D-DAY

03.27.15 – To be honest, when I saw a few teaching sessions of my block mates, I got jealous because ours was a bit lackluster compared to theirs. By that, I meant that ours lack some physical activity because we were assigned to do classroom teaching. Nevertheless, it was still a learning experience to remember and one that I’m glad I got to encounter.

As it is a lecture, there are a lot of things to consider in making the session an effective and interesting one yet ensuring that the learners will leave the classroom having gained knowledge of the topic.

Build rapport. This is essential in engaging the learners to pay attention to what you are saying. Putting myself in the learner’s shoes, if there’s suddenly a person in front of me who started teaching without proper introductions, I would be confused and disinterested. My group mate being friends with some of the 3^rd Year PT students played a big factor in warranting interest from them. It is important to build that working relationship wherein respect begets respect.

Know the topic by heart. Over and over again I mention in my reflections the importance of understanding well what I’m teaching, and the experience last Friday served as proof. Confidence in one’s own knowledge inevitably shows in how a teacher acts and carries oneself while talking in front of the class. If you’re uncertain, in one way or another it will be evident in the voice or gestures or body language of the teacher. Additionally, when learners have questions regarding the topic, a teacher who has full grasp of it would not be taken aback and would be able to answer accordingly.

Having a plan is everything. I realized the importance of having a plan as to how I wanted the lecture to go. Having an Instructional Design made creating the flow of the session easier. If a teacher already has inkling as to the general course of the didactics, insertion of an engaging activity such as recitation is possible – which in turn would help keeping the students’ interest less difficult.  

Know your limitations and do not be afraid to admit them. This came up when I asked my professor some advice as to how to be confident whenever teaching in front of a group of people. This stuck to me because I agree to it fully. Being confident does not only include how I will teach, but also how I will be honest enough to state if there is something I do not know. Teachers are people too albeit with specific expertise, but they too are still learners. Nobody stops being a learner throughout life. So having the courage to say that “I’m sorry, I do not know the answer to that” or “I’ll get back to you and your question” is I think very important in becoming an effective and respectable teacher.

Our Teaching course ended with a bang. Having gained so much learning these past few days, we were put in some sort of initiation in teaching and I’m proud to say that it went well. Although I’m still lacking experience, I’m now more than determined to exert more effort and do everything I possibly can to be a good PT and teacher in the future.