Reflection: Critical Incident Protocol
Complete the critical incident protocol for this week’s
topic/situation/incident:
“A key teaching/learning
moment in my life”
·
WHAT? Step back and observe
[OBJECTIVE]
A speaking
activity that I thought of didn’t go as planned. I asked the students to come
up in front of the class in pairs to act out an annoying situation. I gave the
pairs a few minutes to think of an annoying situation. The students understood
that the problem should elicit a request beginning with “can you…” The example
I gave them was loud walking from the apartment upstairs. I acted out loud
walking and then I said, “Can you step a little quieter, please?” The students then came up in pairs to act. They
acted out talking in the library, laughing in class, and sleeping in class. After
each pair acted, I asked another pair of students to make the request. This is
where the problem occurred. Every single request was, “Can you be quiet,
please?” This defeated the purpose of the activity which was to encourage the
students to practice using “can you…” requests. They said this for the sleeping
in class, even though it didn’t make sense. Instead of practicing, they took
the easy way out and repeated what they heard the previous pairs said.
·
WHY? Look for background or causes [semi-OBJECTIVE-- or referential]
The students didn’t clearly understand
what I wanted them to gain from the activity. I wanted to mix fun with speaking
practice. The acting was fun, but it took focus away from the speaking part. I
also hadn’t prepared them to create their “can you…” statements.
·
Meaning? Interpretation [SUBJECTIVE]
Speaking in front of the class is
difficult. Anxiety and embarrassment distract students from producing language.
Students will always look for the easiest way out of this awkward situation; especially,
if they aren’t sure what to say.
·
Implications? for teaching [PERSONAL]
The
students enjoyed acting out situations that annoy them, but they didn’t enjoy
having to come up with statements. To have the fun continue I will but a restriction
on what they can say. I will make the rule that they can’t say, “Can you be quiet,
please?” This may encourage the students to view the language production part
of this activity as a game. The rule will also emphasize the speaking component
of the activity. I learned this trick from the conference I went to last
weekend. A presenter asked us to describe our favorite food, but he made the
rule, “no using the word ‘delicious’.” This same modification may apply to this
activity.
