Reflection on the webinar (3)
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| source: https://www.wise-geek.com/how-do-i-put-on-a-shadow-puppet-play.htm |
On 11th of March, me and other GPTE students took part in a webinar called ‘How props and Arts & Crafts make students talk’. The presenter, Joanna Pokora used to be a Faculty of Education student. Now, she’s the owner of a language school called KILT.
Ms Pokora started the webinar with a brief introduction of both herself and the planned webinar. Then, she tried to engage the participants by asking them for their definition of props and the examples of props used by them. After commenting on people’s ideas, she started presenting hers. With each props, she suggested at least a few uses. Ms Pokora was also interested in participants’ suggestions and with each prop, she asked us to share. Alongside the short description of each prop, she presented it and photos or videos from its use during the lesson. At the end of the webinar, there was a brief moment to ask questions or comment on the presentation.
Similarly to the previous ones, I enjoyed this webinar. Though it was at the end of the week, I wasn’t sleepy or bored. Ms Pokora’s public speaking skills and her positive attitude are the reasons for it. It was very helpful for someone having as little experience as I do. The propositions were mostly accessible things from everyday life (e.g. a feather, toilet paper roll, a puppet, a blindfold). Some of their uses seemed obvious, while the others I had no idea about. There’s really no need to convince any of the teachers or future teachers to use props, though their impact on pupils’ speaking skills isn’t always evident. I’m really thankful that Ms Pokora has decided to focus on this aspect of language learning.
The most interesting part of this webinar were definitely the videos of students using props. It was helpful in terms of seeing the prop being used and how students react to it. While with photos, I sometimes had difficulties with imagining the props’ use, on videos it was evident.
Overally, I think it was a time well-spent. I still have very little experience in teaching, so I treat every meeting with a teacher as a learning experience. I’m in awe of some ideas, which seem so obvious, that I’m surprised I didn’t come across them. From what I’ve seen, children love props and usually, the more the better. As long as students are learning, props are teacher’s friend. What I would like to learn more about (maybe during the next webinar or in a not too distant future) is how to effectively quiet students down - after using the prop(s) - when it’s time to do a settling activity, e.g. work with a book.
Ms Pokora started the webinar with a brief introduction of both herself and the planned webinar. Then, she tried to engage the participants by asking them for their definition of props and the examples of props used by them. After commenting on people’s ideas, she started presenting hers. With each props, she suggested at least a few uses. Ms Pokora was also interested in participants’ suggestions and with each prop, she asked us to share. Alongside the short description of each prop, she presented it and photos or videos from its use during the lesson. At the end of the webinar, there was a brief moment to ask questions or comment on the presentation.
Similarly to the previous ones, I enjoyed this webinar. Though it was at the end of the week, I wasn’t sleepy or bored. Ms Pokora’s public speaking skills and her positive attitude are the reasons for it. It was very helpful for someone having as little experience as I do. The propositions were mostly accessible things from everyday life (e.g. a feather, toilet paper roll, a puppet, a blindfold). Some of their uses seemed obvious, while the others I had no idea about. There’s really no need to convince any of the teachers or future teachers to use props, though their impact on pupils’ speaking skills isn’t always evident. I’m really thankful that Ms Pokora has decided to focus on this aspect of language learning.
The most interesting part of this webinar were definitely the videos of students using props. It was helpful in terms of seeing the prop being used and how students react to it. While with photos, I sometimes had difficulties with imagining the props’ use, on videos it was evident.
Overally, I think it was a time well-spent. I still have very little experience in teaching, so I treat every meeting with a teacher as a learning experience. I’m in awe of some ideas, which seem so obvious, that I’m surprised I didn’t come across them. From what I’ve seen, children love props and usually, the more the better. As long as students are learning, props are teacher’s friend. What I would like to learn more about (maybe during the next webinar or in a not too distant future) is how to effectively quiet students down - after using the prop(s) - when it’s time to do a settling activity, e.g. work with a book.
I honestly really like the idea of using props. Interacting with physical objects always makes lessons stand out compared to lectures and even ties into concepts of authentic materials. All these various things make the lessons more real and will help students remember. Like you said, some of these ideas are so obvious, why didnt we think of them? Which is what makes these more interesting.
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