Joy Ahn
These past two weeks were not terribly eventful in terms of workload. Most often, I do classroom observations and students can consult me as needed, so my involvement really depends on their need. Their weekly work is rather hands-off with discussion-based learning around assigned readings, so tutoring is evidently not as necessary for those cases. My guest lecture is coming up soon (October 24th), so I am trying to pay close attention to how Dr. Roudane conducts his classes. Even a fifteen minute presentation by myself is difficult, so the task of having to direct an hour and fifteen minute period is especially intimidating. I’ve noticed, however, that in Dr. Roudane’s class (as well as most other English classes I’ve taken with other professors) are centered around discussion, rather than a dedicated professor lecture, so students really fill up the allotted time themselves. My initial instinct to prepare a comprehensive and holistic argument about my work needs to be set aside to fit my objective of incentivizing discussion and interaction. My contribution will likely only come with a short lecture about the text (especially any contextual information not known to the student), as well as some questions to guide discussion, so that students can direct their own learning.
My primary challenge then comes from the fact that I may need to account for students not coming to class having read my assigned text or otherwise prepared to discuss, which may be especially likely because (1) the midpoint of the semester is usually when workload from all of their classes intensify, (2) my text is not necessary reading for any essays or exams they need to complete, and (3) my “text” is in fact a thirty-minute game, which requires more steps to access and “read” than a traditional written work.
In the incoming weeks, I plan to research more into my text to come prepared with thought-provoking questions that will stimulate discussion. I also will meet with Dr. Roudane and another English professor to get guidance on lecturing in general.
