Thus far I have found my peer leading experience to be more of a peer monitoring experience due to the professor’s lecture style. Not only does he not put any appreciable time into group work, but he also tends to do the bulk of the speaking. The challenge for me is then to find an appropriate time when I can interject with any students who may appear to need help. This too is a challenge. It is difficult to gage a chat rooms comprehension when there is primarily only one speaker. As a online teaching style where time is limited I can see the value of this older style of teaching. Unfortunately, it does not leave much room for me to have a one-on-one session with the students. The student’s focus is, and rightly so, on the professor’s lecture. But there is still value to this program. The ability to observe both teacher and student can never be underestimated. I find observing the student’s reactions to be most enlightening. How the students respond to the teachers lecture and notes will help me to trailer my lesson plans in a way that will best engage my students while still relaying the desired information.
