On Friday, the professor for the class for which I am a TA sat in on one of my recitations and gave me feedback. Normally this section is fairly talkative, especially for its size (it's very small-- about 7 students), but not so that day.
The professor gave me a lot of good feedback. One thing he mentioned that I really do want to work on is that I am very much the reference point for my class. As such, it makes it hard to get cross-discussion going, even when I verbally try to encourage it. Instead of discussing with each other (as I wish would be done), it's mostly that comments and questions are directed at me, and I am the one to respond, even if it's a response that asks others to respond.
I want this to change, and I'm open to suggestions. One classroom strongly resists rearranging based on the structure (McBride has to be the worst building ever constructed. No windows, classroom in rows, awkwardly placed chalkboards, etc.). Yet I think I may take the couple minutes to have them rearrange the room with me, despite that it will be a pain. Maybe I will have to do this only for a few weeks, is my hope! So I'm hoping to restructure the classroom, and then actually sit in the classroom. I figure I will give some guidelines for how discussion should run, and then hopefully let them have it.
Has anyone tried this before? Are there recommendations for somewhat removing yourself from the classroom, so that students don't feel constrained by it?
I had English courses where the instructors had us rearrange our desks into a circle, in which they also sat. The result was a greater feeling of true group dynamic, and the professors felt like just another part of the group. There were still students who never engaged, but for those of us who were inclined to engage, being able to look at each other and "just talk" made it easier to create discussion amongst the students. As for the pain in the butt of rearranging, just make each student rearrange their desk and leave a minute at the end of class for the students to move the desks back!
ReplyDeleteThanks cornshucks! That is a good idea. I think students will probably like feeling like they're "getting out early" too. I will let you know how it goes! :)
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