Today’s lesson was a test of my energy, nerves and use of technology. With the recent time change this was the first lesson I taught at 5:40am, the first time I integrated Nearpod into my lesson and it just happened to be my first formal practicum teaching assessment. Overall, a big day!
Building on Kathy’s lesson the previous day, the focus of my lesson was on IELTS Writing Task #2, specifically how to write the introduction. Using Tiger King as the hook to get students interested in the lesson I provided an overview of the purpose of the introduction, highlighted tips when writing the introduction and provided time for students to write. Throughout the lesson I integrated a variety of activities from Nearpod, including polls, matching pairs, and collaborate boards. While MS Teams is an excellent platform for video conferencing and conversation, Nearpod provides so much more opportunity to engage students in the learning. Students responded extremely positively to the new platform and appreciated the opportunity to engage in new ways throughout the lesson.
At the end of the lesson I asked for a student volunteer to share their answer. Students then provided constructive feedback on the writing in order to improve sentence structure, vocabulary and grammar. Creating a safe classroom environment in which students are comfortable sharing their work and receiving feedback is an ongoing goal of mine. Classrooms should be spaces where everyone feels they have something to contribute. Students have a lot of knowledge to share and providing spaces for them to peer evaluate and provide feedback is an important aspect of a positive classroom environment.