388V Observations – Observation Notes of X

ENGL101 - Mondays and Wednesdays at 9am

 Environment/Class
o Smaller classroom in Tawes
o X sits at the front with the professor
o Class seemed lively until it began (which is impressive for a 9am)
 Before Class
o UTA is there first
o Reminded the students of the readings and to check announcements for upcoming
assignments
o Greeted the professor when she walked in
o Both seem prepared for class!
o All students seem to be prepared and have their laptops up
 I sat in the back, so I was able to see that they were all looking at the
ELMS page

Flow of Class:
 Attendance
o Professor took attendance while X was setting up presentation
 Purpose of the class: Introduction to Rhetorical Analysis
o 9:05-9:20
 X presented on Rhetorical analysis to begin the class
 She encouraged students to take notes on her presentation
 Presentation included information about
 The importance of rhetorical analysis
 Rhetorical triangle
 Rhetorical devises
 Watched Amanda Gormans“The Hill We Climb”
o Also put QR code on slide to the transcript of the speech
which was really cool!!
o 9:20 – 9:30
 Put students into groups and had them use a jam board to put what ethos
pathos and logos they saw in the video in addition to the other rhetorical
devices that they saw
 All groups did this activity and then she gave each group their own
question to answer
 The groups seemed to form quickly
o 9:30 – 9:37
 X brought the class back together to talk about what they did in groups
 When they answered X was very engaged with their answers
 Had them answer questions like:
 “What is an example of logos/ethos/pathos”
 “Why did Amanda Gordon write this? How can you tell from the
rhetorical devices”
 “What are her accolades, why was she chosen”
  “Did you find her rhetorical devices convincing?”
o “What rhetorical devices did she use that you found
effective?”
 She also explained the historical context of the speech since it occurred
shortly after the January 6th insurrection
o 9:37 -9:50
 Professor then began to explain the importance of other rhetorical devices
 Risha was engaged in what the professor was doing: looking intently,
nodding her head, referencing the board when the prof was motioning
towards it
 Prof also explained why rhetorical devices are important and how they can
improve their writing
 Talked about other rhetorical devices in the video and then touched on the
rhetorical analysis assignment that the students have
 Heavily focuses on parallelism

Reflection

Last week I was able to observe ENGL101, which X is the UTA for. Before the class, X reached
out to me and told me about the class and what to expect. I never had to take ENGL101, but have
heard great things about the class, so I was excited to be able to observe it for a day. I also had
some confusion trying to find the room and X responded immediately which was extremely
helpful!

I got to the class about 10 minutes early, and when I arrived X was already there and getting set
up. The students were settling down and getting their laptops out to begin class. The professor
did not get there until 9:00, which is when class started. Once the professor was there, she told X
to make sure everything was all set for her presentation. While X was getting the projector set up
and the presentation in presenting mode, the professor took attendance of the class. The
overwhelming majority of the class was present! Once that was done and X was set up, she
began her presentation. You could tell that X, and her professor have a great relationship! You
could also tell that she was excited to watch X present. The class was very respectful of X during
the presentation and was attentive to the authority she had in the classroom.

In terms of the classroom environment, X sat at the front of the classroom at the table with the
professor. This is different from my experience as a TA, because I sit in the same seats with all
of the students. Although I don’t think it would logistically workout with the classroom, I’m in, I
liked how the seating established X importance in the class.

The presentation that X gave was amazing. It was one rhetorical analysis and it covered ethos,
logos, and pathos in depth. It also discussed different rhetorical devices that the students can use
in their own rhetorical analysis assignment. She also had the students watch the video of Amanda
Gorman’s speech from President Biden’s inauguration. That is one of my favorite speeches, so I
was happy to watch it and I also think it was so applicable to teaching rhetorical
analysis. You could also tell that the students were enjoying it because they were watching it
intently.

After that they got into groups and discussed the different rhetorical devices they saw in the
speech. They used their laptops to add their ideas onto a jamboard for the entire class to see. It
was a great way to use technology in the classroom. I got to listen to the group near me and they
had a very in-depth conversation about the use of logos, ethos, and pathos in the speech. You
could tell that they took a lot from X presentation. X also went around and checked in on groups
while they were discussing.

I learned a lot from observing X. You can tell both the students and the professor have a lot of
respect for her. In my ENGL392 class, I feel that I’m a lot more hands off during the actual class
period and I was impressed at how naturally X controlled the discussion. However, I do lead an
icebreaker at the beginning of every single class period, so I am hoping to take what I learned
from X presentation skills and apply it to my class!