Hey Everyone!

I just observed an English 101 class last week and had a really great experience. First of all, it
was a night class, so it brought me back to my first semester when I was in Freshman
Connection. I haven't had a night class in so long, so it made me a little nostalgic!
It was really cool to be able to observe another English 101 professor and the way he handles a
classroom setting/ environment.  The professor that the TA works with is named anonymous
and I do not think I have seen a more passionate teacher about his work and students. Because
the professor was so passionate, the class was easy to follow and stay engaged. 
I can tell that the TA and the Professor were very prepared for the class, it seems that they had
a meeting sometime before to prepare because the TA was on top of everything. It seemed as
though the TA really holds down the organizational side of the classroom environment- by
posting files on ELMS for the students to look at as source and jumping in and out of the
breakout rooms. All of the students had their cameras on and seemed really engaged with the
material. The instructor led the class, and the TA was ready for support- I could tell that they
have a very good working relationship. The professor led the class, the TA supported, and the
students listened then interjected. Something that I really liked is how eager the students were
to interject and answer questions. There was never an awkward gap of time between questions
asked by the professor or the TA. When I was an English 101 student, that was a really big
problem in my class- students not wanting to speak up and answer questions or engage with
the material. We talked about this in English 388V also as a first time UTA with Professor
Anonymous and she said she had a similar experience with one of her classes, sometimes
classes are simply composed of students on the quieter side that need a much bigger push to
engage in the discussion- I do not think that is a problem here. 
Lastly, one thing I really took away from this class is that if students are having a problem
engaging in the course material- say, in my English 101 class- I learned of alternate ways to get
them involved and engaged. I really like that we had this experience and love how yes, I was
viewing another English 101 class, however, it was structured completely different than mine
and still runs smoothly and seamlessly.