Resources from the Fall 2015 Workshop
On this page you will find (1) notes from our Group Discussion and (2) links to the Public Health Resources.
Notes from Our Group Discussion
TESL-Durham is a talkative group and our collective desire to share experiences and learn new approaches was well-demonstrated during our Group Discussion - a new addition to our Fall Workshop Agenda.
Attendees compiled lists of meaningful advice to address Five common classroom concerns:
Please read through the lists below to read about some of the highlights and insights from your colleagues. Wherever possible, we've added links to online resources that may also be helpful to you. If you would like to add to these lists, please email us and we will update the site!
TESL-Durham is a talkative group and our collective desire to share experiences and learn new approaches was well-demonstrated during our Group Discussion - a new addition to our Fall Workshop Agenda.
Attendees compiled lists of meaningful advice to address Five common classroom concerns:
- CONCERN #1: Teaching Students HOW to Learn
- CONCERN #2: Making Technology Work in the Classroom
- CONCERN #3: Handling "Hot" Topics (controversial news items) in the Classroom
- CONCERN #4: Classroom Management
- CONCERN #5: Punctuality and Solving the Friday Attendance Challenge
Please read through the lists below to read about some of the highlights and insights from your colleagues. Wherever possible, we've added links to online resources that may also be helpful to you. If you would like to add to these lists, please email us and we will update the site!
CONCERN #1: Teaching Students HOW to Learn
CONCERN #2: Making Technology Work in the Classroom
CONCERN #3: Handling "Hot" Topics (controversial news items) in the Classroom
CONCERN #4: Classroom Management
CONCERN #5: Punctuality and Solving the Friday Attendance Challenge
- Strike up conversations whenever possible
- Pair Dictations
- Explicitly teach concepts of note-taking, note-keeping and review (as applicable to the level of language)
- Demonstrate/Reinforce "application skills" (i.e. how to apply what they know to other tasks)
- Teach "HOW" to listen through real-conversations (i.e. podcasts and audio books)
- Get students to share their own techniques and then expand on their 'share' with further examples and classroom applications
- Build individualized dictionaries through "Word(s) of the Day" activity
- Read, Read, read, read..... and then read some more!
CONCERN #2: Making Technology Work in the Classroom
- Use phones and tablets for researching common questions
- Use online tools/sites for collaborative projects (ie. Google Docs, Wikis)
- Give oral feedback on assignments using voice recordings built into many online Learning Management Systems
- Type and Project notes/examples on the Projector screen during class (rather than writing on the White Board) and then email to students after class as review
- Ask students to create an online cartoon to report back on a vacation or event using PowToon
- Build games using PowerPoint (i.e. PowerPoint Jeopardy templates)
- Add movie clips into grammar lessons or use as warm-ups for conversation skills
- Use an online countdown clock to monitor group activities
- Get instant feedback from students using Socrative
- Incorporate Podcasts into lesson plans
- Use popular topic websites for a variety of conversation, reading and listening activities (i.e. Breaking News English )
- Use the SmartBoard on site to put many of the above activities into motion
CONCERN #3: Handling "Hot" Topics (controversial news items) in the Classroom
- Explicitly teach phrases on how to politely agree/disagree
- Design Conversation activities to find common perspectives/ground/resolutions
- Ask students to research online phrases for agreement/disagreement and then build a class to be posted in the room
- Redirect to an informative Session and provide appropriate reputable sources for further
- Discuss during a time controlled activity
- Use individual written activities with a learning focus (ie. journal) as follow-up to heated conversations
- Use websites like Breaking News English to create role-play conversations
CONCERN #4: Classroom Management
- How to deal with the "Dominator":
- gently interrupt the speaker
- redirect to others
- teach/demonstrate respect and turn-taking skills
- How to deal with "Expert"
- allocate a specific task to him/her
- draw on him/her for answers
- How to Deal with the cellphones
- Opt to use as an ally rather than enemy to ban - find ways to use as a teaching tool where possible
- Use for dictionary
- Establish a classroom policy created and voted on by the class and be consistent
CONCERN #5: Punctuality and Solving the Friday Attendance Challenge
- Conversation class every friday
- Check "journals" on Fridays
- Provide special hand-out for those who arrive on time
- Consider a Friday food treat
- Incorporate music and/or videos to your Friday lesson plans
Looking for Details from the Public Health Presentation? Please email us directly!