Week 2

I've made it through the second week! I think I'm close to finding a good routine that works for me, although Mark and I are both having a hard time getting home after 6 four nights a week. The main problem is that we're starving and it still takes at least half an hour to get dinner on the table. But, the mornings are more leisurely than ever because neither of us has to be at school till 11. We go earlier anyway, around 9:30. I'm spending a lot of time in the computer lab at CCIT (where my desk is). The main problem with that is it's really cold! But, I've been finding plenty to do.

So far, I'm really enjoying my classes, and the teaching is getting easier every day (although it's still very time consuming). My Methods of TESOL class is my favorite. It meets on Wednesdays from 4-6:30. This week, one of the other GATs and I gave a presentation on the Grammar-Translation Approach. (This is how most Latin and Greek courses are taught--lots of memorizing rules and vocabulary and translating). It went pretty well, I think; and it was a good idea to get it out of the way. Of course, giving the presentation isn't what I like about the class--it's taught by the director of CESL and I think she's really great. Plus, two people bring a snack to each class, which is a nice touch. I expect that class will give me the theoretical background I don't really have yet. (although I have learned about some of the techniques we're reading about at workshops in the past.) Next week, I'll be observing a class at CESL as part of an assignment for the class. I think I will really benefit from observing seasoned ESL teachers, so I'm looking forward to it. (We have to do 3 during the semester). My linguistics class was actually cancelled on Thursday, so I don't really know anything else about it. Sometime soon we need to meet with the professor and hammer out the details about the extra work we need to do. It sounds like we also need to get some kind of description about the course on paper since we're technically enrolled in an independent study. That way, when someone wants to know down the road what it was about, there will be a record in our files. So that's kind of how classes are going...

Teaching this week was also better. I feel like I'm getting to know the students, slowly but surely. I think I have most of their names down, which really helps during class. Today, D.R. observed my 2pm class. I was a little nervous about it, but it's part of the Preceptorship. And, it seems like the observation is designed to help me more than it is to evaluate me, if that makes sense. We talked for almost an hour afterwards, but mostly she said that I was doing a good job. Of course, she also had some suggestions for things I could work on, but overall I got the impression that I'm on track. Which is great, because having never done anything like this, I've been wondering if I'm doing a good job. I still think I need to work on the questions I ask in class, making sure they're the kind of questions that invite discussion. Also, it's still awkward for me when I'm trying to get the students' attention back after they've been working in groups. Everyone says, don't talk over them! It's weird, though, to just stand in the front of the class until they notice I'm up there again. I'm afraid they'll just keep talking forever! But I assume I'll figure it out with more practice. I do feel like I'm spending a lot of time thinking about my teaching--trying to evaluate what's working, what's not, how to get them to think more about the readings, how to get the quiet ones to speak up in class, etc. Teaching these two sections takes a lot of time, but I the experience is essential for me. Even though I don't see myself teaching "First Year Composition" forever, I will be teaching some ESL writing in the future, so I hope I can use/adapt many of the activities I'm using now. This week in Preceptorship we started talking about grading essays--digging into the debate about directive vs. facilitative comments. It's a really interesting topic, and one I've never thought about before. The basic contrast is between comments that give students specific instructions on what to do with their writing (move the thesis here, give an example, etc.) or ones that invite students to think about how to improve their writing (what about moving this sentence? How does this relate to your thesis?). Of course, it seems to me that the best approach is a little bit of both. I'm beginning to realize, though, what a challenge grading the first essays will be. But, I'll be able to compare notes with other GATs, so that should help. We'll see how it goes in a few weeks. In the end, I just hope the students are able to improve their reading and writing skills, and that maybe they even like writing more or feel more confident with their writing.

Now that it's the weekend, I plan to do some rearranging at the apartment--they finally finished the door on our outside storage closet, so I'm looking forward to moving some stuff out there (golf clubs, suitcases, etc). Also, I've got some short journal assignments to grade, and some reading to start on for the Methods class. And I plan to watch a movie from Netflix. Exciting, right? :-)