class 4/27/09

During class tonight we spent the entire time peer reviewing for our final portfolio, final paper, and final presentation. I thought it was great to see the work of my peers see how they learned and fulfilled the standards for effective practice. I enjoy comparing my work with others so that I can gain new insights about myself and teaching.

Class 4/13/09

Tonight's class was about reading and second language assessment. Class began with an with a class presentation from Jodi. She presented an activity on reading assessment. In this activity the class was grouped into groups of two. One person had to read an short story. The other student had to follow along and count all of the errors that the reader read. The number of errors were then subtracted from the total number of words. This information was then used to assess the students reading ability.

Next, the class was divided into two groups where we had to find definitions from our reading by using note cards and sticky notes. I like this activity and it is one we have used before. It is a good way to increase student vocabulary.

My favorite part of the night was the last activity. In the last activity we discussed two questions. The two questions were experiences with TOEFL tests and experiences in the classroom. I love hearing personal experiences from teachers in the classroom because it helps me prepare myself for what I will face when I am in the classroom. Also, learning about the TOEFL tests is something that in the future I will also be involved with because my future plans are to teach ESL in Germany after graduation. So the more I know about the tests the better I can help my students prepare for them.

Class 4/5/09

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend class tonight because of a meeting that I attended in New Ulm. The meeting ran longer than I had intended so I was not able to attend any of part of class. Hopefully, I will be able to catch up on what was covered in class when we meet next monday.