I need your thoughts

[hashem]

Hi,
I am writing a report about a class which I observed .It was a writing class.I need you to read , edit and paraphrase some sentences If needed.I appreciate your help.

"I decided to observe Bognile class for advanced OPIE students. The class was a mixture of six regular OPIE students and six Feng Chai University (FCU) students. The course main goal is to help students develop their writing skill. Since there was a presentation in the first part of the class period, I was asked not to attend the class from the beginning for students not to feel anxious. I attended the second part of the class and it was one of the wonderful experiences I ever had.

The class was almost teacher-centered because of the nature of its topic. Students had had a surprise quiz on Friday so they came to class looking for their grades. The instructor started the second part by explaining what students are supposed to do for tomorrow (Tuesday).He wrote assignments on the black board after making sure that they were clear for everybody. After that he stated the main objective of the class;”PPO”, Point Paragraph Outline, and how to determine the main ideas of paragraphs. He introduced the class by revising previous homework and correcting students’ mistakes using the over head projector.

What I observed and liked most was the great ability of the instructor to move smoothly from one phase to the other. It reflects good preparation and great competence.
Keeping students concentrated , motivated through out the class period , and reinforcing correct answers were the most common and useful techniques used in this class. The way the teacher asked questions, wait time and deciding who is to answer were also obvious and professional techniques the teacher mastered and used.

Before getting to discuss the quiz, I would like to comment about the integrated method he used in his class. The text, which was presented in the quiz, was authentic (Marketing).The questions were helpful in testing and improving two skills; reading and writing. It was a good selection of text questions.

When it came to discussing the quiz result, the teacher assured students that they were all doing fine and it is expected, since the text was first seen, that they might have some troubles in answering the questions. He distributed students’ papers and gave them clear instructions;” I have attached your copy. Look at you’re your grades .I will give you three minutes then we will move on ...”, the teacher said .Perfect timing and perfect transition followed. He made sure of the place of difficulty in the quiz by asking:”Is it difficult because of the text or the nature of questions?” “Because of the nature of questions”, all students replied immediately. At this moment, I felt that the teacher decided to make instant remedy and spend some time, which might not be considered in the lesson plan, to explain questions and what is meant by each one.

Using aids was very sufficient and effective in saving time. Although the room design was rectangular and students were seated in long rows, the teacher managed to use “over head projector “.He also was able to question most of the students. He told me that half of the class is leaving soon, (FCU) students, and he will be left with six students who are regular OPIE students. This will make it easy for him to re-seat students in different ways and use pair work as well as group work.

The teacher used to ask students read the questions .He makes sure that the question is clear to every body and if there is new vocabulary or words that have different connotation meanings, he introduces them (as he did with the word “figure”).After that he asks students in general about the answer, then decides which one is to answer. Instant feedback (correction if needed) follows each answer before moving to the next question.

I think most teachers lack techniques of asking questions .Dr.Bognile is a good example of a teacher who exactly knows what , when ,how and whom to ask. After going through some questions and because the class time was almost up, the teacher concluded by reminding students of their homework which was written on the black board.

I learned so many techniques from Dr.Bognile; how to keep students concentrated throughout the class period, how to use available sources, how to question, how to manage time, how to control and direct activities and finally how to predict students’ problems."

Thanks alot

[Tdol]

Bognile class- Dr Bognile's
The course main goal- the main goal of the course
one of the wonderful - most wonderful (Though this sounds a bit excessive for a report)
almost teacher-centered- mostly
what students are supposed to do for tomorrow- were supposed to do for the following day
over head- overhead
wait time- waiting
who is to answer- was
the teacher mastered- past p[erfect (before this class)
Before getting to discuss- before discussing
quiz result- results
He distributed students’ papers- the
at you’re your grades- at your grades
sure of the place of difficulty- he checked what was difficult in the quiz(??)
to explain- explaining
Using aids was very sufficient and effective in saving time- Sufficient aids were used and were effective...
used to ask- asked (no used to- you only saw one lesson, so it's not a habit)
every body- everybody (Also, you've changed tense into the present in this paragraph, yet the rest is in the past- I would keep the tense system the same throughout)
keep students concentrated- keep students' attention

[hashem]

Hi tdol ,
I really appreciate your help.Thank you very much.

[Tdol]

You're welcome, Hashem.

[kirsten]

i love it