Dear

Micah-Jade,

Thank you for letting me observe your class on October 6 from 8:00-8:50 AM in Reed Hall 321.
Your goal for that day was to talk about creating effective research questions since some of
your students struggled coming up with arguable topics last class.

You began class by writing a Ballenger quote on the board: What makes a good research
question? Then you asked your students whether they had any questions about last class and
proceeded with your first freewriting activity. You timed them and said they had 5 mins to
answer the question above. After they finished freewriting, you wrote down their answers on
the board. The students listed the following about what makes a good research question: can
be supported through sources, not pre-conceived, clear and concise, and arguable (having more
than one viewpoint). I liked this activity because it helped them put their thoughts down on
paper and then you had to elicit answers from them, which made them accountable for what
they wrote.

After this activity, you used the second board to give an example of a possible research
question about the topic pumpkin spice lattes. The possible research question you gave was
Why are they popular? You asked them whether this was a good research question and then
you showed them why its not. Then you narrowed down the question and gave them a list of
other questions to ask themselves when they explore their own topics. To do this, you put the
questions up on the projector and told students to write them down. I like how you utilized the
two blackboards in addition to the projector. I think the fact that your computer is facing
forward helps you type the questions live. If I wanted to do that in my classroom, I would have
my back to them, which is inconvenient.

You wrapped up the last 10 minutes of class with another freewriting activity where students
wrote about what they really want to talk about and why. You put some background music and
walked around to see if anyone needed any assistance. I really liked this idea of playing music
while they wrote, and the students seemed to enjoy it.

Overall, I believe this class demonstrated your great time management skills as well as your
flexibility in using the sources provided in the classroom (the blackboards, projector, etc.). The
free writing activities were adequately timed and the students seemed to get a firmer grasp of
what makes a good research question by the end of this session.

Thanks again or letting me visit! Good luck for the rest of the semester!

Dana Aicha Shaaban