Professional Development: GSU / Brown Bag Session

"Brown Bag" with Amanda Starrick

On October 20th, 2015, the Intensive English Program at Georgia State University held a “brown bag” professional development session for any teachers who were interested in attending. The main topic for the round table session, which took place in the Applied Linguistics conference hall, was “bothersome experiences” we have had this semester as teachers in the IEP.

First, the session started on a positive note by asking attendees to brag about any positive experiences or outcomes they had experienced in their classes this semester. Multiple people talked about the improvements they've noticed in their classes in comparison to previous semesters. Next, we moved on to the more bothersome problems we face as second language teachers in the Intensive English Program.

Topics for discussion and input included how to address poor student attendance, how long we should spend planning for classes, elimination of tests and assignments in light of learning outcomes, time management, and engaging students. A few teachers this semester had decided to eliminate many homework assignments and even certain tests because of the new level five students and because of reevaluating the learning outcomes for certain classes. In addition to the elimination of tests, finding the answer keys to certain unit tests in specific classes was also a topic of conversation. The I-Drive, a great resource for all teachers for course and faculty materials, is always needing updates and without these updates, many issues can crop up.

When it comes to engaging students, the round table group of teachers discussed the issue of student cell phone use and then brainstormed different activities and games that could be used as energizers or icebreakers in class. Overall, all the topics were notably important, effecting each teacher who attended the session. I thought this particular session was great in that most of the topics for discussion were generated by teachers in the program – and all the attendees were encouraged to share their ideas and thoughts.