The video opens to the sound of classical music, displaying the logos of the IntRef project and the three partner institutions: Durham University, University of Padua, Goethe University and Frankfurt am Main.
A box appears displaying the text ‘Intercultural Teaching Process Recall’ and a link to the ‘Intercultural Reflection on Teaching’ website: https://intref.webspace.durham.ac.uk
A quote is displayed from Kinsella (2001): ‘Reflective practitioners think about their experiences in practice and view them as opportunities to learn’
The music fades and is replaced by the sound of a people talking in a classroom. Text appears saying ‘You will listen to a short dialogue representing a key theme and focus’
The video now shows us the view from the back of a class of students sitting in rows. They are blurred so you can’t see who they are. Text appears reading: ‘This extract focuses on the logistics of MANAGING a classroom or a course e.g. issues of classroom organization, ensuring student understanding of rules and procedures, time management, or monitoring class activities’ in a dialogue box.
We switch to a background that is slightly blurred depicting a lecture theatre with students sitting in rows. We hear voices of staff engaged in a dialogue.
The Title on a background displays ‘Intercultural Teaching Process Recall’
We hear background noise of a classroom with students talking
Teacher 7: The clip I have chosen takes place at the beginning of the lesson. For that week’s revision activity, I just put a few key terms from last week’s session on a PowerPoint slide, gave students time to ask themselves what they recalled, and then asked for explanations of these terms. I sometimes try to pick random students for responses, because it gives me a broader understanding of what students in the class have understood or not, and to make sure diverse experiences and perspectives get voiced in the seminar. In this instance, I wanted to rely on volunteers only, and announced this explicitly, to reduce anxiety in students. While I waited for a volunteer, I was slightly anxious. It can ‘dampen’ the mood of a lesson if there are no volunteers in a situation such as this. What’s your take on this?
Teacher 8: Do you think that perhaps they might not be willing to speak in front of the class, but would rather discuss their explanations in pairs?
Teacher 7: Thanks, that’s a good point. It was just that I didn’t want it to be too time-consuming. Do you have any other suggestions?
Teacher 9: Well what about getting students to use some kind of app, where they write their answers on their phones and the answers are projected anonymously on the screen. That might make them feel less uneasy about getting the answer wrong.
Teacher 7: Yes, true. I have used those but not in this introductory part of the class
A text note appears saying: ‘That was a short dialogue representing a key theme and focus’
You are then invited to contribute to the discussion
Do these suggestions resonate to you? Which points do you find relevant? Can you offer any further reflections/examples from your experience and/or research? Do you have relevant resources or reference you could share with the community? Join the InRef conversation.