Ken CO #2 Reading

Immediately after observing the grammar class, I had the chance to observe Professor Angel's reading class. 

The atmosphere was like night and day when compared to the former class. Professor Angel is very animated and loud, which in turn, allowed the class to be more jovial and relaxed. The desks were arranged in a way that all the desks were connected in a hot dog shape with one point facing the projector. I prefer this style over the traditional seating arrangement because it creates a "round table" feel, which I believe better promotes discussion. It also means everyone can see everyone - I like that too. 

The first half hour was review of something the students must have learned earlier in their schooling; how to identify topics, key words, and main ideas. The first exercise had the students going through a short handout with 10 example sentences with the task of circling the topic and to underline the theme. The sentences became more complicated as they went from 1 to 10. Angel did rounds on the students and answered questions when they were asked. When the time allotted was expired, he called on 10 students at once to make the corrections on the white board. I like this method, because it had many students all at once solving the problem using their own work before the problems were solved. This to me served 2 purposes: 1. To engage a large number of students in a short amount of time and 2. To demonstrate where there are errors (since the students made some errors in their work) and to explain the exact mistakes they had. 

I like this more than calling on each student individually because it strikes me as sincere and engaging. Another thing I liked is he uses songs to determine time limits. I don't know, that just seems more fun which is the style I am hoping to emulate. He is also quick with the jokes, which helps. 

The remainder of the class was focused on the concept of plagiarism and how serious Americans take it. I actually got to involve myself by providing an example of a "turn-it-in" assignment when Angel was explaining how there are programs that automatically check your originality. 

The students were confused by why it is such a big deal, but understood that the consequences of plagiarism are grave. 

Overall, I really enjoyed Angel's teaching style. He has great chemistry with his students and I am excited that my next class observation will be in his class: Speaking at 1 pm