English for Academic Teaching Purposes
Reflective Audio Journal (RJ): You will keep a digital-based audio journal in which you will practice reflective teaching habits by initiating and responding to critical questions about the pedagogy of higher education instruction. Handouts will be provided to assist you in producing your journal entries.
Dictionary on Disk (DOD): As a group, you will compile a dictionary of new words, expressions, and phrases that you encounter through our in-class interactions. For each week of class meetings, a different member of the class will be asked to record the new vocabulary items, find definitions for them, and post the day’s vocabulary file to the course website. Regularly-scheduled discussions and quizzes will help you make these words and phrases a permanent part of your vocabulary study.
Lecture Observation: You will listen to or watch one university-level lecture, preferably related to your field of expertise, and report on your observations. For the purposes of this assignment, you may visit an online course or the course of one of your colleagues or classmates. More information about this assignment will be forthcoming.
Instructor Lecture Visit: You will invite me to visit at least one of your courses taught in English during the term. After scheduling the visit at the beginning of the term, you will provide a brief outline of your course content to me at least 24 hours before the visit. On the day of the visit, you will meet with me for a brief pre-observation conference to discuss a focus for the observation. After the visit, we will schedule a time within the next week to meet for a post-observation conference. You will receive written feedback from me about the class, and we will have a chance to discuss the observation. This observation is meant to be formative and helpful to you in refining your skills as a lecturer in English. My observation notes and our conference are private and will not be used as an evaluative tool in any way.
Participant Led Academic Discussions (PLAD): Alone or in collaboration with a classmate, you will select and read an academic-level article on a topic related to the practice of teaching in higher education (I have a number of topics from which you can choose). You or you and your partner will announce any additional reading or preparation necessary one week prior to your discussion. You will then lead a class discussion on your topic/article to the class. Your discussion may include small role plays, short presentations, audio/visual support, demonstrations of teaching techniques, or other innovative ideas!
