Today, I sat in the front of the room, facing the students. I was a little worried about being up there but it was not bad at all! It was actually really fun to observe the students. I wish that I could lip read and see what they are whispering about! I was impressed by the focus and attentiveness that the students remained to have until the end of class. This may have been beacues it was still only the second day, but I thought there would definitely be more of a loss of focus. Even though it was only the second day, there were quite a few empty chairs.
Dr. Gurung began the class discussion by bringing the concepts about bias that were discussed in the first class back to the table. I think that this technique reinforces how important that topic is and creates an expectation for the students to understand and remember that information. He also had the same slide from the first day with the Chapter One Questions. Reflecting on topics from the last class and bringing up those same questions are a nice way to tranisition into the days discussions. Displaying those questions and answering them during class helps the professor gauge if the students understand the readings. It can also serve a check for all of the students to make sure they are getting the right information from the readings.
During our meeting last week it was brought up that if Dr. Gurung moves around the room it will help cut down on texting. I did notice that when he moved to the top of the stairs he invariably lost part of his field of vision. I did notice a specific instance in which he missed a hand that was raised to answer a question. I think it’s important to move around, it keeps the students alert and engaged. You just have to be aware of the vision you loose when moving. I know there is really no way around that, especially in that class room. The students in the front did not turn their heads or bodies to follow the professor either.
I thought the demonstration on introspection was extremely beneficial. It got a lot of students involved and created some movement in the room. It was a fun activity that really engrossed the students. It made the point very clear and helped to explain that point in a different way. It is really important to explain topics in a variety of ways because we don’t all learn the same. Dr. Gurung does a nice job of explaining things from different angles, using a variety of examples, and different activities to explain and apply the concepts.