The review session for this week was definitely a blunder, but I think that I learned a few things from it along the way. The grand picture of what happened was I started off the presentation smoothly, but came to realize the computer did not have any cords connecting the computer to the speakers. So because a great majority of my slides were Utube videos, I left to get some help and the problem was fixed within 10 or 15 minutes. After that, the computer kept freezing and the Internet was taking forever to load the Utube videos. Also, in the mist of the computer problems, one of the guys in my POD suggested that they can all “say that they went to the review and went through all of the material.” I didn’t get mad at him, but I calmly explained that we can still review the material on the slides. After class, I was somewhat frustrated, and was kind of hurt, because I almost fell that the guy who made that comment was implying that “my time” was not important or that he didn’t feel he would learn anything from my class anyways. I feel that I didn’t let my anger show in front of the class, and wanted to keep the flow going. I learned that giving the students a resolution calms them down (leaving the room to get a sound cord, only using the slides, etc.), because the students would start to talk with friends and get impatient at first. I also learned that technical problems leave paths open for more lecture where I can connect with students and ask for examples.
Today’s class went really smooth and I think that amany of the videos related to the students’ lives and made them laugh. Even though 50 plus or minus students were gone today, I think that the class still showed some enthusiasm to learn the material. Prof. Gurung and I talked about how many of the students’ answers/examples were incorrect, but how else are you going to find out if students understand the material? A quick review on the next class we have about the material may be useful, just to refresh minds after spring break. I hope that everyone has a good spring break and that when we all return, the snow will finally be gone. 🙂