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Reports after every lesson

Sample 11

In today's lesson we had quite a change in terms of the content and plan for Business Communication Skills. We began with a recital of Invictus, a poem from the late 19th Century. I gave M the context that it was the poem which Nelson Mandela listened to during his 18 years on Robben Island. So, without giving M access to the text I recited the poem and then asked M for his understanding of what it meant.

 

We explored the general meaning in which M identified the last two lines ‘I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul’ as most meaningful to him. We reviewed the poem and M checked the meaning of a range of words (of which he has records). M has what I think is a very good understanding of the poem. M then recited the poem with attention to meaning and his prosody was also very good. I think M has come a long way in terms of this analysis and response to what is complex language. He is going to reread the poem, and of course it would be fantastic if he learned it to the point of being able to recite it.

 

M also reported the challenges he was having decoding all the sounds (sounds only) in listening to extended listening texts. This is a great level of attention to the process of using this skill to feed into correct language models and meaning.

 

We also looked at a series of open questions which were designed around the kind of topic which would be relevant for M in his office space. It was my intention to have this as a form of drilling to explore not only the meaning but the syntax but it turned into an opportunity for M to express clearly his responses to the questions listed.

 

1. What aspects of our culture contribute to your job satisfaction?

 

2. How could we modify our workspace to boost productivity?

 

3. What are your thoughts on our current communication channels?

 

4. How would a flexible work schedule impact your work-life balance?

 

5. What training or resources would further your career development here?

 

6. How do our company values align with your personal values?

 

7. What suggestions do you have for improving team collaboration?

 

Once again, after an initial warm-up it was very clear that M’s ability to communicate on this kind of topic and with clarity has grown considerably. I mentioned to M that some months back the point he had made in relation to asking open questions was that he wasn't so comfortable with asking them because his capacity to process the responses and engage in the insuring conversation was relatively limited.

 

This was not the case today, and it was a very entertaining irony that part of the plan for today was to get M to affect a strong New York Italian gangster accent but it seems M has transitioned so far from the weakness he had which was adding additional valves to words that he could not do that.

 

In the first 10 minutes of the lesson there were three minor vowel additions so M is clearly making progress.

 

Sample 10

Today's Primary lesson was very interesting for the discussion that we had around planes and specifically how in particular paper planes fly. We had a very mature discussion around such things as what happens when objects move in a vacuum; why it is that paper when you blow on it lifts; why it is that when you drop paper to the floor it bounces around a little bit before it lands; why it is that a  paper plane can fly and how much is dependent on the design; how much of that is dependent on the weight at the nose? These were very, very interesting questions and we summed them up as:

Why does weight in the front help it to fly better?

Why do things with some speed travel forever in a vacuum?

Why does paper rise up when I blow over the top of it?

Do planes fly better with more drag or less drag?

Does shape change the flight of the paper airplane?

We looked at A’s schedule at school and the platform A’s using and we also and a brief comment on the Khan Academy which A’s using for Math. In my humble opinion Khan Academy is an excellent choice.

We repeated the writing task which we had done last week, and this week with a slightly different topic A wrote 22 words per minute which is a very reasonable word speed. We will analyse any weaknesses in that on Tuesday next. We also looked at the writing from last week and identified a few errors around such things as at the morning; the spelling of Loch Ness and Scotland and a few other minor things. We corrected these errors and then had A correct a version which was in part correct and in part full of mistakes.

We moved from this to A reading aloud from Harry Potter just to see what A word attack skills are like and they were largely good except for a couple of words which A mistook and that is interesting in a combination of A not knowing the words and needing to improve A’s phonic awareness.

We also did the English test and unfortunately the site would not give up the answer when A had finished it so this will need to be redone.

We reviewed the memorization techniques which we had looked at over a year ago and I was very impressed in the competition we had around how many numbers we could memorise in correct sequence and A achieved 25 with a high degree of accuracy.

So, it was interesting to look at A’s homework around planes, and it will be great to have some communication from the language and literature teacher to see exactly what skills A can do with developing over the next semester.

Sample 9

Today's IELTS lesson we spent a considerable amount of time looking through the high probability questions that are found in part one of IELTS Speaking.

We began the lesson with X reporting on X’s local weather and we corrected some errors: 10° mid 12; the pronunciation of cold; the use of I’m only stay; the difference between this and lis; we corrected I watch some movie to I  like watching movies; and we introduced some new language e.g., pristine and contoured. It was apparent in talking about the high frequency topics from IELTS, namely hobbies and hometown, that X has to do some reading in this area around hobbies so that we can build the naturalness in the language that X is choosing to talk about these.

For information on hometowns X is going to locate some sites in English that are selling holidays so X can become more aware of the type of international English that's used to describe countryside.

I tried, as part of our strategy, to give X as much pressure as possible in the questions, and X handled this with equanimity.

We then looked at word stress and sentence stress and in this part of the lesson we looked at the differences between syllable timed and stressed timed languages. We developed an awareness that expressions used in English will have words which have stress (a syllable or a word which is longer or louder and has pitch change) whereas in Chinese or Italian or Japanese, though you will get some change in the musicality, each syllable roughly has equal weight.

X went through a task in which X responded to a range of eight questions about travelling to choosing different words to stress. X did very well on this. I am to send X a PowerPoint covering word and sentence stress. So, homework for the coming week is more low-level radio, more low-level newspapers, and X’s recent and continuing contact with the neighbours where X is discussing life and maternal needs with them, which is just wonderful and it's really lovely to see that progression around X’s social life.

Sample 8

Today’s Primary class was all about improving F’s conversation skills. We talked about topics F likes, such as video games, sports, and summer holidays. F was relaxed and confident during the class, which is great for learning to speak English fluently. F spoke clearly and fluently, and F used natural expressions like a native speaker.

F chose to read an article called "Why People Watch Others Play Video Games". F was very interested in it and related the content to F’s own experiences. F could discuss the article and answer questions well. During the class, I corrected F’s grammar mistakes. As the lesson went on, F started paying more attention to grammar and made fewer mistakes.

To keep improving, F should practice talking about different topics F enjoys. This will help F become more confident and fluent. F should also do some grammar exercises to get better at using correct grammar. Reading more articles or books that interest F and discussing them will help F learn new words and express F’s thoughts clearly.

F did a great job today. F’s relaxed attitude and clear speech are impressive. By focusing a bit more on grammar and listening carefully, F can get even better at speaking. Keep up the good work, F!

 

Sample 7

In today’s High School Chemistry lesson, we covered various topics related to heat energy and calorimeter. The lesson aimed to deepen the student’s outstanding of key concepts (e.g how to distinguish exothermic and endothermic reaction and how to calculate the heat energy). Throughout the lesson, L actively participated and demonstrated a positive attitude towards learning.

The lesson objectives and outcomes were:

  • Being able to distinguish exothermic and endothermic reactions:
    L successfully achieved this objective at the beginning of the lesson but L had no idea about the stability of the product and reactant. At the end of the lesson, L was able to understand the relationship between stability, enthalpy and endothermic/exothermic reactions.

  • Being able to calculate the heat energy
    L was struggling with how to find the heat energy at the beginning. But finally L was able to do it by using the equation Heat = mc[endif]-->with m=mass of water and c = specific energy of water.

 

The topics covered were:

  1. Exothermic and endothermic reaction

  2. Heat energy change

  3. Enthalpy change

 

L was well prepared for the lesson and brought the document from school. L had already prepared what L needed to ask before the lesson. L is honest and direct about what L doesn’t know and actively engaged in the lesson. Going forward we need to improve L’s mathematical skill as L seems to be struggling with calculations.

Sample 6

In today's OET lesson we began with a brief congratulations on Y’s great success in the OET reading exam - Y has been a good student; and how this increased reading competence will positively impact here OET writing exam. The reason being that an improvement in Y’s reading skills will enable understanding (with a high degree of clarity) the content in the writing question.

We explored the kind of knowledge that Y will need in relation to the writing exam and determined that the lexis around physiotherapists, dietitians, and social workers is an area we can build knowledge in.

I am to source this.

We also determined that Y will benefit from improving Y’s handwriting skills. I am to send guidance and process on how to achieve this.

Y also identified that Y felt the organisational part of the writing was an area in which Y felt Y had the greatest challenge.

We also determined that Y can improve awareness of the criteria that is being used in assessing the writing and I am to send that criteria to Y with a view to Y memorising it, reporting it in the next lesson, and using it as the framework for planning and also reviewing any piece of writing Y does.

The process for writing skills improvement is for Y to choose a sample question, review the criteria, write an answer, and then input that answer into an AI system and ask, ‘can you rewrite this answer (if necessary) to be a band score level of IELTS 7.5 plus?’.

When that is done Y is to send Y’s original work, plus the AI system version for improvement to me so I can OK it as a reasonable reworking. Y will then remark on any differences between Y’s original and the AI system addition.

Homework for the coming week is: memorization of criteria for writing; practicing writing right-handed with Y’s eyes closed (total of 15 minutes); and using AI system, as above, with comparison in AI system.

Sample 5

We started today's Primary class by discussing what Q has been doing over the past month, it was great to see that Q was Q’s usual-self, i.e. very confident and expressive. Q told me about the different activities that Q had done and what Q’s remaining plans are for the summer vacation. We then started with a review of the vocabulary we had learned previously and Q was able to remember around 90% of the words and for the other 10% with a little guidance Q was able to guess the correct word.

We then continued with Reading Explorer where Q completed lesson 2A first by using the key words from the article and completing several exercises such as fill in the blanks, define words and changing words but using the same prefix. Q did really well here as Q has great retention and once Q has learned something Q tends to remember it and can use it in future lessons. 

Q than began lesson 2B which focuses on birds and how they communicate, Q found the article interesting and was able to make plenty of connections, for instance we learned the term "conformist bias'' which is very advanced and can be difficult for students to comprehend however Q grasped this new concept and could even relate it to Q’s own life and give personal examples, for instance Q mentioned that if Q’s friends start playing a new game Q will also start playing it so Q doesn't feel left out, this is a perfect example of conformist bias.

Q then went on to read the article and answer all of the post reading questions correctly, the key reading skill for today was inference, which Q was pretty good at as Q was able to use the information from the text to make new statements which are most likely to be true.

Sample 4

In today's IELTS lesson we had two different areas of focus. The first was to address how X may change X’s perception of being nervous or judged in a speaking interaction to being able to win the power balance if you like. So, in this lesson I was doing my best to create as much pressure as possible for X so I corrected every mistake and interrupted X frequently in an effort to see if X could control X’s nervous response and control X’s sense of confidence in the value of X’s expression.

At the beginning of this particular task X said that X felt nervous but after identifying what our joint exercise was – X’s being to maintain confidence and reduce nervousness and mine being to create as much pressure as possible for X, X was very successful in maintaining a frame of mind that was positive and fully engaged with use of language.

X reported that X has been doing a good amount of listening with a view to extending topic awareness and lexical awareness in relation to the kind of subject that could arise in either the speaking or the writing part of the IELTS. This is very much a positive step forward. We addressed the degree of comprehension X was achieving in listening to local radio and I have made the point that the most important thing is that X listens to each and every sound, in other words X should distract X’s mind from translation and perceive the sounds and words simply by noticing them. X said X would endeavour to do this going forward. X mentioned that X has not had any exposure to low level media in terms of newspapers and the like, and X is going to endeavour to address this.

X has also not had the opportunity to get a job which would allow X to interact with different people (and at high frequency in English) to build fluency. Fluency is frequently measured by response and processing time and it is through frequent exposure to different situations in which you have to access language and structures that allows you to do this with greater speed and therefore builds your fluency.

In the lesson X made a comprehensive list of items that X is to correct. Some of these are included here.

Areas of pronunciation challenge included purpose and the recognition that if you have a stressed syllable on a word in English the second syllable needs to be very weak. Note regular v regularly; clear pronunciation of k in I feel like. The pronunciation of vascular the pronunciation of carbohydrate.

Homework is to continue listening to low level radio, read low level newspapers and get exposure to language through a part time job.

Sample 3

In today's Primary class we focused on several areas: proof-reading, grammar quiz, interviews and Mystery Hotel.

We began the class by going over P’s homework, which again P continues to write to a very high standard. I've been really impressed with how P has been developing the plot as P has written probably around 4 decent sized paragraphs and P is only just starting to finish the beginning. This goes to show how well P writes as there has been no repetition in P’s story and P’s writing is still very concise, and if you were to remove any sentences it may affect the plot. P should be proud of this as it's very difficult to do.

We then moved on to grammar where we looked at several different KS3 topics, the quiz consisted of 20 question and I would say P scored around 90% which is very good, the only issues P’s had was around topic such as conjunctions, complex and compound sentences so we will be spending more time next lesson focusing on these areas.

P then explored the concepts of interview, and P was able to give me some decent information about them such as the different roles, when interviews happen and what kind of questions are asked. We then read out a script where I was the interviewer and P the interviewee, P did really well to read the script with intonation and emotion. P was then asked to give feedback on the interview questions asked, which P did really well and noticed how the questions started as general and then narrowed down to become more specific as the interview went on. In the next class we will conduct our interview so P will have to think of P’s own questions to ask.  

Sample 2

In today's Corporate lesson we began with our process which was a report on the week and we used that report to diagnose a few language errors all of which are here for B to correct: Europa; competitiona; Swissa; armya; teama; cupa; traininga; eighta; clubsa; bridgea; parta. Things to correct for B include: one of the best team; all the situation; some coach; do errors.

We transitioned from that to B’s report on the differences in translation between Google and GPT of writing which B had done and concluded that GPT had produced more authentic and natural translation of B’s language. B highlighted differences which B had found and commented that though B knew some of the words that were in the better translation; B had just not used them because they were not at the top of B’s head.

We discussed the extended reading which B had done from Perform under Pressure and B’s summary of learning from that, particularly in relation to Creating the Gap. This was very interesting and useful especially hearing how B has referenced some of this to enable similar skills for a friend.

 

We also did the reading for accent and generally this was very good noting again that B had a tendency to drop the h in Hebrew and Horizon and also produce a very different pronunciation of the word aspect. B is to practice this pronunciation for this. We also did listening and repetition for errors in B’s real-time copying of open-ended questions. The most frequent error was in B not hearing s and it was obvious that we need to do a little bit more drilling in the next lesson and also a review of the effect of linking on word sounds and English. B presented the examples that B had generated for open-ended questions in B’s workplace.

 

B is to continue in the coming week with the usual homework which is:

Diary work and comparative translations

Reading and recording accent samples

Open ended questions – more examples for work

Reading on Perform Under Pressure

CAE Grammar – lots

Motivation and leadership

Sample 1

First Primary lesson back after a 4-week break. G had a lot to tell me so we focussed on speaking skills which continue to be of a high standard in the ability to use correct grammar, description and logical structure.

G has returned to Hong Kong now that summer holidays are over. This is our first lesson where G was located in G’s own room. G took me on a tour of G’s room and the apartment's living room, highlighting the things (toys and books) which are important to G.

G then described the travels in China which G undertook since we last met. G used good grammar and descriptive language to talk about the geography of the places G visited successfully translating Chinese place names into English so that I was able to find them via Google. G spoke at length about being in the car, going hiking at lakes and mountains and watching the sunrise after unsuccessfully trying to watch the sunset the previous evening. I particularly liked the ability to use the phrasal verb 'set off' to indicate the start of the trip as this shows that G is both acquiring vocabulary and using it. G gave a good clear description of favourite hotels (it has Unicorn and Transformers rooms and has a large balcony that gives access to the pool!). G was able to tell me who was on the trip and talk about their relationships with G with a little bit of assistance from me as to the correct nouns (Aunt, Cousins).

G has a birthday coming up. G would quite like a party but that is up to G’s mum. G spoke to me about the last time G had a party (pre-Covid 7th) using the correct past tense. G was able to describe G’s cake in a way that clearly indicated why it was so special to G.

G finished reading one of the novels which I recommended - The One and Only Ivan, Mighty Silverback - and clearly enjoyed it. G was able to recall key characters and the role they played in the story and showed good understanding as to why they behave the way they do. When I offered my own opinions, G was clearly listening purposefully and was able to engage in a back-and-forth conversation with me on the topic. G has started another book that I recommended - Because of Winn-Dixie - but is clearly interested in the two follow up books to the One and Only Ivan.

G returns to school this week. We spoke about how G feels about this (nice to see friends!) and how G would get there and what G is expecting this year.

Overall, I am very satisfied with where G is in regards to English speaking. In comparison with other Year 6 Hong Kong students that I have taught G has a greater enthusiasm to speak in English. G has very good confidence in G’s ability to speak and there is very little hesitation. G makes far fewer grammatical errors (these are not easy to correct because G is rushing to get all G’s ideas out!) and G has a good command of vocabulary.

Another good session which I enjoyed as a teacher.

Sample 12

We introduced ourselves to each other and I asked H which particular topic he was having issues with in his AP Calculus AB course. H offered to send me a copy of the PowerPoints provided by his classroom teacher in the USA. H then used Zoom to set up the sharing of the documents.

The first topic of concern for H was linearization and I quickly recognized from the Powerpoint that this is the Newton linearization method and told H that I would bring up an example from my own classes and that we would go through that example. I also explained to H that there is another linearization method called the Euler linearization method developed by Leonard Euler, a Swiss mathematician who was responsible for several developments in mathematics including Euler's Number, the natural number e, 2.71828 …; which H recognized straight away as an irrational number.

The example that we used begins with a diagram showing the relationship between a curve and a tangent line to the curve at a particular point. I explained to H that at a point when the limit approaches 0, the ratio of the change in y to the change in x is equivalent to dy/dx, the first derivative. H and I then had a discussion about the relationship between tangent lines and the first derivative and the various forms of notation for the first derivative based on Isaac Newton, Gottfried Leibniz and the modern Newton notation for the first derivative. H is now able to identify the three different forms of notation used in calculus.

We then had another discussion on how Isaac Newton developed calculus to solve problems in astronomy, following the recognition in the 17th century that the orbit of the Earth around the Sun was not a circular orbit, which is easy to solve, and is instead a parabola which required the development of differential calculus.

The example that H had from his US classroom PowerPoint was for a square root. For the lesson with H, we used a cubic function as the example, that way the Newton Linearization method is the same. By using a slightly more complex example, the learning of the method is reinforced.

We then went through the example in a step-by-step manner, and I explained to H that the differential is expressed either as Delta X, or as h, depending on the textbook. I showed H how to do the first iteration, and then H did the calculation for the second iteration.

The document that I sent to H, that we were sharing uses an Excel spreadsheet. I then showed H how to set up the spreadsheet, by identifying cells and typing in formulae and the keyboard symbols that are used to express mathematical functions; such as,^ for a power function and * for multiplication.

After five iterations, the Newton linearization method produced the same answer to 10 decimal places. In the 17th century, this was a particularly useful development. in the modern world, computers and calculators can do these arithmetic computations very quickly using the same iterative method. I then explained to H that computers do not actually do algebra, instead computers use an iterative method, just as Newton used an iterative method. I then gave H an optional homework question, which is an extension of the example that we did. We then took the mid-class break before starting the next lesson.

For the next lesson, H was concerned about a related rates problem for the inflation of a spherical balloon. Again I provided H with a comprehensive example from the textbook of a similar spherical balloon related rates problem. The textbook is Calculus Volume 1 by Herman and Strang, the page number is identified, so that H can quickly find other examples in the textbook.

We then went through the example, and H determined the first derivative for the function, using the chain rule. The rest of the example is just a matter of algebra. H clearly knows how to apply the chain rule.

For related rates problems, however, the main issue is identifying the variables, the data values of each variable, using suitable symbols for each variable, and connecting the variables with a formula. We then solved the example problem.

From the example, we then worked backwards, to identify the five step strategy for solving related rates problems. I then gave H optional homework, a single problem from the textbook, basically the same problem, using the same variables, however a different datum. The heuristic method of doing the practice first and the theory second, is to help H gain confidence in identifying the theory within seemingly complicated written examples, that then must be expressed in mathematical terms. This issue is exacerbated when students are working on word problems that are writtem in their second language.

The homework is set as an option, which requires H to have intrinsic motivation to solve homework problems rather than making it a mandatory behavior. One of the features of current Western education systems, compared to Asian education systems, is that homework is not enforced externally, the student must be self-motivated.

Overall, H understands the basic concepts of differential calculus, however, to better identify particular strengths and weaknesses, I have written a 10 question multiple choice quiz for H to attempt in a two-hour period, from which we will be able to ascertain his current knowledge. “Understanding” in class is not the same as reproducing that knowledge outside the classroom, or in a test situation.

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