TE+802-+10-17-08

=TE 802 - October 17, 2008 =

12:30-12:50 - Issues and Updates
--- OMG YES!!! Can we PLEASE talk about this?? user:deutchma
 * What questions/concerns would you like to raise for the entire class? Please nominate items below and sign your post.
 * What happens when our field instructor comes to observe and tells me that what I did (which is what my mentor told me to do) didn't work? It wasn't my idea!! user:sarahew
 * What has happened with the FL teach thread about technology? user:Anny1
 * How about motivation - in terms of getting students to actually turn in their homework assignments? Almost my entire first hour has C's and below because of this!! user:deutchma
 * What about if we are not putting 100% into MSU classes because we are putting so much into our internships ... can we talk about expectations? I am trying to prioritize but right now the top of my list is teaching, and the second thing is sleep! user:L2teach
 * I second this! user:deutchma
 * Me too! user:lemonhe1
 * Gosh, me too (especially TE 801..eek!) user:doren
 * This is a great issue to discuss... I'm glad I'm not the only one! user:Obstinada02
 * How do we deal with parent/student relationships, while at the same time helping out the student? I had conferences this week and I am so lost!user:pumer30

-As far as lesson planning, are we supposed to be writing all of them for our focus class right now? When do we take over 2 classes? I guess I'm a bit confused on where we're at in the "TE schedule." user:Obstinada02

12:50 - 1:20 - Reflecting on your internship

 * Please be prepared to spend some time writing a reflection of your internship experience thus far. It would be helpful to bring the notes you've been keeping about your lessons.
 * You can write the reflection on your laptop or by hand -- whichever you prefer.
 * Address these topics:
 * What I've learned about myself as a teacher
 * What I've learned about my students
 * Three things I'm doing well
 * Patterns from the feedback I've received from my field instructor and my mentor
 * Two or three areas I want to work on to improve my teaching
 * Specific plans to make improvements in these areas
 * Lingering questions/concern
 * Consider this in light of the evaluation rubric to be used at the first midterm conference

1:20 - 1:40 - Swap Shop
Please post your materials in an appropriate place on the wiki and paste the link next to your name.
 * Kerry Technology Sheet
 * Jessica http://languagelinks2006.wikispaces.com/Staying+in+the+TL
 * Heather Family Vocabulary Game
 * Doren- http://languagelinks2006.wikispaces.com/Internet-based+Lessons
 * It's the Facebook activity

1:50 - 2:20 - Ways to introduce new vocabulary
Let's get a good list going! Please post any ideas below (and sign your post, of course). Okay, so Introducing vocabulary stuff is fun (for me ... or at least so far) ... Thus far, I have introduced vocabulary using: - a video that has music in the background that sings the vocabulary words (I can show you in class the video -- my 4th hour LOVES this!) - I have used videos we have that come from our textbook - I have created powerpoint presentations with pictures, but don't have the words. With each of these items, I ask the students to just sit back, relax and watch as I go along... tell me what they think I am talking about afterwards. Same with the videos. I've also given them lyrics out to the music video and after watching it several times, they'd write down what they think each thing was in English, then we went over and sang it in Spanish. user:deutchma -When learning expressions like "to be hungry", "to be lucky", to be right/wrong" I had the students stand up and create gestures as a class for these expressions. They liked taking part in creating the gestures and everyone was having fun. I then had them do a simple activity with dice and their partner giving them these silent gestures. If they rolled a "1" they had to use the "je (I)" subject and properly conjugate the expression according to the gesture that their partner gave them. I know that this approach will not work for everyday vocab but it was a great change. user:lemonhe1 -I like to introduce New Vocabulary by bringing in props. The students know about "mi mochila" where I put all the stuff in. I describe the object/use it in a sentence. After I present each topic, I ask students about them (individually) and then I have them come up to "mi mochila" and pick something out of it and identify it or I tell them to find the objects. It might not be contextual, but it uses some skills! ;) user:doren



2:20 - 3:00 - Issue presentations

 * Kerry and Lauren
 * Aubrey

3:00 - 3:30 - Course Business

 * Upcoming assignments
 * FL Teach
 * MiWLA
 * Videotape
 * Inquiry project


 * Unit plans
 * How can we make this process more useful and efficient? I want to have flexible deadlines, but it was quite complicated. I need a window of about a week to give feedback. How did peer feedback go?
 * How exactly does this work with peer feedback? How do I know who my partner is?? I'm confused! user:sarahew
 * I didn't really understand this and I got my feedback done after my Unit was over (same with my partner in all honesty), so it didn't really help while doing the unit, but I guess for next time it will help. We need something more effective, such as a page on the wiki so that I can just access it without sending it via Anny and then waiting to hear a response. We can pick our own partners perhaps (eh eh eh MOTIVATION?). We could have (how many students are in this class?)... the first half of the class posts their Unit Plan on the Wiki, and then the next half of the class can write their names next to the person they are going to give feedback too and that's how we figure out our partners. Then everything is on the wiki and we can all see each others' units if need be (sharing is caring, no?) user:deutchma
 * I felt like the only thing I could really plan in advance was what homework to give and what pages/lessons to cover each week. For the rest, I really felt like I needed to do it day by day to be more effective. I am still at the stage where I seem to plan a bit too much into my lessons - although what I plan is effective. So, I need to replan the next day, considering my new goals based on what we did the day before. Because of this, I had trouble writing a unit plan weeks in advance. Also, I felt bad having people read something that I knew was bound to change quite a bit, despite other intentions. For me, (and I know I may be the only one) it would be helpful to do less specific unit plans like this:
 * List lessons/topics/pages to cover, and list homework for the week and when the homework should be due
 * Describe weekly quiz/assessment, or goals for the week (Personally made, or book-made quiz? Does it focus on reading, writing, listening, speaking, etc.)
 * List goals for the week/ways to prepare students for their assessment
 * List possible activities for each goal (example: Family vocab - To introduce this, students will ---. Verb 'to be' with family vocab - To help students read/write/speak/listen/conjugate (depending on your goal) expressions with etre and family vocab, I propose the following activities: -).
 * Then, with these ideas, we can be more flexible to move things around depending on how each day goes.
 * This way, for peer review, our peers will know what is required of us, and may be able to help us with general activity ideas, or they may be able to help us with our language/content objective(s) for the week.
 * Sorry for the long post -- but, something like a loose plan for the week with lots of ideas and also things that are required would be more helpful to me, as well as answering questions for the WEEK about language/content goals. Please feel free to critique this idea -- it was just something that I was thinking about, and I may be the only one! user:L2teach
 * I agree with this- it was hard planning so much in advance, and then realizing that I spent so much time planning something that changed so much! I ended up not being able to do a lot of the activities I had planned because of time constraints and feedback from my mentor about what was working/not working, etc. user:kendal53
 * Unfortunately I have not finished my unit plan (oops!) but only because of the schedule with the other teachers in the Spanish department and the tri-semester issue. I have come up with an outline and have showed it to my mentor and she has already started changing my ideas because of the schedule I have to work in and the guidelines I need to follow (within the department). This is becoming a lot more difficult than expected. I want to be creative, but there is a time issue and a textbook issue and a consistency with the other classes issue. I can come up with a plan, but I'm only saying with what I have been working with and under, there is a good possibility I won't be able to do it all. This is frusterating. user:doren
 * I second (third? fourth?) the last three posters for a variety of reasons...I just recently started my lead teach, but I feel very behind with my unit plan. However, it has not been an issue with my mentor. I let her know what I want to do a day or two ahead of time (It's hard for me to know where the class will be), and she gives feedback. So far so good, but I find it hard to plan out the whole thing (though I know an outline would be helpful). I just always have to re-plan based on the reality of what actually happens in class.user:Katie23

Mid-term course evaluation - What's working for you? What's not working for you? What changes would you like to see the second half of the semester? No class next week -- attend MiWLA Remind mentors of MSU meeting on 10/28 WL Intern Assessment Form Homework: Read and annotate the article I sent you via email. Bring it to class on October 31.