Peter CO #2

On Thursday 9 March, I observed Andrew’s listening class. The class session began with the TA writing the “word of the day” on the board. (Manic.) She asked the class what this word might mean, and one student suggested that ‘crazy’ could be one definition. The TA pointed out that this word is an adjective, and then gave its definition (relating to or affected by mania). Andrew played for the class a documentary about orca whales, their treatment by animal handlers, and about an incident that occurred at Sea World, where a mistreated killer whale mauled an employee. Every five to seven minutes, Andrew would pause the video and begin a discussion with the class. Students seemed to be interested in the topic and were listening attentively; the discussions were lively, and the students impressed me with their listening skills. Every time a strange/difficult word was spoken in the documentary, Andrew would pause the video and discuss it with the class.