Page 106 - Beyond Methods

94 Minimizing perceptual mismatches
4.2.1 At the end of a lesson, distribute copies of a fully formulated questionnaire and ask your students to think about the activities just finished. Have them complete the questionnaire.
4.2.2 Go over the completed questionnaire as soon as possible, cer- tainly before you forget the classroom events. Select a few outstanding comments from learners to mention in class.
4.2.3 In the next class, return the feedback sheets back to the students. Form small groups, and ask the members of each group to exchange their feedback sheets and read what other members have written. Have them discuss the perceptions of the members of the group, highlight- ing similarities and differences.
4.2.4 Ask the groups to share their group conversation with the whole class, followed by discussion.
4.2.5 Based on your reading of learners’ perceptions and the group re- port, clear any misunderstanding not only about identifying mismatches but also about any classroom aims and events that the learners have highlighted. If necessary, re-do portions of the previous lesson to help your students learn what they are supposed to learn in that lesson.
Exploratory Projects
The two exploratory projects presented below are designed to help you understand perceptual mismatches better. The first one relates to how the learners and teachers look at the aims and activities of a par- ticular course in general. The second relates specifically to the teacher and learner differences in the attitudes they bring to the class.
Project 4.1: Perceptions of Classroom Aims
4.1.0 This project is aimed at helping you explore possible mismatches between learner and teacher perceptions of class aims and activities. By comparing learners’ perceptions with yours, you may be able to better orient your instructional goals and strategies. Using the collected in- formation, you may also be able to negotiate the content of the course with your learners.
4.1.1 Design a survey questionnaire on the aims and activities of a particular class you are about to teach. You may adapt the question- naire shown in Figure 4.2 to suit your specific needs, by revising, delet- ing, or adding to the items. This is a common questionnaire for teach- ers and learners.