GarretCO#2

Today, October 7th, I observed Kyle's listening class. The first 20 minutes of class consisted of students giving presentations. Prior to the presentation period Kyle handed out a sheet that allowed for students to fill out positive and negative constructive critiques. I thought that this was a great way to keep the students engaged while presentations were being given. One thing that I noticed about Ryan's class room, as opposed to Jasmine's classroom, was that Ryan was much more authoritative. For example, when Jasmine saw a student on his or her phone she would ask the student to put it away. Surprisingly, a few students still were on their phones even after being asked by Jasmine to put them away. In Ryan's class, if a student was seen on his or her phone, Ryan would silently get up from his desk and take the phone from the student. While potentially abrasive, I feel this approach to be less disruptive than stopping class to ask someone to put their phone away. Not only that, but by taking the phone from the student Ryan was completing resolving the potential for any further issue with the phone. The class concluded with a game called "Mafia," in which I participated. The game helped pass the remaining minutes of the class and really engaged the students. Another thing that I noticed from Ryan was that when a student did exceptionally well with a presentation he would address them immediately following the end of their presentation. I saw that many students were struggling while presenting, so giving a student who did well (obviously due to thorough preparation), I believe is a great form of positive wash-back.