Formative Evaluation
One of the greatest problems which foreigners in general and foreign students in particular encounter as they get accustomed to the new place and its traditions and social interaction is the law and its multiple issues, namely the copyright law.
Devoting these sessions to teaching foreign students the peculiarities of the copyright law in the U. S. and comparing it to the systems of copyright law existing in the other countries, one can help people to avoid a number of upsetting conflicts and misunderstandings.
Workhouse Sessions
In the process of the session I tried to help students think on their own, creating the right environment for analytical and critical thinking. Giving them hints so that they could get the overall idea of the topic, I could further on count on their feedback and their eager participation.
It was of crucial importance to drive students to the idea that copyright laws in different countries may vary. As the students realized this fact, it was necessary to drive certain parallels with the copyright laws in different countries before proceeding to the idea of the international copyright law.
One of the most important parts of the lessons was the revision if the material learned in the previous sessions, for this helped students to track the differences in the copyright law systems of different states.
Discussions
Another crucial part of the sessions was the discussions of the learned material and further development of the topic. Working in small groups, the students could remember the material better and develop their own critical thinking and deductive abilities.
Summative Evaluation
One of the peculiarities of the given sessions would be the fact that the students will be able to assess the lessons themselves. Such approach will help to obtain most objective results and will lead to eliminating any possible misunderstandings concerning both the material and the learning sessions.
Aims Achieved
With help of a small survey which students will be handed it will be possible to realize if they find the lessons useful themselves. Thus, answering such questions as what the relevance of the content to the given student’s personal work was, one will be able to assess the knowledge obtained during the course. In addition, the information gathered will provide a truthful and objective portrait of a teacher.
Feedback
Another important part of the lesson sessions is the discussion of the material learned during the lesson. In conversations and discussions of all aspects of the information obtained the students will be able to develop their skills to communicate; in addition, they will be able to learn the complicacies of the international copyright law faster.
It is worth mentioning that such system of learning will also develop the students’ ability to convey their personal opinion concerning important issues and take the opposing opinion with due respect.
Students’ Evaluation
One of the parts which the students will like is the personal critical evaluation of the teacher and the courses in general. As the students provide their impressions concerning the way the teacher explained the material to them, it will be possible to consider the teacher’s approach from various points of view. Thus, the students will contribute to the shaping of the teacher’s personal experience as well.
Students’ Ideas and Suggestions
It must be also kept in mind that the course was designed to help students orientate themselves better in the existing copyright system; therefore, each student’s personal impression of the lesson will be considered an important piece of information. Thus, with help of the second part of the survey, it will be possible to find out whether the experience was valuable for the students or not.
Self-Assessment
With help of the above-mentioned lesson sessions, the students will be able to obtain deeper knowledge on the subject. To evaluate the effect that the courses will have on the students, it will be necessary to construct the evaluation plan. It seems that the most reasonable structure will look in the following way:
- the useful experience which I obtained during the classes;
- my personal impressions of the students and the classes;
- students’ ideas of my teaching
Since the lessons will provide me with the precious genuine experience which I will use for my further personal development, the lesson sessions and the survey will provide me with the information which is most important for my professional competency.
With help of the critique and the suggestions which the students will provide me with, it would be possible to continue the professional development, taking into consideration the issues which the students will point me to.
In addition, it is extremely important that the survey includes both the critical evaluation of the teacher and the suggestions which the students can give to improve the course of the lessons and the approach of the teacher. With help of this significant issue it will be possible to continue self-development.
It also seems to me that the students’ behavior and attitude towards the learning material is going to predetermine my ideas of the workshop and its value for me and for them. As long as the students will find the sessions interesting and useful in terms of their knowledge of foreign and international law, it will be clear that the lessons have proved useful and interesting for them. This is the students’ experience which is going to be of crucial importance for me.