16/10/2017 Peer Observation of Teaching: JH

Intro to Performing Research Unit. Joint session of all MA-level new starters. Main auditorium, 100-200 students. Lecture-style.

Key points: ask yourself why you are here. What do you want to get out of this? Academia, an MA, the Arts? What is Performing Research? What does the school expect of you and your research?

My thoughts before the class: JH has revealed some of her puppet strings that she manipulates to pique attention and maintain enthusiasm. She adopts a genuine, honest and approachable tone to set herself apart, to an extent, from the very right-on 'true believers' in the building. Does this attitude, when conveyed, encourage engagement? Does it encourage trust?

Session and Assessment/Teaching Strengths: The lighting is poor. It is difficult to see JH unless she stays very still. Are lecturers taught to use the panel interface in for the lecture hall lighting?
She's very light-touch with the rhetoric. She asks questions but actually Does want answers. Eyes are focussed. Her responses to student statements are almost universally positive, and she can turn even not-quite-to-the-point responses to relate them productively towards her learning objectives. It requires strong listening and fast analysis. She has a fantastic ability to roll with it.
The big, ugly Powerpoints: she approaches them when necessary with disappointment and dramatised dread. This commiseration with students enhances notion that this is unfortunately important. It does appear to improve the likelihood and level of student receptiveness.

Thoughts after the class:
JH expressed that she did not feel confident about her delivery, despite the fact that (I would argue) the one or two hiccups she encountered (Powerpoint issues, one or two disjointed questions from students) actually served as opportunities for the group to re-engage and reset. The presentation went well, and the students appeared to get something out of it--if nothing else they paid attention. No phones were out, no one chatted or dozed off. Her lowered confidence after the presentation surprised me, as she performed confidence and wit throughout. Her music 'trick', as AS put it, offered mixed results. While turning the music Off as a method of re-establishing order was effective, I wonder if it allowed for the masking of considerable disorder while it was active. I'm not convinced 'music time' was spent productively, or if that was really the intent.

Reflection and Development:
What are your key indicators of student attentiveness? What is your reflex when you sense you might be losing people? Do you act on, suppress, or evaluate that reflex?

Do you have access to user data/usage data with regard to film copies of your lectures and additional support resources?

How much do people actually engage with the VLE when it is not mandatory?

Can anything rattle you in the moment? Technical issues, errors and flubs (and weird responses from students) roll off of you. Your preparation and experience are evident.

Are giant, multi-strand groups always like this? Most people more-or-less in phase, paying attention, two noisy attention-seekers, and one person so off-the-mark it beggars belief? What are good ways of keeping on-track when disruptive individuals try to re-route the point? What leads to disruptive tendencies in large, impersonal settings (and a passive audience)?