Day 3

Days like today make me happy to be a teacher! I just had probably one of the best classes so far this semester. It has been a struggle to get my students to communicate, ask questions, and participate in class. Some of it was because the semester had just begun, some of it was cultural backgrounds, but it's not the first time it's happened to me. Today, my students had a peer review session for the Research Proposal and Annotated Bibliography. I asked them to pair up with someone they hadn't worked with before, and they received a peer review checklist/comment sheet to guide them. In the past, students have been silent during peer review, and it felt like pulling teeth to get them to communicate with their partner. For some reason, everyone felt like talking today and it was great! My classroom was probably the loudest it's ever been, with every group talking to each other and asking questions. My students also asked me a lot of questions, which I very much prefer over them not asking and doing something incorrect as a result. I feel like peer review sessions are always like a mini-conferencing time where I can go around to each group and answer any questions they might have. It was great having everyone prepared with their paper copies and all participating for the first time this semester!