In the lesson, I learned more about assumptions. The topic for the lesson was ‘Halloween’. However, some students could not answer the question(s) due to their culture not having this holiday. Hence, amendments needed to be made. My colleague and myself remade the questions on the spot, and hoped it made sense. Throughout, I figured that students might’ve been timid, not unknowingly. However, it is better to rephrase the question to a more broader, relatable one so that they can answer properly Perhaps consider cultural differences.
In each activity, students were able to engage relatively well, but the best was during the breakout room activity. Since, the assumption of ‘students should know Halloween’ was wrong, the active constant participation didn’t start until the breakout room activity. In my opinion, I needed to get them familiar with the topic and apply scaffolding to them. Thinking back, it was the case. I shortly realized my learners needed heavily reliance on me, so I steered the content to their own comfortability (native culture). Gradually, I made the reliance be less on me, and had them converse by what they were curious (relies on students themselves). Each time we progressed, the activity served as the checkpoint for their ‘needs/reliance’ of obtaining the course content.
The following is how I viewed scaffolding in the perspective of our activities:
Video discussion: teacher asks the STs to observe the various costumes shown in the video, and STs then understand what might a costume be or worn for what reason. Start- All teacher
Choice polls (w/discussion): STs participate in a poll to show what they like as costumes among 4 choices. Depending on their understanding of the costumes and their representations, they can reply to the class their rationality. Pre-mid lesson- Mostly teacher
Would you rather (Interactive whiteboard): STs are selecting an answer according to their preferences. Then, they are asked why they chose the preferred answer. Mid-lesson- Mostly STs
Breakout Rooms (discussion): STs are split into 2 groups (~equally) and answers at least 4 of the 8 Wh- questions on the slide. STs are asked a question shown and they reply accordingly. Near-end All STs
Exit ticket: Yes or No (Interactive whiteboard + discussion): STs note whether they like Halloween (Yes) or they don’t like Halloween (No). They then are asked why they perhaps choice no as their answer.
In conclusion, I thought learning assumption was a huge takeaway. It certainly made me appreciate lessons. Especially appreciating having mistakes occur so we learn from them. There are no perfect going lessons, and we shouldn’t view all lessons like they ought to be perfect. Always assume the STs not know what you are teaching, then they might be able to develop a greater comprehension of what you’re teaching as content.
Lesson slides on Halloween: