I had a student come to class for the first time in weeks (late but still) and ask what we were doing after I'd given instructions about what to do so we could jump into impromptu presentations. Yes there was a setback, but something more meaningful happened- I saw increased engagement. I noticed multiple students jump in and provide answers before I had the opportunity to collect my thoughts and try to sum up all that was missed leading up to today. For the first time I saw students in my first 1010 class (of the day) have actual conversations with one another without being prompted, and we were still able to start presentations on time!
The class got better as each person got up to do their presentation as well. For most of them today was the first time they had spoken aloud to the whole class and had confidence, or at least faked their way through it. I had made a note of those individuals who shared they had high public speaking anxiety, and even they were able to use the tools that we talked about to give an effective presentation. Today I saw active learning in my classroom instead of in written assignments because each student was able to apply their personal opinions to the speech topics and create outlines using the organizational tools we talked about in class last week.
Leading up to today I had really thought that, for the most part, I had an almost completely detached class since the same 3 or 4 people usually gather the courage to verbally express how they are connecting to the material. Not only was I proven wrong today but I saw life that I hadn't seen before-- I don't think I've ever been so content with being proven wrong. I sat in the back of the classroom while each student stood in front of their peers and delivered content, personality, and life. I heard each of them loud and clear!
There was preparation. There was awareness of social cues. There were students in the audience acting as encouraging bodies. There was application of material to personal anecdotes!
My students showed me how well they were able to apply the material to personal experiences, and I was able to make a note of some of those moments to connect them to future class activities. Not only were my student showing me how they were actively learning, I was able to recognize this with myself when I was taking mental notes planning to incorporate some student examples into future lessons.
As I'm sitting here typing this I just keep thinking to myself "they did the thing!" I would have loved for this to happen earlier in the semester, but if they at least keep rolling with how they did today I feel confident that each one of my students will be prepared for their next semester, especially those of them who are comm studies majors.
Today was a win. It was the first that I was able to sit back and feel almost completely like there was almost nothing to be concerned about. For the first time this semester, my 12 o'clock 1010 class made me feel like i the sky wouldn't be falling meaning I wouldn't (hopefully won't) be having a bunch of students coming at me at the end of the semester asking how to improve their grades at the last minute, especially for participation. I think I've got this!
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