On May 19, I was able to participate in and observe Jason’s hour long ESAL 0350/0450 Advanced Oral Communication class.

In the breakout rooms, I had a difficult time getting the students in my group to participate and contribute to answering the questions. One of the activities involved answering “always”, “sometimes” and “never” to statements about sleep, and the other activity involved identifying antonyms; students were required to determine the word that was different from the one provided in a sentence. Without remembering which of the students are in the 0300 and 0400, I was not sure if I had predominantly lower-level students in my group. During both activities, I had one student that was able to provide input but found that the rest of the students struggled with understanding the sentences.

Although my difficulties let to some frustrations, I was able to realize that seeing and being part of this lesson challenged me as a teacher. I recognized that many, or maybe even all, of my students will not be advanced in their language learning, and I will have to constantly work with students that need repetition, rephrasing and a multitude of other forms of teaching to help them learn and understand. I think what will help me is to always have the expectation of needing to help the students with their understanding no matter what level they are at. As an Education Assistant (EA), assisting students in their education and through struggles that accompany learning is my job. I have as much patience as I need to help the students to be successful. Looking at the situation with the students in Jason’s class, I think I was not appreciating the level of these students, and that although the class is for advanced students, it is a mixed level class with many students not at the same advanced level. My expectations may have been too high for the students, whereas in working with my students as an EA, I am more familiar with them and their level, and I adjust my expectations accordingly.

After some internal reflection, I also thought about the lack of participation and output for most of the group members I had and wondered how as a virtual teacher to ensure that the students are fulfilling a task when they are no longer visible. In breakout rooms through Big Blue Button, the teacher can join each of the rooms to hear and see what is happening, but I still wondered if there are times when no progress is made without the group having a clear leader or all of the students not understanding and not participating. Jason regularly asks the students if they have any questions, but his question to them is often met with silence. I have noticed in my observations of the various teachers that while there are some students that ask for clarity, most do not. I wondered how many proceed without fully understanding. If this is a case in a breakout room, how many students will quietly pass the time and not ask for clarity? When thinking about how I would combat this issue as a teacher, I think I would join the breakout rooms to check in with the groups and also include time afterward for the whole class to review and share the answer. Not only would this be a way to make sure that the students were completing the task, but it would also help the students that did not understand to hear the answers.

I realize that as a teacher, I have a responsibility to ensure that I am providing the best teaching I can, I am doing my part to engage the students and I am helping them understand, but the students also have a responsibility in their own learning to ask questions when they do not understand and to put in the effort to participate and learn. As mentioned, Jason asks numerous times throughout the class if anyone has any questions after thoroughly explaining a concept or activity. There is no question that Jason demonstrates his responsibility as a teacher, and with time and practice, I hope I too will find the balance of doing what I can to teach the students while also realizing and accepting their role and responsibility as students.