I greatly appreciated this week’s lesson because we got an observer! Today marked the first day my sponsor teacher did not join our lesson. I was a bit worried about this change, but it made me learn lots. As the observer saw how the lesson progressed, she gave some valuable feedback. As teachers we tend to talk our way in hopes that our students are 100% knowing what is expected. However, it might not be ideal. The conversation club was to promote student talk, increasing and improving more than if they were in classes. This made me think of how much I talked compared to the students. I loved teacher-led classrooms, but students were muted. When students became voiceless, the teacher moved on. Sometimes, this was not the case though. Settings like the conversation club needed student involvement, and lots of it. For that, teachers needed to be mindful and create a student-led classroom environment. A reminder that I asked myself was “remember, students need to talk.” Whenever I taught a lesson, I had to forcibly remember to trust and rely on our content. Talk when needed, and rely on the students to dictate the progression. When we have great learning content, teachers shouldn’t or have no need to talk much, rather have it scaffold to the students. Repetition instructions might have been unnecessary in a our intended student-led classroom. Students should first wrestle with the content and ask questions if they become unknowing of something. Takeaway: Student-led learning.

For having student-led learning settings, we got to consider some factors. One, to not repeat verbatim what was said, but shortened. Instead of repeating the same way, perhaps say it simpler? Don’t change the speed if the class can move onto the next content. We must realize why we adjust our dialogue speed. If they are comprehending the language, there’s no reason to slow down. And most importantly, teaching to facilitate. If teacher keeps rumbling for the majority of the time, it might cause students to feel someone will eventually carry the load. Have awkward moments, let them wait. Give wait time, and make them believe that it is their time to show off their abilities as a learner. Once students realize this time of theirs cannot be tampered with, they will come to appreciate and participate as much as they can. For that, students are responsible for the class progression, and not the teacher. Same allocating time for students to speak, if students are responsible for their own lesson content progression, they will pick up or ask for clarity. If the responsibility is taken away, the motivation may become lacking and gradually diminish. Hence, we must work towards student-led, if students are seen as main participants in a learning setting like the conversation club. Takeaway: Facilitate for a good reason.

The following is the slides for the Internet & Social Media lesson.