapt into their undergraduate classrooms. These ideas were open to my peers through a box.com folder.
Domain C3: Teaching Assistants will inquire systematically into their practice in order to improve curriculum and instruction for all learners.
During my time as a graduate student in the MAEE program, I have learned many things which I have incorporated in my courses. I have been able to see theory inform practice by taking lessons from my MAEE courses and developing them for my students. Something I have taken into account from my Ingl 6030 course, Theory and Practice of Composition, was the aspect of peer review. Through an assignment for this course, I acknowledge how I worked peer review in the class and how I wanted to develop it in the classroom. It was through the reading of the literature, and practicing to identify the type of feedback I was giving , I was able to change my methods and take into account what I want, and need, to change for the future semesters.
When I took Ingl 6010, TESL Materials and Testing, I could see how practice informed practice in my classes. During the 6010 course, Dr. Rosa Roman taught us about journal writing and how escalated journal writing could help students learn to write more in less time. While I did not adopt the strategy specifically as taught, I adapted it to my student’s needs. Something I enjoyed of Dr. Roman’s activity where the rules. Two of those rules, which I always work with my students are:
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Do not stop writing
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Do not think
I also include with my students the “lift up your pencil, take a deep breath, write” technique we performed in class. Through my student’s journal writing, I have seen them slowly take this into consideration. While they are writing, I take a quick glnce at them, and can see them lift up their pencil/pen, breathe, then go back to write. It is the small things where students are constantly taking into consideration to better their writing. It was through my own journal writing where I knew my students could take advantage of it.