Possible Questions to Consider

Class Agenda:
730-735 introduction and outline
735- 745 Breakout Rooms and Warmup
745- 8 Class Discussion about breakout room activity (analyzing authors)
8- 810relates activity to summary assignment due Friday and goes over the assignment
810- 835 Activity 2 - Analyzing a text from last class (an essay) - relates this to the summary due
Friday and asks for any questions
835- Talks about summary drafts and peer review- the grade they receive on draft is more or less
a check - nuts and bolts of summary

The following questions are meant to inspire you, not direct you. I want this observation to be
useful to you, which may mean that the types of things you're most interested in aren't going to
show up in the questions below.

Environmental questions

1. How is the room set up? - Students have cameras on and microphones muted
2. Is anything on the board?
3. Is the projector ready?
4. How does the room "feel"?

Pre-class questions:

1. Who's there first--the instructor or the UTA?

2. Do they interact with each other when the second one enters the room? Do they interact
with students before class officially begins? The professor begins class and then TA
jumps in for support
3. Do they seem prepared for class? Yes it seems as though they had a meeting before class-
because the teacher knows of my presence and TA seems really prepared- she addresses
the class in the chat room and by unmuting- she put files on ELMS for the class so it
seems as though she helped plan the class - she jumps into each breakout room to help
the students because they seem a little confused
4. Do students seem prepared for class? Students have their cameras on - Seem a little
confused in the first activity but work together to figure it out
5. Are students totally in their own worlds until the second the UTA or the instructor starts
the class, or are they getting their books/ notebooks/ laptops out in preparation for the
next 50 or 75 minutes of their life? Students were put in breakout rooms to work on
assignments- these students are funny! “Were we supposed to read something” lol

Students talk well with the professor

Student engagement questions:

1. How do students know that class has officially begun?

a. Professor began class with an introduction and by splitting them up into breakout
rooms for a warmup - it relates to their discussion board Friday
2. How do they know what's going on for the next 50 or 75 minutes?
3. How does this tie into what they did for homework/ the last class/ the larger assignment
they're working on?
a. Warmup prepares them for assignment on Friday- Summary assignment due
Friday
4. Are students nominally engaged? Lost? Eager? Confused? Asleep? On Mars
a. The students seem really comfortable with their instructors- if they do not know
something they say it and the instructor seems really caring and accepting - they
seem really passionate for their work
5. Are they comfortable with each other? Do they interact with each other? Do they interact
with the UTA and/ or the instructor? When the UTA/ instructor asks questions, do the
students respond without too much pain?
a. The professor is very good at facilitating discussion and conversation- I think it is
because he is so passionate about his work- the students seem eager to talk and
answer his questions

Facilitation questions:

1. What's the objective of today's class? How is that realized?

a. The instructor starts off with an introduction then has the students do a warmup in
a breakout room- then they come together and discuss the activity in the breakout
room- the professor leads the class and TA supports- she seems like the leader in
the organization and the materials for the class
2. Are students responsible for knowing anything about what's going on today? They go
along with the instruction of the professor and TA- for the warmup they read a file off
ELMS
3. Are they responsible for any homework/ readings? What teaching strategies are
employed? Lecture? Presentation? Discussion? In-class independent work? Partnered
work? Does Group work? What kind of group work? Groups from a previous class, or
on-the-fly groups? Think/ pair/ shares?
a. Group work and discussion are used mostly- the students are really good at
voicing their opinions and thoughts- I think it is because of how passionate the
instructor is and how good he is at facilitating conversation
UTA questions:

1. What is the UTA doing throughout the class? Where is s/he sitting? Is s/he taking
attendance? Interacting with the instructor? Interacting with students? Is his or her laptop
out?
a. TA interjects and supports the teacher by unmuting herself- she also puts class
material in the chat and jumps in and out of each breakout room to help
2. How would you characterize the relationship between the instructor and the UTA?
Formal? Informal? Comfortable? Stilted?
a. It looks like they have a good relationship- the professor likes when TA jumps in
and it looks like he relies on her for her support which is good- she is needed! She
also laughs at his jokes which I think are funny- it looks like they have a friendly
relationship
3. Is the facilitation shared, or is it the instructor's room unless the UTA is specifically
called on? How would you characterize the relationship between the students and the
UTA?
a. TA is helpful to the students- in the first activity they were confused and when
she jumped in the breakout rooms, she explained everything and gave them extra
support
4. Is the UTA an authority figure like the instructor? A fellow peer like the rest of the
students? Somewhere in-between? What does that look like?
a. TA seems like another instructor- the professor seems like he leads the
conversation and creativity while TA is the organizer- it seemed like they may
work together to plan the class and TA makes sure all the files are uploaded and
ready-

Reflection

Hey everyone!
I just observed an English 101 class last week and had a really great experience. First, 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 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 appears 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 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 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 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 with anonymous - 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.