Class #13: Thursday March 15, 2018

MLA Lesson 

MLA Formatting Lesson
Model Writing Piece with Errors
MLA Formatting Handout

Today I taught my second lesson, this time it was on MLA formatting. I think this was actually a weaker lesson than the first one because I chose too large an objective. Trying to summarize all of the components of MLA formatting was too ambitious for one lesson. Consequently, I think this led to other weaknesses in the lesson.

I do think there were some parts of the lesson that were ok. I think that using the Norton Field Guide and some other sources allowed me to make a clear and uncluttered handout. I have been pleasantly surprised by how well I am able to communicate information clearly and concisely on handouts. I think this is something I would like to try and do way in advance of teaching in the fall. I think having some handouts on different concepts that I can use with students would be great. I think that having a library of resource materials is smart. I am hoping I can start with both the Norton Field Guide and the CCNY writing center handouts to start to make quick references that can easily become the basis of lessons.

The main activity I planned was too complicated though. I had students try and find MLA errors in a model piece I wrote. First, the model piece was simply too long. I need to keep in mind that student read at dramatically different rates. I also included errors that were not specifically on the handout I gave them; I was trying to get them to apply something I hadn't taught. I don't necessarily think the activity was a bad idea, but it was too much for this initial lesson. I do think that having students proofread a model text for MLA errors could potentially be an interesting homework assignment at the end of a series of several lessons on MLA formatting.

I think my biggest frustrations with this lesson was that it felt that students weren't really engaged. The material was too broad, the lesson went too long, and then when they did the activity, they didn't work together, which was wanted I had hoped. I think that because the text was the length of an actual paper that the students read at different paces and found it logistically difficult to work with a partner. The biggest takeaway I had from this lesson was that I really disliked the energy of the room when students were not talking. I didn't like teaching a room of silent students. In the future, when I plan my lessons, I want to make sure I am planning for students to talk to each other and that that is a central feature of the lesson from the start.

Similarly, I struggled with other ways of making student learning more interactive and making it more observable for me to tell if students were getting the content. In the future, I would like to collect student work so that I can study it later and get a sense of how effective my instruction was.

In conclusion though, all the weaknesses of the lesson stemmed from the objective being too big and unmanageable for one lesson. I think that getting a better sense of what is realistic to accomplish in one lesson is something that will come with experience though, so I have to be patient with myself as I discover what is an appropriate amount of content to cover in one lesson.