Alexandra CO3

CLASSROOM OBSERVATION 3- Speaking with Anisa.

Anisa introduced today’s task, the preparation of an oral class presentation/research project, by asking students if they understood the concept of a thesis statement. Most of the students appeared confident in their understanding, but judging by facial reactions there appeared to be at least some confusion or lack of clarity about the concept. Anisa then began by first describing a statement as being an idea or argument, a discussion which she used as a springboard into a review of five paragraph essays. Anisa stated that she would like the students to model their topic and subsequent points in the same manner one would organize this kind of essay. She went through the prescribed structure of the five paragraph format, a concept which was very useful to have a refresher on, since it has been a long time since I have had to write such a strictly structured piece of writing.
In terms of the student body, what I most noted was the division of students of the class. I sat more or less between the middle and the corner of the room. The table on the opposite end of the room was occupied primarily several middle aged Middle Eastern women of various national origins. In the middle table, there were a few Korean males, a Chinese girl and a girl from Panama. The table closest to me was made up of a group of Middle eastern youths, most of them speaking Arabic, only one girl, and one very vocal Turkish man. There was one outlying student who seemed rather despondent, who not seated t any table, but leaned his chair back against the wall between the tables.
The students were rather chatty on this day, so Anisa gracefully curbed this excitement by channeling it into the day’s activities. Today, Anisa helped them to identify thesis statements that they would like to develop into a later class presentation. The proficiency levels and verbal bravery levels in the room seemed rather varied, which became apparent as she went around the room asking student to volunteer their initial ideas. Some students spoke only in word clusters, while other readily expounded on their topics, if perhaps a bit too vaguely. Anisa took time with each person to help them refine their subjects, and after having gone through each student, she allowed them time to sit and work on their topics silently, and then after a few minutes, allowed them to turn to each other for peer critiques.
This predictably got somewhat out of hand, as the table nearest to me got into a fairly heated, but friendly debate about the origins and best qualities of baklava. Sensing that the noise was growing distracting to the other students, Anisa curtailed this tangent by seamlessly inserting herself into the conversation, engaging them briefly by acknowledging their opinions, and ultimately taking control of it the conversation in order to steer it to a close. This was a very useful strategy that impressed me with its subtlety, but effectiveness.