Response to Teaching Demonstration

Lens 1: Describing affect for teachers and learners. This lens puts the spotlight on those often seemingly invisible cues that give students important information. Does the teacher respect us as learners? Does the teacher care about what she is teaching? Does the teacher work to involve us in the learning?

While these are questions that students in any classroom could legitimately ask, the “us” here consists of the teacher audience that participates and responds to the demonstration.

Said Janet Swenson, “Since this first lens invites participants to consider their affective responses, teachers generally have little difficulty beginning their letter. The opening sentences often celebrate some aspect of the demonstration and then name the affect or feelings the demonstration evoked from them.”

Lens 2: Articulating best practice. Letter writers consider what “best practices” they see in the teaching demonstration.

Sample Practices from: Best Practices in Writing http://homepages.wmich.edu/~jbush/bp/

AllChildren Can Write

Real Audiences, Real Purposes

Student Ownership and Responsibility

TheWriting Process

Getting Students Started

Supporting Students as they Draft and Revise

Grammar and Mechanics in Context

A Classroom of Shared Learning

Writing Across the Curriculum

Evaluation and Assessment

Lens 3: The Texas language arts standards and benchmarks.

From: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/teks/110toc.htm

Adopted New 19 TAC

Chapter 110. TEKS for English Language Arts and Reading

Subchapter A. Elementary

· §110.1. Implementation of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading, Elementary.

· §110.2. English Language Arts and Reading, Kindergarten.

· §110.3. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 1.

· §110.4. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 2.

· §110.5. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 3.

· §110.6. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 4.

· §110.7. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 5.

Subchapter B. Middle School

· §110.21. Implementation of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading, Middle School.

· §110.22. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 6.

· §110.23. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 7.

· §110.24. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 8.

· §110.25. English Language Arts and Reading, Reading (Elective Credit).

· §110.26. English Language Arts and Reading, Speech (Elective Credit).

Subchapter C. High School

· §110.41. Implementation of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading, High School.

· §110.42. English I (One Credit).

· §110.43. English II (One Credit).

· §110.44. English III (One Credit).

· §110.45. English IV (One Credit).

Lens 4: Extensions and adaptations. Consider ways you and others can put the demonstration to use. Show how an idea from a demonstration can be represented in many ways, applied to many skills, and adapted to different grade levels.

Lens 5: Questions arisen. Ask questions about the demonstration, referencing your own teaching practice. (The primary purpose of this section is to ‘say back’ to the presenter how your or your group as a whole internalized and theorized the demonstration so the presenter might think through again all parts of the demonstration

Writing the Letter
Now, starting your letter writing to the teacher demonstrator; group members usually begin by sharing oral observations and reactions to the presentation. After that, each group finds a process that works for them in drafting the letter. Some work through the “lenses” one at a time; others find a theme in the demonstration and construct their comments around that theme. Of course, as each group will be going through this process several times, the groups have many chances to polish and tweak their response strategies. And as the group coalesces, members find their individual strengths. One person usually takes on the writing, another has a knack for coming up with a succinct expression, and still another has an advanced understanding of content areas.

Teaching_Demonstration_Response.doc