Good Example Of Research Paper On Results

Many of the students were excited and honored to be asked to participate in the interview. When it became understood that I was asking questions about their perceptions of my teaching, many of the students that I did not originally ask to participate wanted to also be interviewed. I made arrangements for a few more students to be interviewed, but kept the number at 22 students. During the process, it became abundantly clear that there were a lot of similarities in their perceptions.
Common themes began to emerge from the students' responses during their interviews. The idea that I was a fun teacher was perhaps the most prevalent theme. At the end of all the interviews, all but one student said I was a fun teacher. For example, a student that would be considered an above average student, stated, “Your teaching is fun because you can make jokes with the class and you teach in a unique, different and fun way.” Another student added, “It is fun nearly every day because every lesson you are funny about it.” Many of the students interviewed commented that they liked it when I made jokes in the lesson. For example, one of the students talked about a lesson I taught on the Three Gorges Dam. During that lesson, I would ask the students questions such as, "Do you think that is a lot of 'dam' water?", or I would mention that "the dam wall was very large." I also had them work on a “Dam” assignment. The comment the student made about that lesson was, “Your lessons sometimes keep us on our toes to pay attention and it was really memorable.”
Another one of the examples that the students used to describe how fun I was as a teacher was based on the fact that I use short video clips in my lessons. For instance, many of the students described the time we were learning about Buddhism and the concept of Nirvana. As we were discussing the Buddhist concept, I asked a student to define Nirvana. The student responded, “the state of perfect happiness and peace.” I then asked for another definition of Nirvana. When no student gave the correct answer, I played a YouTube video of the band, Nirvana, for about two minutes -- and stated: "This is Nirvana.” When a majority of the students use that example to explain why my teaching is fun, it informs my development as a teacher.
Along with the Nirvana video, another theme that became apparent with my students was that they enjoyed it when I plugged videos into my lessons. One great piece of feedback I received from a student was that they remembered my very first lesson. From the lesson about Russian Propaganda, they remembered when I played a clip from the film Rocky IV -- when Rocky fought the Russian. The 1980s film depicted some propaganda I wanted the students to be aware of. The student said one of his memorable moments of my teaching was “the first time you taught us, you showed us a clip from Rocky to help us understand the conflict between the United States and Russia.”
Another student stated they really liked the Sony Walkman commercial from the 1980s that I tied into a lesson on Japan’s economy. During the lesson, we discussed the large technology companies that originated in Japan. The students then displayed their lack of knowledge of technology that was developed before 2009. To show how long the company has been relevant, I showed the out-of-date Sony Walkman commercial. According to a few of the interview answers, many of the students understood the concept that was being taught. For example, one student stated, “when you related the Sony Walkman commercial to Japan’s economy, I understood how it is relevant to today.”
A third theme that emerged from the interviews -- and will provide useful feedback -- was that many students stated they appreciated when I explained, or reworded student answers for them. For instance, one student stated, “Whenever we were learning about religions, you were able to reword some of their beliefs so that I could understand.” Although explaining concepts may seem like a small task for a teacher, it was rewarding to hear so many students comment about how helpful it was to hear their ideas reworded. This idea was also communicated to me by my university supervisor. He also stated that I did a good job of helping students explain their answers by rewording their responses. Another student stated, “You take time to explain things when some students don’t get it.” Of all the feedback I could have predicted I would receive from students, being a helpful explainer was not one of them.
When I asked the students about the kinds of qualities they like in a teacher, most of them answered that they liked teachers who have a good sense of humor, or are fun.