- Don’t come into class with a defensive attitude, or tell students who are confused about a class activity: “No no no no. I PUT it up on Moodle. And it’s right there in front of you.”
- Take note when everyone is confused; consider your instructions.
- Don’t assign homework until you know you have no changes to it.
- Don’t change homework assignments after the class before it’s due.
- Simplify.
- Don’t repeat homework assignments.
- If you assign homework, make sure to do something with it, or be prepared to explain why you’re not.
These are all things I learned in my last EAL class.
Also:
Don’t turn off the time stamp function of Moodle so that students can’t see when you last posted something.
Don’t change the assignment after you’ve assigned it. For example, don’t post this on one day:
THURSDAY ASSSIGNMENT: Mini-challenges with Prepositions
Here’s what we are doing on Thursday. You need to sign up for a mini prepositional challenge to explore in depth.
The list of challenges you can sign up for is on my door. (see options below). We will follow the ‘first come – first served” approach, i.e. once all the slots are filled, we can’t have any additional names for any of the challenges. Make sure your name is on the list. There are still a couple of empty slots, which means that two of you have not started thinking about or working on this project yet.
Do some research, by checking various ESL materials and grammar references. Figure out ways of showing the meaning of each preposition in your pair, and contrast it with the other preposition in the minimal pair. Come to class prepared to share your presentation and practice ideas. Bring all your materials. You will meet first with your peers who researched the same topic. Then you’ll share what you learned with your classmates who have researched the other two topics.
- above vs. over
- between vs. among
- under vs. below
… and then quietly delete that document and upload another one later (but time stamp is turned off, so I don’t know when):
FRIDAY ASSSIGNMENT: Mini-challenges with Prepositions
Here’s what we are doing on Friday. You need to sign up for a mini prepositional challenge to explore in depth (see options below).
The list of challenges you can sign up for is on my door. I will have the list in class tomorrow in case you didn’t get a chance to sign up for a topic. Remember that we are meeting at 10.30 in the Auditorium tomorrow.
I will follow the ‘first come – first served” approach, i.e. once all the slots are filled, we can’t have any additional names for any of the challenges. Make sure your name is on the list.
Do some research by checking various ESL materials and grammar references. Figure out ways of showing the meaning of each preposition in your pair, and contrast it with the other preposition in the minimal pair. Come to class prepared to share your presentation and practice ideas. Also, consider how you can move the students from concrete to figurative meanings (e.g. the ball is under the chair vs. an income of under $30 000 vs. the matter is under investigation). Bring all your materials.
THIS IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON FRIDAY WITH REGARD TO THESE
MINI-CHALLENGES
First, you will meet with your peers who researched the same topic. Then you’ll share what you learned with your classmates who have researched the other two topics. Each team will have 15 mins to guide the rest of the class through a focused exploration of their challenge. Focus on the first P in the P/P/U model. You will have transparencies and butcher paper in addition to anything else you brought to facilitate your exploration.
- above vs. over
- between vs. among
- under vs. below
I have no way of knowing that it’s not the one I’d downloaded the night before. I just had a suspicion. I found the original, which had been called “prep_2_assignment.” This new one is “prepositions_2_assignment_2010.”