Week 10: Reflection

“Final” mood is everywhere from the messages posted on Nicenet to coursemates’ blogs. I am so glad I made it! Most of all, I should thank Courtney for all the work. I appreciate your time and efforts on us. Without your help, I couldn’t have reached this far. Your emails and feedback have been a guiding light. Taking this course, I had an opportunity to look at my teaching issues and their solutions, which will be a stepping stone to become a better English teacher. Thank you so much!!!

Week 9: Reflection

The final draft of my project plan report was due this week, and I am glad I posted it on the wiki  on time. Like Courtney suggested, using my partner’s comments and reading peer final reports were pretty helpful. Thank you all!! In my first draft of the report, ‘Project Plan Timeline’ was lame. It didn’t contain what topics will be covered and what will be learned in detail. So after I read my peers’ final reports on the wiki, I changed mine, adding ABCD objectives so that the reader understands the procedure.

Taking this course, I realized that technology can play an important role in teaching. The question is how I use it to help students in their learning. There are so many resources out there, and most of them are free. So how to integrate it into my class is my duty as a teacher from now on. Trying out technology can be daunting. However, I don’t need to learn everything. All I need to figure out is MY WAY – How I’m going to use technology so that students can feel they have learned thanks to me.

Week 8: Reflection

Now I have only two weeks left for Webskills course. I can’t believe I have reached this far. Sometimes I had a thought that I just dropped this course, and other times I found myself introducing cool stuff that I was learning from the program to those around me. Eventually, I am glad that I’m still on the right track of becoming a better English teacher.

This week I finished writing the first draft of my project plan, which was not easy. There was a lot of work. First, I tried to finalize the lesson template that is going to suit for any lessons. Since I teach reading passages with questions and its contents are not interesting all the time, it has been challenging to involve my students in lessons. So, how I effectively teach students and engage them in learning is a key to success. That’s why I got this idea – To make a perfect teaching template. Boring English passages and multiple-choice questions with fun, motivating teaching method! I bet that this will be a process of trial and error, but I will make this work in the end.

Thanks to one of coursemates Valeria Evdash, I came to know about 3-2-1 strategy. I did some more research on the method. It is going to help to improve my teaching. I’d like to share its information below. Many thanks Valeria!!!

< 3-2-1 Strategy for Reading Comprehension >

What Is a 3 - 2 - 1?
The idea is to give students a chance to summarize some key ideas, rethink them in order to focus on those that they are most intrigued by, and then pose a question that can reveal where their understanding is still uncertain. Often, teachers use this strategy in place of the usual worksheet questions on a chapter reading, and when students come to class the next day, you're able to use their responses to construct an organized outline, to plot on a Venn diagram, to identify sequence, or isolate cause-and-effect. The students are into it because the discussion is based on the ideas that they found, that they addressed, that they brought to class.

How Does It Work?
Students fill out a 3-2-1 chart with something like this:

     3 Things You Found Out
     2 Interesting Things
     1 Question You Still Have

Now, that's just the suggested version. Depending upon what you're teaching, you can modify the 3-2-1 anyway you want. For instance, if you've just been studying the transition from feudalism to the rise of nation-states, you might have students write down 3 differences between feudalism and nation-states, 2 similarities, and 1 question they still have.

Week 7: Reflection

This week I learned about a new tool named Padlet. It is an online notice board maker which suits for class activities, homework, and many more. The beauty of Padlet is that its usage is so easy. Special skills and even registration are unnecessary to create notice boards. Under “Webskills Summer 2013 – Learner Autonomy Resources”, we collaborated to post articles, websites, and videos. On the board I shared a website link with a lesson which shows why it is a good idea for learners to be autonomous and suggests ways that teachers can help them achieve this.

I haven’t found a partner for peer review yet and I posted a message in the discussion board of Nicenet for looking for one. For those who haven’t paired up, let me tell you about me. I teach high school students and prepare them for a college entrance exam. I teach reading skills only and I am trying to make my teaching more lively using interactive powerpoint, Think-Pair-Share, and more. I am not teaching regular classes now and waiting for 2^nd semester starting August 26th. If you have something in common with me, please be my partner for helping each other.

As for the final plan report, I am planning to make a template for next semester where I put reading passages of the new textbook. The goal is to make my boring class more interactive enough to engage students in learning. I am still working on which tool goes where and how to apply it. Wish me luck. 

Week 6: Reflection

How to make my boring class more interactive enough to engage students in learning is one of my teaching issues, and this week I found a few solutions. First of all, I am going to use PowerPoint. The software will work well with me. Including images and sounds and linking to slides and other resources will draw responses from students. Another method is to distribute to each student two colors of index cards. This is pretty simple to use, but the cards will help to engage students in questions such as yes/no, agree/disagree, and right/wrong. I often feel disheartened by their numbness with even simple questions. The cards will blow away my worry. Additionally, Think-Pair-Share(TPS), Jigsaw Variation, and Best Summary activities will be effective in motivating students. Especially I really like the combo - Best Summary and TPS. I teach passages with questions, and with these two activities I have confidence in promoting student engagement and learning.

Week 5: Reflection

Completing the extra credit task of creating a WebQuest at zunal.com, I was delighted that I had made that decision to give it a try to the task. Reading the article “What is a webquest?” was of help, but making one helped a lot more. Now I am ready to use my own webquests any time. The experience was not so much for the extra credit task, but for a better teacher who facilitates students to use their creativity and critical-thinking skills. What is more, creating a rubric at RubiStar became a milestone in my teaching. It was simple to make, but if I hadn’t been introduced the tool, I would have never known how. This week was extremely fruitful.

Week 4: Reflection

Completing weekly assignments, I feel like I am solving a puzzle. This discussion assignment goes here and this task goes there. Now the puzzle is 40 % done. Still a question is lingering. What goal am I reaching? I don’t know how I achieve the goal, but the answer is clear. With the aid of computers, I am expected to enhance ways to teach students. 

This week exploring websites in search of better approaches to reading and writing skills, making a technology enhanced lesson plan, and predicting current issues of the class that I teach, I came to see who I am as an English teacher. I thought I have been trying to be a better English teacher. However, I realized that I am becoming someone who is finding fault with circumstances. The issues expected in teaching are easily ignored and efforts to improve teaching methods are hardly made. If I change, my teaching will be different from the way I am doing. The issues that I am facing seem inevitable, and I should tackle and win over them.

Week 3: Reflection

After reading “Developing Listening Skills with Authentic Materials” by Lindsay Miller and reviewing a few listening web sites, I thought of putting the theoretical knowledge into practice. I chose a video titled “Child Obesity in Increasing Worldwide” at http://learningenglish.voanews.com/section/level-one/3774.html. I found the listening material on VOA suitable for intermediate to advanced students and I thought it would improve their listening skills and vocabulary. Again I realized that the lesson format “pre-, while-, and post-listening” is useful.

I created my Delicious page (https://delicious.com/#kumwu) and started adding links whenever I found websites helpful for class and myself. My favorite sites bookmarked on Internet Explorer at school and home have been moved to Delicious under different tags. I am introducing the Delicious website to those I know.

In Project Task 2, I read a final project report of Zlatka Dyankova from Bulgaria. Her class environment is similar to Korea’s. Most students are preparing for college entrance exams, and they are passively led by teachers. From the project, Zlatka had the students do some research on a topic so that her students could get motivated before the lesson. She used WebQuests as a technological tool and I felt curious what the tool was for. Zlatka expected to change the class atmosphere from teacher-centered to learner-centered. I thought highly of her efforts in the project.

Week 2: Reflection

I read “How to Write Clear Objectives” from Pennsylvania State University’s Teaching and Learning office. It gives the basic overview of the ABCD model. When I saw the name of the model, I couldn’t get the idea of it on the spot. It sounded familiar, though.

After looking through the paper, I couldn’t wait to write lesson objectives for my class. In this method, “A” is for audience, “B” is for behavior, “C” for conditions and “D” for degree of mastery required. A, B, C, and D represent 'who, what, how, and how much' respectively. Here is an example of lesson objectives using the ABCD model:

“C: Given photographs and directions for folding a signature, A: the student B: will be able to make a Reading Response Journal booklet D: with a title on each page – Setting, Character, Plot, Theme, Meet the Author, and Vocabulary.”

Week 1: Self Introduction

Hello! My name is Kumwu Lee. I currently teach at Bakmun Girls' High School in Incheon, Korea. In the past I have taught English language learners ranging in age from 16-18, most of whom are beginners in speaking and writing skills, and intermediates in listening and reading skills. Now I am teaching reading courses.
I began teaching at Bakmun in 1996. Since then, my dilemma has been how I teach my students. What I have to teach – reading materials with multiple questions for the college entrance exam - is set in stone, so I can change only how. So motivating my students and getting their attention is what I need. I hope this webskills course will help with my issue.
Below is a poem “Children learn what they live” about how children are influenced:
“If a child lives with criticism,
He learns to condemn.
....
If a child lives with ridicule,
He learns to be shy.
....
If a child lives with encouragement,
He learns confidence.
.....
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship,
He learns to find love in the world.“
I excerpted some parts from the poem by Dorothy Law Nolte, which I like a lot for my students. I try to treat them by this rule in class.
I'm looking forward to seeing you all on this space!

Week 1 Reflection

While creating my first English blog, thoughts about how I could use this for class ran wild. Still I am hazy about the usage of the blog. How can this blog be of help to my students? So far, so perplexed yet.

It is the first week of the course and just one day has passed. I am seeing a silver lining here. The bright side is that I came up with a cool name of the blog - English Teacher Tool - and am making it look nicer.

With the help of Courtney and the other participants, my vague ideas of how to make use of the blog will be crystal clear.