Tutor Session: Feb. 25th

Time: 1.5 hours

Plan: For this lesson I planned on introducing the idea of a personality test to my students. They are both women and very interested in this type of topic. So, I thought working with personality tests would be an effective way of introducing them to more academic language.

I’m using the Myers-Briggs personality test. It is above their reading level but my hope is that by allowing them to work together their stress will be reduced and they will be able comprehend well enough to complete the test.  I will continue to use the “clink and clunk” strategy to encourage the students to evaluate their own understanding. Further, I will introduce the idea of a word study to help them fully understand new vocabulary. I will front load some key vocabulary but students will also be tasked with selecting three new words that they believe are important.

Actual: As I hoped, the students loved talking about personality and were even mildly excited to take the “test”. First, I asked some discussion questions about their own personality. This gave us the opportunity to brain storm some common personality vocab and for me to introduce some new key words.

Next, students went about taking the personality test. They answered questions that were easy and somewhat difficult (questions they had marked with a check mark). After every 25 questions of the test I set aside some time for students to discuss any problems (especially those questions they had marked with a minus). Also, during this time (and throughout the testing period) students felt free to discuss with their partner and to ask me questions.

Once the students finished and were given their result (a four letter Myers-Briggs personality profile), I gave them a paper that summarized their own personality. Students then read their profile and highlighted words/phrases that were difficult for them. After reading we discussed their results as well as any confusion over their personality profile.

In the last couple minutes of class I gave the students homework to select three new vocabulary words that they deemed important.

Changes: Again, I tried to cram too much material into 1.5 hours. The test took longer than I anticipated. So, the word study will have to wait until out next session.

Analysis: The personality test worked very well considering it was well above their English reading ability. Since they were interested in this topic their motivation to understand confusing language could not have been higher. At points, finding out what a phrase meant seemed like a life or death situation for them. This was great to see. Allowing them to help each other throughout the test was beneficial because it lowered their stress level. Instead of getting frustrated about a question they simply worked together to figure it out, or asked me for help. While my plan was to have a more structured test taking period, it turned into more of a free flowing session. I don’t believe this had any affect on the result.

Overall I think the session went well. Homework is always nice because it helps them to keep our sessions on their mind. Also, homework will give them some hint about what to expect during our next meeting. Next class we will finish the word study exercise.