Teaching Journal Day 1 and 2

One of my classes for this semester is something called Teaching Directed Studies (Biol 448). What I do is I co-teach a lab component with a TA. I was lucky enough to be paired with a cool TA who happens to love birds as much as I do, is extremely talkative, sarcastic and fun. 
One of my jobs is to keep a teaching journal that I write in every day after I finish the lab and record what worked and what didn't work. I felt like sharing them today :) 
I have worked through three labs so far. Today was the third one. I love the class, they are so much fun and I love teaching them! 

Wednesday, September 12^th, 2012

Lab 1 

Today went pretty well. I was in charge today for introducing the “development of vertebrates” and also “translating terminology”.

                For “development of vertebrates”, I feel like I went a little too rushed and fast. I tried a couple of techniques…

·         I asked them if they felt like they were in the wrong class when development was taught. Since I am the student teacher, I figure I’m the “example that survived”.  So relating to them and making it clear that it’s normal to find this material alien, I was hoping, would comfort them

·         I then explained the purpose of teaching development first so that, hopefully, understanding why they are doing what they are doing will help

I didn’t have a chance to share study tips. I wish I did though.

Most people screwed up on their plasticine models. That’s understandable though. The parts that most people screwed up on…

1.       The head fold was next to non-existent in the embryo

2.       The gut (endoderm) did not rise into the head

3.       The bump of endoderm was non-existent or if made existed posteriorly also

4.       Mesoderm. People were very confused about mesoderm.

a.       Where it went

b.       Coeloms (is a space)

c.       Difference between epimere/mesomere/hypomere mesoderm

Most I should remind them too that they will also be taking them apart at the end… plasticine pressed too firmly together!

I feel like I could’ve asked more questions and a bit more patient. I felt rushed to get the student to the answer during which I case I forgot about leading to the answer rather than giving it. I need to watch that for next time.

Especially when students were pressed around me, I felt pressured to get through the material quickly.

Overall though, I feel stoked to continue!

Oh wait! I was also kind of nervous… my teeth were chattering slightly, my hands were shaky…

I also learned that contrary to what I thought the TA’s don’t really know everything about the material and that they are not almighty beings and have their limits… EPIPHANY!

Wednesday, September 19^th, 2012

Lab 2

                Nervousness… I was giving my intro and then I couldn’t hear the student’s answers to my questions… it was that awkward moment where I couldn’t hear them and didn’t know what to do. Felt too awkward… O_O. It made me feel nervous. And pretty soon I felt my face redden.

                I might have also forgotten to breathe.

                So I must remember that what feels like an eternity to me actually is seconds below the stage. When I am met by awkward silence to a question I feel they should know, I should tell them I can wait and they know the answer.

                I explained what they were doing with the specimens in the lab today in the context of if they were scientists investigating the phylogenetic relationships of deuterostomes. I hoped that would make them realize what they were expected to do with the specimens.

                When the students were staring at me with somewhat bored expressions, I was getting very worried that I was boring them and I think started talking even faster and become more nervous. Because I was afraid they may have been getting impatient by then.

                Overall, I thought I may have been too worried about what students thought about me/my performance and perhaps not as concentrated as I should have been on delivering the material.