Sept 29/2020
Today I observed an advanced synchronous virtual class of high school seniors in Mexico. The teacher had a great rapport with the students, which was developed through personal sharing by the teacher and relationship building exercises such as a pajama day. There was an honest affection between the teacher and students.
The class itself seemed disjointed. There was not a consistent topic or vocabulary used throughout. The class started with a review of vocabulary, but when the class shifted to listening exercises the vocabulary was not used. The topic of the second part of the class was stereotypes, but the previous vocabulary had nothing to do with stereotyping, and the only stereotypes presented were gender stereotyping around makeup use. That said, the students were comfortable sharing honest reactions and feelings.
The class wrapped up with a student presentation that was leftover from a previous class. The presentation topic was on the student’s ideal future university that included a budget, a virtual tour, and information on scholarship essays and sample interviews. The student was given immediate feedback and a grade in front of the class.
Although the students were engaged throughout the class, but when I look at the level of the presentation, I wonder if the content around stereotypes provided the students with a challenge, or even new material. I was a little shocked that a grade was given in front of the class, but that may be a cultural difference since none of the students showed any reaction.