Mini Session Reflection

All I have to say about class today is…lucky me!!!  I am not trying to be sarcastic; I’m really happy that the wait is over and I have a mock session with Mike under my belt.  I feel that this practice scenario will help make future sessions easier, and I have certainly, “eaten the frog first” (Shout out to Mike’s comment on my blog).  As happy as I am that I’ve had such an experience, there are definitely aspects of the session to reflect on.

 Before I get into the nitty-gritty aspects of my performance, I have to share that I was not anywhere near as nervous as I normally would be!!! Praise God!! Usually when I’m called in front of the class, or placed in the center of attention, I get so nervous that it hinders my participation.  Thankfully, such was not the case. 

 Ok, back to the criticism.  I did make a conscious effort to get a lot of information about “Jeffrey’s” work before we began reading.  Thinking back to our mock sessions with the English 101 students, I was guilty of jumping into the essay before I fully understood the writer’s assignment and brief background of her ideas.  Today, however, I was aware of the need for pre-textual conversation, and thus attempted to foster such interaction.  Sadly, the conversation was still lacking.  I thought I knew enough about what Jeffrey was going to discuss in his paper, but could have never predicted the complexity of his thoughts.  I think I still need to work on getting more background information, and even ask the writer to outline what they hope is expressed in their paper. 

 Another fear I have is not grasping the writer’s ideas as well as I should.  I understand that Jeffrey’s paper was very dense, but by the time he read onto the second page, I had completely forgotten what was discussed in his introduction.  I think I would prefer to read the paper aloud, and at a slow pace.  At times, I find myself trying to find things to critique, grasp all of the writer’s ideas, and read all at the same time.  I know the multitasking is not unique to me, but I feel like each paper is still a huge challenge; my novice experience has not allowed me to jumble all of these tasks with ease.

 I think all of this will come with time, and I agree that there is no perfect session.  I don’t mind criticizing my efforts, so feel free to name any other flaws/ list suggestions.  Also, I can’t wait to work with the 101 students!!