March 19, 2015

     “To become a teacher you must first become a learner yourself” –Anon. I realized how precise this quotation is when we performed our second activity in 138 called Three-way Teaching. In this activity, we each became a teacher, a critic, and an evaluator. This was not the first time we have implemented this type of learning during our classroom discussions and I must say that we have all done well in fulfilling these roles. 

     I taught my classmate a pen spinning trick, a skill which required finer motor coordination of the hands. I first demonstrated the whole activity and broke down the tasks. I then let her do the trick using a thinner and smaller pen and in a much slower pace so that it will be easier to perform. While teaching, I have realized that clear and concise instructions followed by demonstrations are not the only the aspects that should be emphasized, letting your learner explore a certain task on his/her own makes it easier for him/her to learn the skill. Also, to be able to implement an effective teaching, mastery of the skill to be taught is critical. 

   As I became a critic and an evaluator, I realized that feedbacks are not just about the performance that we have observed from our learners. It has always been more than stating the good points, the negative points, and the points to improve on. It is about motivating our learners; it's letting them have the sense of notion that they can definitely do it.

   Thus, in this activity, I realized that without learning one is unable to teach. Without the feedbacks, one is unable to improve. And without this activity, I will not be able to become an effective PT instructor in the future.