A review
IN THE CLASSROOM
collage
Chris Banister presents an activity that combines feedback and reflection.
A
s teachers, we perhaps
exhibit a natural tendency to
desire feedback from our
students about their
classroom experience. Whether it be
evaluations of their own participation
and engagement with the materials and
topics that we have selected for them, or
the role the students themselves have
played in the lesson experience,
obtaining usable feedback on a whole
range of aspects of classroom life means
that as practitioners we can ‘teach and
learn’, as the saying goes.
The ‘review collage’ activity
described in this article works with any
class of students who have been
studying together over a period of time.
Ideally suited to either the mid-point or
end of a language course, it neatly
combines the collection of valuable
student evaluations and feedback with
the promotion of reflecting on and
reviewing what has been accomplished.
I have recently used this activity with
exchange students studying on business
English modules at a UK university,
but, in the past, I have also used it
successfully with EFL and ESOL
groups, exam preparation classes and
even with small in-company groups and
in one-to-one teaching contexts. Put
simply, this activity is extremely
versatile.
38 • Issue 105 July 2016 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •
Preparation
Select some of the materials which you
have used during your course to copy and
paste in order to create a collage. I tend to
select titles, headlines and key words from
books and activities from coursebooks.
Your collage could also incorporate
images, photos and screenshots or stills
from videos, websites and digital tools. In
the example on page 39, all the material
was used over the 12-week business
English module mentioned above. For
teachers without access to the internet
or digital technology, much the same
effect can be achieved by making paper
copies and then physically pasting them
together so that they overlap to create a
collage effect which is visually attractive
and engaging. Make one copy for each
student in the class.
Procedure
Set up (5 mins)
1 Explain to the students that they are
going to reflect upon, evaluate and
review aspects of the module they have
just finished studying.
2 Distribute your ‘Review collage’
handouts (see page 39 for an example),
and ask the students if they recall most
of the activities that the items were
taken from.
3 Select one item and run through the
following questions together as a class
(these could be displayed on a
whiteboard or added to the handout):
Which language skills were you
developing when you did this activity
and how?
Did you enjoy this activity?
How do you think you performed when
working on this activity?
Did you participate fully in this
activity? Why/Why not?
Do you think that this activity helped
you or not? Why/Why not?
Did this activity meet your expectation
of what you would do on this course?
Why/Why not?
Would you rather have done this
activity differently? If so, how and why?
What advice would you give to a future
student about approaching this activity
or activities like it?
NB These questions could be modified
or added to, depending on the particular
aspects of your lessons that you would
like to focus the students on.
Group discussion (10–15 mins)
1 Working in pairs or small groups, the
students discuss the questions one-by-
one and make notes as they go.
 2 The students report back to the class
on the item which provoked the most
discussion/interest.

Writing (10–15 mins)

1 Tell the students to choose two
activities each and to write their
reflections and evaluations (this could be
done anonymously).
2 Collect in the learners’ reflections
and read them. Use the information to
inform your future teaching.

Optional extension (10 mins)

If you are doing this activity in the
middle of a course which is continuing
with the same class of students,
summarise any common themes that
emerge from their evaluations, being
sure to maintain anonymity, eg
Five students enjoyed the business report
writing activity, but some of them felt the
question was too easy.
You could then share this summary with
the students, comment on it and explain
or justify your actions, as appropriate.

Advantages
Here are some of the benefits of using
the ‘Review collage’ activity with your
students:
It is multi-faceted, involving
reviewing, reflecting and evaluating.
It is good for visual learners.
It complements but does not duplicate
official Student Evaluation Teaching
(SET) forms often administered at the
end of courses.
It is adaptable in terms of
implementation time: it can also be
used mid-term.
It can cover both in-class and online/
virtual learning environment materials
(good for blended learning courses).
It is tailored and focused specifically
on the local classroom experience.
It requires minimal preparation by the
teacher
It provides feedback and evaluation
which is valuable for the teacher but is
not (necessarily) about the teacher.
It provides feedback from a student
perspective and in the students’ own
words – which could be used to
motivate/inform future cohorts.
Considerations
Here are some of the things that you
need to consider when using the ‘Review
collage’ activity:
The discussion stage is important to
expose the students to alternative
reactions.
Encourage reflection and evaluation
throughout the course, not just at the
end (so do this activity more than
once: mid-term and end of term).
Reflection is a skill which needs
developing.
Be aware of the trade-off: anonymity
versus ‘actionability’.
To make it more learner-centred, get
they would like to address from a
‘bank’ of options.
Establish your red lines. In other
words, what are you not prepared to
compromise on or negotiate on?
Decide when it is appropriate to
respond and justify your actions.
Chris Banister has worked
in the UK and Turkey and
currently teaches English
for Academic Purposes
and Business English at
Regent’s University in
London. He has recently
completed his MA TESOL,
and his interests include
second language
vocabulary teaching and
learning and English as a
global academic lingua
franca.

your students to choose the questions banisterc@regents.ac.uk

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 105 July 2016 • 39