Dogme Lesson Reflection - Sussex University

8/7/2019 Dogme Lesson Reflection - Sussex University

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MA ELT Advanced Practical Teaching

Teaching and Lesson Planning: Reflective Self-Evaluation

Name: Martin Sketchley TP #: 6 Date of lesson: 08/03/2011

Please use the following points as suggestions for reflecting on each lesson andfeedback received, and refer to the Reflective Evaluation Feedback Sheet for

further guidance. Return this to your TP tutor within 3 days of the lesson.

1. What do you think went well? Why?

During the lesson I was keen to stick to the three principles of Dogme ELT;

communication driven, materials light and emergent language. In essence, I

believe that I successfully achieved a communication driven and materials light

lesson. Technology was not explicitly used during the Dogme lesson but it was

available for appropriate reference. Furthermore, it was the first teaching

practice that provided me the opportunity to successfully drill and focus on

particular lexical phrases when extending the studentsemergent language.

2. What do you think did not go so well? Why?Although an unplugged lesson which is observed can be high risk, I tried to focus

on the development of the students language which emerged naturally during the

lesson. Although there was some focus on form and appropriacy, I believe that I

attempted the principle of emergent language yet I should have extended the

students language based upon their output during the lesson. It should have been

modelled on the board more explicitly for reference.

3. What would you do differently next time?

The statements that were written on the whiteboard were meant to invoke some

form of opinion and discussion but I was aware that some statements did not really

encourage the discussion of opinions or debate as planned. Ideally, I should have

written more controversial and devil advocate statements that would have

encouraged more emergent language during the teaching practice. Finally, I

would have focused more on pronunciation during the drilling of lexical and

grammatical phrases.


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4. How do you feel about the feedback received from your colleagues and TP

tutor?

As this was the first time I had attempted a Dogme lesson, I was keen to receive

feedback from my tutor and colleague. They both provided some positive feedback

as well as some areas to focus on for when I attempt another Dogme lesson. I feel

that the feedback received has provided me the confidence to undertake another

unplugged lesson in the near future and grateful for the support and continuing

assistance by both the tutor and my colleague.

5. If possible, briefly describe a critical incident in the lesson, and how you

responded to it, which can help you to reflect on your teaching practice.

There were a number of late comers in class which I successfully helped and settlein class when they arrived. However, there was one particular learner that arrived

late who was having some difficulty communicating and discussing her opinion with

other students. I provided some prompting and assistance to help relax in class but

I felt that she was rather nervous and unable to approach other students. Although

this was a slight distraction from the lesson, I was keen for the lesson to develop as

intended. Finally, it was determined she was in the wrong class and she was

helped by my colleague to the correct classroom. With this incident, I feel more

comfortable dealing with the unexpected.

6. What can you take from this lesson to support your development as a

teacher?

This was the first time that I attempted a Dogme lesson and it was also incredibly

nerve wrecking being observed. I felt that I was in the deep-end, so to speak.

Furthermore, I did notice that during the teaching practice many students did not

refer to their electronic dictionary. Finally, whilst the lesson was developingnaturally, I found myself having to multitask during the teaching practice; monitor

students language, prompt students to provide opinions, transcribe language on

the whiteboard, etc. This was particularly exhausting but incredibly rewarding and

it really allows teachers the opportunity to think on their feet. Consequently, the

teaching practice demonstrated that students can lead their lessons and learning.

Nonetheless, I feel more confident and comfortable about using a Dogme styled

approach with a group of adult learners and I would like to experiment with an

unplugged lesson with a group of Young Learners in due course.


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7. Any other thoughts/comments/ideas?

Since I had my previous two hour teaching practice recorded, I was able watch my

previous lesson. I noticed that with my previous teaching practice, it was rather

automated and I was going through the motions with the observation.

Furthermore, I wanted to inject some life into my teaching practice and a Dogme

lesson seemed the most appropriate. I would have the foundations for the lesson

set but the actual development of the class would be unpredictable. This would

really test my capacity to teach and naturally engage with students. I feel that I

achieved a more personal lesson for the learners and I hope that the tutor and my

colleague were able to notice a more honest lesson, with honest teaching. Finally,

I had my last teaching practice recorded and it would be interesting to note if

there are any key differences of teaching style between the first and most recent

video.

Documents

Dogme Lesson Reflection - Sussex University