CASA DIGNA VIDA DIGNA - FIDUCIARIA BOGOTA S.A

After a few days of discussion with the group leaders, I asked Teacher C to teach class so that students and she would get familiar with the procedure of the new teaching. We discussed the lesson plan, and the procedure of teaching in detail before asking her to teach. I preferred not to be part of that class so that she would not feel intimidated by my presence. Twenty group leaders from both classes participated in the pilot class. Teaching was based on the first lesson plan which was to be carried out in the first class in real teaching. After the class, I interviewed her and a few group members separately to know their reaction to the teaching.

The focus of the first lesson for the pilot class was to build a peer assessment criteria for assessing speaking skills. It was conducted through group activities by engaging all the students. It was a class of fifty minutes. The evidence from the students’ interview suggested that they enjoyed the class. After the class, I interviewed five group leaders to take their feedback on the pilot class. They found the activities useful for learning and they were willing to participate in these kinds of classes as group leaders (group interview below in this section). They were excited about the new ways of teaching and their role as facilitators. They also found it useful to play an active part in the class by interacting with each other while doing activities. Group leaders said that the feedback was very important for them and they felt special when they got comments on their work either, from a teacher or a group leader. One of the group leaders said, ‘If a teacher made them correct at one

thing, they would never repeat that mistake and would never be wrong at the same place

(Group Interview 2). Learning in group methods provided the opportunity where they could assess each other.

In the following section, I present interview excerpts of the group leaders. The responses are given here in direct conversation in the order of their occurrence to show their exact reaction to the class. The comments of individual students are separated through bullet points. The responses are transcribed from audio recordings. Next, follows Teacher C’s note on her teaching. Students’ interview excerpts (Group Interview) and the teacher’s note illustrate that the pilot class was useful and that new methods could bring better learning opportunities.

How do you feel about today’s class?

• I appreciate today’s activity. You should conduct such activities. It encourages

students to participate in discussion within small groups.

• These kinds of classes should have taken place in first year first semester so that

students should feel familiar with this style and they will get used to it.

• It’s easy to speak in small groups and get opportunity.

• We heard students for the first time speaking and all the students were involved in

the class.

• Everyone is given opportunity.

• In other classes familiar (to teacher) students speak. Only smart students are given

chance to participate

How did you feel correcting each other? • We feel good.

• Students feel good when they are assessed. They come to know about their mistakes.

I uttered the words, and then other student corrected me, it’s good for improvement.

How were the group activities?

• This was different, new exposure.

• We should have regularly these kinds of activities, but not every day. What will be the disadvantaged of peer assessment?

• There can be biases among students.

How will other students feel about these classes?

• All the students will appreciate it, because of getting participation.

• Half of the class should be taught in traditional way and half of it should be activity

based…because a teacher has to cover the syllabus also.

• If we become part of the groups of back-benchers, it will benefit them and to us as

well.

How do you see your role as group leaders?

• We can encourage them to talk to the teacher.

• It is convenient for students to speak to us in the class rather than a teacher. • All the students would appreciate because of getting participation.

Their reaction to teacher’s role was:

• Teacher was encouraging participation in the class. But in other classes, teachers

only speak to the same students who always participate in the class.

• Teacher was friendly.

Their reaction to Traditional classes was:

• Students feel depressed, teachers have discouraging attitude in the class.

• In other classes (traditional) teacher comes and goes back, we hardly get chance to

speak. But we were participating in the class all the time.

(Excerpts from students’ Group Interview No. 2. on 5-2-2011)

Students were excited being part of the group learning. I also wrote notes on interviews. When the class was over two of the students from the Biochemistry department commented that they felt lucky to have been selected as group leaders. The student who had left the first meeting from Biochemistry class (see 6.3.2), attended this class, she liked the activities as

well. The class brought a hope that if teaching takes place like this, more students will gain confidence.

6.4.1 Teacher’s note on pilot class:

[On Saturday when I took pilot class all the students participated actively in the class. The activity done was for the speaking skills and the topic chosen was the same as that we have to do in the actual class. Only group leaders were asked to attend the class because we wanted them to know their respective role in the activities. When the class was over, two of the students from the Biochemistry department commented that they felt lucky to have been selected as group leaders and other students were saying that they liked the activity and it will help in increasing their confidence.] Teachers C’ Note number 1, 5-2-2011

We can see that the students felt important by being group leaders. They found it useful to get feedback on their classroom task from their peers and liked assessing their peers. However, they were not very hopeful if others felt good if a group leader assessed their task due to the lack of trust in their capabilities. Group leaders were also concerned about the lack of participation of other students in traditional classes. They gave ideas on how they could encourage them to participate by being part of their group, or by speaking to them outside the class to get to know the reason for their lack of participation, and then to discuss them with me to address their problems. They suggested that students should be allowed to be part of the group of their choice and that we should change group leaders as well in the subsequent classes so that more students could be facilitators. Teacher C’s note above also shows that her class went very good. She felt excited also about the students’ active engagement in the class.

6.4.2 The outcomes of the pilot class

The purpose of the pilot class was to get familiar with the new kind of teaching based on group work. Looking at the student and the teacher’s reaction to the class, we can say that pilot class seems to have been successful in introducing new teaching for both the group leader and the teacher. It also shows that the students seemingly felt more satisfied in group learning than the lecture methods. I have drawn the following suggestions for the next class from the analysis of the interview of group leaders and the teacher’s note.

1. Group leaders should be given handouts before the start of the class which will save time.

2. The lesson plan should be made flexible to accommodate changes during the class. 3. Group leaders need to become familiar with their role

After the pilot class, I started conducting classes in compulsory English, whereas Teacher C continued teaching in the Biochemistry department with the lesson plans. The lesson plan for the first class had already been practiced. After each class, I discussed the outcomes of the class with the students and observers through in-depth interview that focused on the learning outcomes and impact of each lesson.

In the following section, I present the analysis of the teaching in both the classes starting with my own teaching in the English department. I taught a total of nine lessons. Some of the lessons were video recorded. I also present a video description of some of the classes from each group. Some of the lesson descriptions are part of the Appendices (Appendix 5) I also present the analysis of the selected lessons. Following the lessons of Group A (Class One), I will discuss the lessons of Group B (Class Two). Both sets of lessons were analysed and presented critically on the basis of monitoring and data collection tools that include, feedback of students through group interview, teachers’ and observers’ notes, and interview. I also present my judgement on them in the light of reflection. Each lesson will be followed by an evaluation through the participants’ reaction given on them.