This semester has produced many critical incidents for me. These have stemmed from both the influence of my lecturer as well as that of my fellow classmates. The most significant game changer or intervention was as a direct result of my lecturer's timely impartation of wisdom. However, I wish to share another experience.
A couple weeks ago, my Practicum class engaged
in in-house teaching exercises. While one of my colleagues shared, reference
was often made that, “You all are in Class X now, so you are supposed to know about Topic A.” This is a
statement I have often made, however, hearing it from someone else caused me to
realize how erroneous we can be in our deductions at times.
In planning
lessons, we are often required to state the previous knowledge of the learners,
however, in reality, this previous knowledge is often characteristic of some
or most of the learners, not all. This was one thing I felt necessary to not
lose sight of as I continue on my journey as a prospective teacher.
Secondly, the colleague used concepts
of time by the analog clock to reinforce the lesson being taught. It was assumed that all students had a working knowledge of time because we were all in Class X. This took me back to my days
at school. The concept of time had evaded me for almost my entire Primary
school life. To this day, I am not sure how that was possible, but the fact
remains. My colleague used these concepts to build an understanding of a new
topic, which was being taught. I thought of my level of understanding when I
was a student and I knew, had that lesson been taught to me then, I would have
been completely lost. While I may have been able to understand the lesson, I
would not have been able to make the necessary connections if the concept of
the hands of the clock were used. My confession is, I learned to tell time in
Standard Five. It was an embarrassment I silently endured for many years. I had
found a way to mask it, so much so, no one in my home ever realized that I was
unable to tell time. From this exercise, I understood the importance of truly
knowing your learners and to not take anything for granted.
This situation was compounded because
the lesson involved left and right movements. While this may be something that
most persons master perhaps from as early as pre-school, this was always a
challenge for me. There was nothing SIMPLE about left and right. It was ALWAYS
a big deal for me. Again, another burden of “shame” I silently
carried while growing up. I always needed a couple extra seconds more than my
peers did, to locate my right hand, then I could have moved on to the next
instruction. Again, if this teacher had taught me in my former years, I would
have been left behind because instructions were being given at a quick pace. Perhaps the teachers I had were just like my colleague, for I was in fact left behind. I
do not know what accounted for this “deficiency” in my
learning, especially since I often placed in the top three for End of Term
exams. This fact added to my personal shame even more.
This experience reminded me of how clinical the role of a teacher is. It taught me
the need to be more critical of my strategies and examples if a student is not
grasping a concept. It reminded me of the need to meet students at their level and provide the one to one intervention that they may need. It is my hope that what I faced in Primary school would not be experienced by any of my students. Strangely, I had never before considered the possibility that dealing with my inability was also part of my teachers' responsibility. Instead of a child going through years of shame and trying to mask areas they feel incompetent in, he or she should feel comfortable to approach me with his fears. I am hoping that I would still be observant and discerning enough, that even if a child still lacks the confidence to approach me, I would be able to detect gaps in the learning.
Finally, as the lesson progressed, I
literally found myself “lost”. My colleague made reference to a particular animated movie to
which everyone else in the class came alive and engaged in interactive
discussion. My colleague used this as an opportunity to elaborate on the
teaching point. While the example seemed to be an excellent one, the problem
was I had never seen the movie. I was not familiar with what the rest of the
class spoke about. I sat in silence, as I was unable to contribute to or participate
in this aspect of the class. I tried my best to understand how the characters being discussed could have helped me understand the teaching point, however, I was beyond reach. I am glad I had this experience because it
reiterated the fact that as a teacher, I should not take anything for granted.
There may be the odd number of students in my class who may not have been
exposed to certain factors or experiences. As such, I need to be mindful of
these possibilities. I may also need to ask specific questions to ensure that I
am not leaving any of my learners behind.
In essence, this experience has
caused me to look at myself more critically and see how I may be able to
conduct my lessons in a manner that can engage each student. At no time must I
take it for granted that because something or someone is popular, all my
students would be aware of it or him/her. Additionally, I should not assume that because
the students are a certain age, in a particular class, or able to attain a
particular grade, those students are fully aware of what is deemed common
knowledge. If I am to attempt to reach and influence my learners, I must always be able to connect with them.
PS: How I learnt to tell time.
For my 11th Birthday, someone gave me a watch. It was undoubtedly my most beautiful personal possession, however, I did not wear it because I was afraid someone would ask me the time.
I desperately wanted to wear my watch, so I embarked on a personal journey to learn to tell the time. I had a vague idea of the concepts involved and the terms used (that is, quarter to, ten minutes past, etc.). I devised a plan to slowly try to figure out how to tell the time.
First I asked a family member to set the correct time on the watch for me. Then, I started asking random persons at random moments to tell me the time (using their watches of course because I kept mine hidden). Each time they responded, I wrote down what they said, and I quickly took out my watch and drew exactly what I saw.
I did this for a period of time and I studied all the data I had gathered to see if I can make sense of it. I found the lesson on time in my Mathematics Textbook and I tried to study it. It took me a while to catch on, but finally, one day I experienced that Eureka moment!!!! There are not sufficient words to express the pride I felt.........not to mention, I was now able to sport my new watch.
No comments:
Post a Comment