REFLECTIONS

DRAMA -301
WEEK 1 (29.09.10- 01.10.10)

What I learnt was that using drama method in our teaching as teachers is so
important. So ,in other words, a teacher and an actor are very similar. They both use their
body languages, facial expressions, gestures, voices , postures etc very effectively. They are
both aware of the importance of eye contact and posture etc, that’s what I mean is that a
teacher and an actor should be aware of their verbal and non-verbal messages. And what is
important is that creating an effective non-verbal communication in classroom atmosphere.
For instance, heading nods has a huge impact to encourage students. Furthermore, being
sincere(look like sincere) and smiling(there should a balance), eye contact are very
important. Especially eye contact is very important when we lose the attention of the students,
it’s mostly used for classroom management and showing our interest and concern to the
students. Moreover,posture is another important matter. Standing in the class has more effect
on the students than sitting , you look confident and show students that you are for not against
them, then. Besides, first impression is very important and never changes soon ,and so we
should have an effective entrance at the beginning.

What I had difficulty in figuring out was nothing. Thanks 

I suppose I need to focus more on smiling in the classses. In my daily life I’m happy
and smile everytime, but I can’t reflect my smiling face in my demos  I know that it’s all
because of stress and anxiety. However I should learn to control my anxiety and show my
smiling face to the students , I hope..

I am going to use the knowledge of where to stand in the classroom : be for the
classroom not against them  I should use eye contact and my gestures effectively in my
teaching.

DRAMA - 301
WEEK 2 (06.10.10 – 08.10.10)

What I learnt was that we are aware of our facial expression or not. We did an activity
which was about feelings this week. There were 3 feelings chair : angry,fear and laughter.
You wanted us to show these feelings. At first I thought it was very easy, but when I tried I
realized that showing your feelings (in front of many people) was very hard . Especially
laughing was very difficult for me , but in my daily life I laugh very much. In this activity,
we learnt that no matter how we feel(sad,angry,tense), we shouldn’t reflect it to our students.
We will come to class with a different role : I will be “ Unzile as Teacher ” in the class not
“Unzile” in my daily life. So I shouldn’t take my sorrow, sadness or anger with me in the
class. Furthermore , we did another activity : we walk around the class with closed eyes. This
activity foster these two aims : cooperation between students and the importance of feeling us,
emotions.
 What I had difficulty in figuring out was nothing, activities were very good 
I am going to use the feelings activity in my classes. It is a good warm-up activity and
we can teach adjectives(facial feelings) easily with this activity. Thanks ,sir 

DRAMA – 301
WEEK 3 (13.10.10 – 15.10.10)

What we did this week was a funny activity, I liked it very much. The activity
was asking for a girl’s hand. All of us enjoyed very much, especially Haluk’s performance
was super  The imporatnt point in the activity was slowing down our performances.
However almost none of us coul do it well, it was very difficult to slow down when we
focused on our role plays. This activity shows us that our body and emotions should be
balanced, we should learn to controll our body movements.

What I had difficulty in figuring out was nothing.

I am going to use the knowledge that body and emotions are balanced. I should
learn to controll my body movements. When I get angry the students, I should be controll my
anger and not reflect them, because I will them not lose…

I COULDN’T ATTEND THE CLASS IN 4TH WEEK BECAUSE OF MY ILLNESS

DRAMA – 301
WEEK 5 (27-29.10.10)

What I learnt was the importance of classroom space. A constructive and

purposeful use of the classroom space helps both teacher and the students, teacher feel
more confident and students are more motivated to learn in these classes. For
instance,I learnt that walking in the classroom without any purpose is not meaninful
and students are distracted. Besides, proximity is also important issue. We create
proximity depending on the purposes we have. If we want students to listen to us
carefully, we should get closer to them, however in not a threatening way. For
instance, if we come closer to them when they are speaking , they feel stressed and
excited ,and so they cannot talk or forget what will say. Thus we should pay attention
to the distance between students and us. And we learnt that an actor and a teacher are
similar in terms of the place himself/herself in the classroom : 1- establish a
relationship 2- provide emphasis 3- control and maintain the attention.

What I had difficulty in figuring out was nothing 

I am going to pay attention to space between me and my students. And I learnt

that walking or standing in the class without any purpose is not a meaningful movement so I
won’t do it.
 DRAMA -301
WEEK 6 (05.11.10)

We go on the lesson with classroom space and do some activities. It is important

where a teacher put himself/herself in the class. Teachers should block their positions to draw
students attention, clarify focus and establish intergroup relationship. Another crucial issue we
learnt was that smelling the classroom atmosphere. And also, good teachers make
spontaneous decisions, and so we sould be attentive to students feedback and modify our
lesson or teaching style according to it. Furthermore, we did activities. One of them was facial
expessions , we had a circle and you wanted us to walk and try to do what you said, for
instance cry, laugh, angry, tired. Another activity was following the partner’s finger, it was
about drawing the students attention and guessing what would happen. And our last activity
was that we had groups and you said us to be what you said. That’s I mean, one group would
be a latter, one group would be bridge. Both were effective activities for me, thanks 

What I had difficulty in figuring out was nothing, everything was good and clear.

I am going to use the knowledge of smelling the classroom atmosphere, I will have a
second plan or activity in my pocket , and when something goes bad or students don’t
understand me or they get bored, I will use these second B plans  furthermore, the finger
activity was a good one ,I think. I will use it as a warm-up activity in my classes.

DRAMA – 301
WEEK 7 (10.11.10)

What I learnt was the impact of humor on teaching. Humor (fun ) is crucial to
motivate students. And “ Learning is most effective when it’s fun ” (I liked this quotation
very much) Fun has a positive effect on both students and teachers, it creates positive
learning environment. However, it should be done in a natural way and there should be a
balanced fun, it shouldn’t be very much, because then students can abuse it, they dont’t listen
to you or not attend the class or lesson etc when they know you are not a serious teacher.
Moreover , we should have a purpose when we tell a joke, it should be related to the lesson
and subject. And we can make ourselves the subject of fun easily, then the students take risks
in the classroom because as a teacher we are funning ourselves,we give them the massage that
we are not the perfect ones.

What I had difficulty in figuring out was nothing, everthing was good and clear.

We also did some activities this week. One of them was that you showed us a picture
and wanted us to become a subject in the picture ,eg a ship, bridge,…It was very interesting
and enjoyful activity, all of us enjoyed  and then we learnt how to use it in ELT : guessing,
practicing tenses, may/might, adjectives and so on. And this activity raises curiosity /
awareness, students interaction, cooperation and it is important in terms of learner’s feeling,
sense of belonging community. Another activity was the village of Smirks. It was an
effective and interesting activity. We learnt that with this activity , we can develop the skills
of observation, creative thinking and cooperation with others 
I am going to use fun in my classes, but in a balanced and subject-related way. And I
liked the picture happening activity, I will use it in my classes, thanks 