Teaching 101

03.23.15 – After numerous fun activities that slowly thawed my once strong resolution of never being a teacher; I was suddenly pushed in a corner when we tried doing an Instructional Design. Needless to say, I felt the struggle that teachers go through in order to make a learning session interesting yet informative. It made me see teachers and professors in a new light.

It pays to actually know the topic like the back of your hand. The first few minutes or so of the session, I decided to sit and stare around because deep inside I’m panicking and I really didn’t know what to do. Even with all the handouts I have, I still had difficulty starting my ID. First off was writing the objectives. It sounds easy but it was actually a bit of a gruelling task because I was basically laying the foundation for my whole ID. This is where full understanding of the topic plays an important role. Being aware of how to create realistic expectations for each session is essential. Next was the contents wherein knowing the important concepts to include was vital.  So was organizing it in such a way that all pertinent information is included allowing for a comprehensive learning session.  

Build a treasure chest of teaching strategies. The idea of the Instructional Design is actually quite simple. What made it so difficult, well in my case that is, was the struggle of incorporating fun activities that will pique the interest of the learners. As a learner, didactics never was my favourite. And now that I’m trying on “teacher shoes”, I kept on reminding myself that. Even simple small group discussions or even demonstrations can go a long way to keep the learners interested.

Assess the learners. Last was thinking of an appropriate evaluation method that can completely assess their learning. I realized that this does not have to be quizzes all the time. There are certain topics that require a different method to evaluate if the topic is really understood.

When I finished my own ID, I breathe a sigh of relief. It was my first time doing it and I was so tired. My respect for teachers out there rose to new heights because now I finally got to see what’s behind the veil. I appreciate all the hard work they put in making a learning session remarkable. And I will pay it forward. I’m sure I still have a long way to go, but hey, I believe in myself. Along with lots and lots of practice, I’m willing to work hard and double the effort to make my teachers proud and to help in any possible way I can my future learners.