So spring break has come and gone. This has given me enough time to reflect about the review session. I will start by saying that I thought I had prepared a lot better for this review session compared to the first session. Not only did I go over each PowerPoint slide and make notes as I did in the first session but I also looked over the book to help me answer more questions the students may have. I went over in my head and out loud what I would say during my session and I arrive to class about ten minutes early.
Unfortunately it took about six minutes to start up the computer and another four to realize I had no idea how to make the PowerPoint appear on the projection screen. To make matters worse there was no phone in my room so I had to leave class to find a media tech person. Already the session had not started well. This was in part my fault because I panicked a little when I realize I had to go find a tech person.I now realize I should have calmly asked them to pass around an attendance sheet while I stepped out of the room for a moment.
Except for the rocky start I feel that this review session went better than the last one because more people seemed to be paying attention, a variety of students answered questions, and they seemed to comprehend more of what I was saying. I feel that the video clips along with the activities helped with this.
Besides panicking there is one other thing that I wish I wouldn’t have done. I feel that the video clips were an excellent idea but I may have gone a tad overboard on the clips. I feel that I should have left two of the clips out of my powerpoint presentation because they were interesting but I think the class did not find the connection to class even though I explained it to them. These are things that one must practice in order to get better at them.
On one final note I think that it was interesting to see that in my review sessionthis time the students did not pack up until I said that I will see them on Thursday. I view this has a sign that they were either interested in the session or that they have enough respect for me that they did not pack up until I was done with the review.