Oct 5/2020
Today I observed a synchronous virtual class of university students in an upper-level academic reading class. The lesson was about the literary terms for character types and they were studied using the story that had been assigned for homework.
The lesson opened with a review of how to use elements of the virtual space and a request for permission to record the lesson. The teacher began by showing a list of terms for character types and called on the students to give a definition of a character type. Students were encouraged to agree or disagree, and to support their reason with evidence from the story. The teacher gave feedback as well, and at one point used a piece of realia to help solidify the students’ understanding. After a short break, the students were to return to small group work to discuss the characters in the story. Then the teacher would address the questions that students had emailed her.
What I thought was effective about this class was that it communicative elements, while allowing the students to develop their analytical skills and the terminology to express their opinions.