Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Jeneane Allgood---selfie reflection
The first things I thought when I saw myself on video were: 1) My voice sure does sound different on video than it does in my head. 2) I'm really that heavy?
But, then I realized that that was not what I was supposed to be focusing on.
In the video, I was giving instructions for how to do their mock presentations in small groups. I gave them 2 handouts and went over the handouts with them. I thought my voice sounded clear and easy to understand as I gave directions. I even tried to model what they were supposed to do using students that sat up toward the front of the classroom.
When I mentioned to students that there might be people coming to observe their presentations, I could tell that my students started to freak out a little bit. So, I pulled back a little and tried to remind them of what the overall goal of this presentation was (to be able to explain a complicated disease-mechanism pathway in a simplified way that a patient could understand), and they seemed to relax a little bit. I noticed this in the video and was proud of the way that I handled their anxiety about that.
One thing that I noticed in the video that I didn't' notice as much in person was that they started to get a little antsy around the 5-minute mark of my explanation (which lasted 8 minutes total). Maybe I took too long to explain things, or maybe I was a little bit repetitive. Since they were working in 5 separate classrooms, though, I didn't want to risk students not knowing what to do. Maybe I could shorten my explanation a little bit next time. I also felt like I could have done a better job making eye contact with my students, but admittedly, I was really nervous about being recorded.
I also received feedback (via e-mail) from Dawn Mitchell, who was there observing my introduction. It was very beneficial for me to see someone else's perspective on my lesson and how students seemed to respond to it.
Because I was almost done with my PBL unit, I felt like the best lesson to record was this one of me introducing their mock presentations. However, if I could do it all over again, I might have liked recording a lesson where the students were more directly involved, instead of one that primarily involved me talking---maybe their 4-square protocol activity from a few weeks ago or their computer neurotoxin lab.
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Hi Jeneanne,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post about your video analysis experience and what you learned from it. You shared how your first response when watching the video was to focus on how you perceived your own teaching style. This is always my first response as well...I cringe at my accent or I immediately realize how animated my discussion is (I talk with my hands...a lot!). After we are able to process those first visceral responses we are able to focus on our students and their responses and then we can thoughtfully reflect on what worked/what didn't/and what we could do better or differently to increase the positive impact on student achievement. You shared how you realized that students' were worried about visitors and also became antsy when the instructional delivery hit the five minute mark. I appreciate how you determined that you would like to focus your next video on student application of their learning. I want to encourage you to consider using the video analysis with your student as well. Many times when they are able to watch their own learning take place they can reflect and determine what areas they'd like to improve upon as well. Thank you for the time and thought you put into the video analysis and into your first pbl! Sincerely, Dawn