Holly CO #1

    For today’s class observation, I had the opportunity to sit in with Professor Pollock and watch how he used contemporary topics – adoption and foster care – to elicit a discussion. Professor Pollock began the class by having us listen to a podcast about adoption. The podcast consisted of an interviewer discussing the procedures of adoption with a man whose family had gone through the process. After the podcast, Professor Pollock asked the students very concise questions about the procedures and requirements for adopting which opened the class to discussion. He then played a podcast which discussed foster care. The interviewer spoke with a woman who was a foster parent and they discussed the requirements involved for fostering. Professor Pollock played this podcast twice to help the students better understand the discussion. After the podcast, he pulled up a Venn Diagram, which allowed the students to compare adopting and fostering. Professor Pollock explained how and why students would use the Venn Diagram and let the students then discuss what circumstances went where. It was a cool class to sit in on. Professor Pollock’s teaching methods are creative and it was interesting listening to him gently correct the students when they made a mistake, including repeating a question to allow the students to correct themselves.