ENGL101 Observation

ENGL101 class is relatively small, there are only 17 students total

and the class that day was mostly focused on a group work
activity that had the class work in groups to revise a piece of
student writing
The class was handed a paper handout of writing that they were
to revise according to overarching problems such as
organization, clarity, word choice
Some students marked up the paper with a pen while other
seemed to rely on conversation to reach a consensus on how to
revise
After the activity was done, he addressed the class and
transitioned into talking about their own final position papers
that are due very soon
He reiterated the concepts of revision that they practiced in the
group activity, making sure students understand that these are
the type of big picture ideas that he wants them to keep in mind
when revising their own papers and providing feedback for the
online peer reviews that are also due very soon
He then pulls down the projector screen and logs into his Gmail
account to access the most recent draft of an article he had
submitted
Since the article is still under review he is unable to provide it to
us for our research purposes, but he briefly showed the class the
introduction to it, as he employed the use of the first person
narrative, a rhetorical strategy he has been encouraging the
students to write in all semester
He goes on to read a few sentences aloud and emphasizes that
this rhetorical strategy is a valid form of expression in academia,
much to the surprise of some students who are still getting used
to the idea of using their own voice in their writing, as it appears
some high schools teach the opposite approach
After he read parts of his article he dismissed the class with the
reminder to complete their assignments and have a good
weekend
Throughout the class he was very involved with the students and
even joined a student group to work with them on the group
work
At times conversations as a class will get off topic and move into
more casual or entertainment related topics, but this class was
overall on-task
He clearly values student opinion as he would constantly be
asking students for feedback on what works best for them/how

everyone is feeling about the due dates and deadlines or formats

for peer review sessions and overall concepts that the course is
teaching
After the class was dismissed there were several students
remaining who lined up to talk to him, either to ask him a
question about an assignment or follow up on another
conversation or meeting he had had with a student as he is very
open and approachable and prefers his students to talk to him if
they want to succeed in the course