During this hour of classroom observation, I observed an online advanced communication class. This class was made up of adult students from varying cultural backgrounds.
Within the first few minutes of this class, it became apparent that the students had a wide range of listening and speaking abilities. I believe this shows the importance of evaluating each student’s base line abilities, to create lesson plans that cater to each individual student in the class. In other words, it is important to recognize that each student has unique educational needs that need to be met. Throughout the duration of this lesson, student participation was low. The low participation could have been due to several factors. However, I believe that the low level of participation was due to the online format. Due to the current pandemic, classes that would normally take place in person are being taught online. Students who are used to learning in a classroom may be struggling with the sudden move to online learning. After noticing the lack of participation, the teacher moved from group discussions to asking individual students questions to facilitate communication. This slight change in format showcases the importance of being flexible in the classroom. Additionally, observing this lesson allowed me to gain some insight into what level of material should be incorporated into an advanced level class and what abilities students in advanced classes have.