Category Archives: Teaching Reflections

This was the best teaching class for the Advanced Grammar Lab 0420. The one-hour lesson had consistent flow, engagement, and participation. We had another full class today; it is very impressive and rewarding to see as I know some of the students are in another country and it is very early in the morning for them. I know that for some of my students, it is between 2:00 am and 5:00 am when they are attending the Grammar lab. I am glad that they value their education and they are willing to participate in class despite the time difference.

For today’s lecture, we focused on a quick warm-up activity, two main activities, and a closing activity with a theme of culture shock. I thought this was an important theme to incorporate as so many of these students have experienced culture shock before. Having volunteers to read through the reading comprehension text was great and students were very involved in activity one. Using the interactive whiteboard, students were able to circle their answers. Activity two consisted of a grammar review worksheet, I think the students enjoyed this activity. Students were placed into breakout rooms and as I was going in and out of each breakout room, I heard great communication and problem-solving skills to determine the answer. We then had volunteers from each group go over the answers.

Today’s class was lots of fun, I love working with my students. Today’s lesson flowed so easily, there was great communication between my partner and I, there were no technical difficulties, we had some great volunteers to read the selection of text for activity one. I wish all my lessons going forward could be this easy and fun!

Wow. Where do I begin? Up until this week, teaching the Grammar Lab has been phenomenal. There have been few technical issues, full class sizes with great participation and classes have mostly finished on time. However, for me, there could not have been a worse day!

First off, none of my three computers were working as they were either frozen or there was no access to the microphone or video. I started the Grammar lesson by using my phone and quickly found out this was not going to work, as the screen was so small and I couldn’t see the chatbox, create breakout rooms, or see the lesson material on the PowerPoint slides. Thankfully, I had my teaching partner Kaitlin to take the lead at the beginning of class. After a few minutes, I was able to successfully log in to one of my computers and I was able to join the conversation through a microphone only, as my video camera was not working on the computer that I logged in with. I sincerely apologized to my students for this technical issue. Creating the breakout rooms was more time consuming than usual as a result of the heavy snowfall this morning which severely interrupted my internet connection. However, Kaitlin was there to communicate with the students to fill in the time.

Aside from all those technical issues on my end, the rest of the lesson went very well. Students participated in station rotations. In groups of four, students worked through three different stations working on verb tenses, filling in the blanks, and matching clauses. Students found activity B, the conjugation of verbs to create a sentence to be particularly challenging. Kaitlin and I were in and out of the breakout rooms supporting the students answering any questions they may have. We went over the answers together and some students got 100% on the activities. I loved doing station rotations as I was able to work with the students in small groups and we were able to effectively communicate with one another. It was great to see communication and teamwork within the groups. Even though class went a few minutes overtime, I think the students were ok with it as each one stayed until they were dismissed. The students were very respectful and patient with me today while I worked through the technical issues on my end, I was very thankful for my student’s being so patient and for the help of my teaching partner, Kaitlin.

We had a lot in store today for our students. We had a full class which was a great start. The warm-up activity consisted of determining the difference between clauses and phrases. Students were asked to hover over either ‘CLAUSE’ or ‘PHRASE’ after reading a selection of text. There was some confusion amongst the students between a phrase and a clause but once the activity finished students had a better understanding between the two. Our main activity was a jeopardy game, in honour of Alex Trebek who passed away recently. The jeopardy game reviewed clauses, verbs, passives, and vocabulary. There were four teams with three students per team. Students found the categories to be challenging. There were a couple of teams who had negative points up until halfway through the game. Kaitlin and I often provided hints for the students; this would help them to determine the correct answer. By the end of the game, all teams scored points. I am glad the students felt challenged during the jeopardy game and I felt that it was important to review the vocabulary and tenses the students learned at the beginning of the semester. Overall, the students had a lot of fun and so did I! It is always a blast teaching this grammar lab, the students always make it fun and engaging.

Moving onto a new unit of grammar, we were able to introduce and practice using the passive voice. There was a warm-up activity, two main activities, and a closing activity. Having a full class allowed us to break students up into pairs to work together for the two main activities. While students were in their groups, I entered each breakout room to assign groups two sentences to be read and answered aloud to the rest of the class. I found this technique better for both myself, and the students, as students were more comfortable with speaking out as they knew ahead of time what questions they were required to answer, and I was able to evaluate the students better.

Having great engaging participation between the students allowed for a smooth lecture. The students did find some of the activities challenging but this was great because last week during our feedback session, students asked for more challenging material. Knowing that the students felt challenged confirmed that our lesson objectives have been met. Another accomplishment for us teachers was that each activity took the designated amount of time listed on the lesson plan as well as the grammar lab finished on time. Going forward, I would like to continue to challenge my students and introduce material that interests my students as well as I want to commit to the designated time required for each activity without going overtime to ensure students are finished at the scheduled time. I am so lucky to have such amazing students; they are making this grammar lab so much fun and it is such a breeze to teach each week.

The 0420 Advanced Grammar Lab was very rewarding today as Kaitlin and I were able to ask for feedback for our closing activity. Using a polling option, questions were asked about what type of activities students want to see more of and what activities they want to see less of. We asked how the material was being studied, and if the material was too hard or too easy. The students provided us with some great feedback. For future labs, we will consider this feedback and alter the lesson material appropriately.

There were a few challenges that I found with the grammar lab today, that being my fault. I had to travel to another city, with that I had to find a quiet, professional place to conduct the online lesson. Having a microphone that picks up everything, literally everything, there were several sound distractions. Due to this issue, I couldn’t talk as much as I normally would. Having to frequently mute myself during discussions resulted in further technological issues.

Despite the technical issues, the lab went smoothly with great student participation. Class ended on time and we were able to get through all the activities. Most students found activity 1 to be too easy and activity 2 to be rather challenging. This was great feedback as I want to continue challenging my students. For future lessons, I will strive to make the lesson plan more challenging for students while providing a fun, engaging environment with minimal distractions.

In today’s grammar lab class, Kaitlin and I had a few technical issues beginning with our warm-up activity. We had a great activity planned out where the students would listen to a song, in this case, it was 7 Years by Lukas Graham. As students were listening to the song, they were required to fill in the missing lyrics. The activity should take about ten minutes, however, in our case, it was more like twenty minutes. We had technical difficulties playing the music in a clear tone while displaying the worksheet activity. Having the ability to think fast on our feet, we were quickly able to troubleshoot this issue by placing the worksheet activity in the shared notes and playing the music video on the screen. Students were able to work together in shared notes to fill in the missing lyrics. The students found this activity quite easy, which is good because this was our warm-up activity to get the student’s brains rolling.

After the warm-up activity, we spent about thirty minutes playing jeopardy. We estimated the jeopardy game to be about twenty-five minutes. Most students have never played jeopardy before, it was important for Kaitlin and I to go over the instructions to make sure there was no confusion. I separated the students into three groups of four. Students worked together to answer categories from conjugating regular verbs and irregular verbs to answering questions in the past time and unscrambling sentences. At the end of the game, students found the jeopardy game to be easy. This was acceptable though because it was a great way to introduce the students to the game of jeopardy. Now that the students understand the game, we will make the future categories more challenging for the students.

Overall, there was great participation with all students. Students were engaged in group discussions as well as conversations with the teachers. Unfortunately, the class did go over by fifteen minutes, however, students were very polite and respectful regarding this issue. Students stayed and participated until they were dismissed from class by their teachers. Going forward, I would like to be more concise with timing. It is important to plan each activity accordingly to allow students to be dismissed at the end of the scheduled class time without having to go over. Thus far, all of our classes have gone over time by about five to fifteen minutes. This is something that needs to be improved in the future, but it will come with time as we work on getting the structure down pat.

I am very honoured to have the students and the teaching partner that I have. My partner, Kaitlin and I, work great together. We have exceptional teamwork skills that allow us to teach a smooth coherent lesson. At the beginning of class, students are always talking politely and are eager to engage with us. It is a great feeling when you can connect with your students.

Today was my second teaching lab. After reviewing my first grammar lesson, I was able to reflect and make notes to improve future lessons. Having been more accurate with providing detailed instructions and making sure all students understood the task at hand allowed for an easy transition from one activity to the next. Engaging with the students when they went off into breakout rooms and routinely checking up on them helped to facilitate discussion. Being more cautious of time for each activity allowed us to complete the group work followed by classroom discussion.

Kaitlin and I decided to try the past tense activity from week one again as the students were confused, the instructions weren’t clear, and there was not enough time provided to complete the activity. We decided to make this the first activity. Providing five minutes of group discussion followed by ten minutes of classroom discussion allowed us to give clear, detailed instructions. Assisting the students in each breakout room allowed for the activity to run smoothly. The students got most of the answers correct and they seemed to enjoy the activity.

I think it was a great idea to try this activity again because it is a great review activity and it tests the student’s ability to work in teams, participation in class discussions, and ability to accurately write sentences using the correct verb tense.

From this lesson, I learned that planning enough time for each activity is key as well as providing simple, yet detailed instructions to the class are needed to comprehend the activities. Being an active participant as a teacher in the breakout rooms is another great way to engage with students and make sure that the activities are being done correctly.

Going forward, I plan on being an active, supportive teacher during group work. I will routinely enter in and out of the breakout rooms to make sure the activity is running smoothly and to answer any questions the students may have. I will be there to help facilitate the discussion. I will also be more cautious of time, making sure there is enough time for each activity.

Wow! Where do I begin? When I first found out I was teaching the 0420 Advanced Grammar lab, I was terrified! I said, ‘I can’t teach grammar!’. I was so nervous and was unsure how I was going to proceed. I was thankful that I had an awesome partner to work with. My partner and I met a few times during the past week to ensure we had a lesson plan that met all the objectives of the course content as well as we made activities and practice worksheets that could be used during the grammar lab.

When we began teaching, I was nervous. I didn’t know what the students were thinking, I didn’t know if they liked me or if they could even understand me. My partner and I made it clear to the students from the very beginning that we are all learning together. The students were very welcoming, polite, fun, and very supportive of us.

Today’s class had a total of eight students. Four students were missing, as the class total is twelve. My partner, Kaitlin, took attendance and asked students where they were from and how their week has been. Students were shy at first, but it was great to be able to put a name to the face. After the attendance, Kaitlin and I provided a brief introduction of ourselves, playing 3 truths and 1 lie. Students had to guess which statement was the lie. From my point of view, the students had a ton of fun with this activity. They were very fascinated by where we were living, where we had travelled, and all the accomplishments we have done thus far. This is a great way for the students and the teacher to break the ice, I would recommend this activity to any new teacher.

Most students were very engaged throughout the lesson, some students were shy, so we had to make sure we made each student feel comfortable with either speaking into the microphone or by writing in the chatbox. Students were able to understand most activities provided throughout the lesson, however, there was one activity a lot of students struggled with. This was the fault of the teachers, for not explaining the task very well as well as not providing enough time to do the activity.

In the future, I would make this activity first to ensure the teacher has enough time to go through the instructions, to provide a demonstration, and to answer any questions students may have. For the next grammar lab, I would like to bring in a similar activity to have the students try again, but this time, more time will be provided.

My supervisor instructor said Kaitlin and I did an awesome job for the lesson planning and giving instructions throughout the lab. For my first teaching class ever, I would like to highlight some of the things I think I did well on. That being, strong communication skills, active engagement with the class, providing a fun learning environment, responding to student’s questions with detailed explanations, and always having a positive outlook with a big smile on my face. For future teaching, the things I can improve on are being able to resolve technology issues, such as video errors or frozen screens, as well as make sure there are enough details and time allotted for each activity.

Overall, this was my first teaching experience at an academic level. I am so proud of myself; I had an absolute blast teaching the 0420 Advanced Grammar class and I am looking forward to many more sessions with these students!