Camille-CO3

Last Wednesday, I observed a level 3D Composition class taught by Olga. The class was extremely formal in its structure in which I observed many of the students were either texting or falling asleep. The lesson itself consisted of learning about argumentative essays in which the students read a long, scholarly essay and then had to establish the concept of opposing arguments. This prompt seems entirely too difficult for the students because Olga had to repeat herself many times and the students still did not understand what was being asked of them. After that, the students had to do an activity where an argument was prompted to them and then the students had to formulate an opposing argument, this was not clear to them either for when the class went over the activity, not one student had gotten it right. After that, the students were introduced to writing a thesis statement to prepare them for their essays then were given the homework assignment of developing an outline for their essay. With this observation, I learned that with every lesson, you must do a variety of comprehension checks to make sure the students are actively engaged, participating in the academic material and not invested in their cell phones. Also, I will make sure the students fully understand what is going on at all times and to make sure it is known to them to not be intimidated by the subject matter since I am there for them, to make sure they know the material. I believe if you reinforce this idea to them then the students will be more comfortable to talk inside the classroom.