WEEK 6 (REFLECTIONS)

POWERPOINT

     I  do  agree  with   the  fact  that  less is  more   when  making a  presentation.  More  often  than  not  people  make  the   mistake  of  overloading  the slides  with  thick text which makes the presentation  dull and dissatisfying.  PowerPoint is to be used as an aide-memoire; thus,  we  must  be very  selective  of  the  information  we  type in  and  the variety  of  features  to illustrate.   

CLASS SIZE

       Teaching   a  larger  class  often  takes more  preparation  and  energy  to  maintain students  engaged   in the lesson; however, teaching  a  one-student  class  can  also  demanding. I  have  been  a  tutor  for  most  of  my  teaching career and  I  have  worked  with people  who  have had  to take standardized  tests  or  simply  want to improve their command  of  the  target  language  because  their  reality  dictates  so.  Those classes can be challenging as well due to the necessity the students. What  I  mean  and  have  reflected on  is  the  fact that when there  is  planning  and  preparation  the  number  of  students  might  become an irrelevant  factor.  Of course, logistically speaking  there  may be some  limitations and challenges; nonetheless, educators  must  use different  techniques to  make sure  knowledge  reaches everybody  in  the  classroom (group work, peer assessment among  others). Technology often lends a rather helping hand in such situations as well.

  

Best  Regards!

Fernando Minda