Assignment for Academic Writing

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.