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Were the methods used effective?
Were the methods used effective?
From my perspective, the small group activities were effective in promoting student communication and collaboration. As I visited each group during the "Shared and Different" activity, I heard students asking each other questions about their families, what types of locations that they come from, and more. Additionally, I noticed a substantial increase in the noise level in the classroom during these activities. I saw this as an indicator that the activities were helping to bring students together and get to know each other.
I have less of an awareness if the lectures were effective because I was more focused on my delivery of the information than students' reactions. As a future teacher, being cognizant of my students' engagement in the lesson all while teaching the lesson is a skill that I will have to improve on. However, I believe that the brief time frame of the lectures and the various visual representations that I included in the accompanying PowerPoint helped to convey the information successfully.
The class discussions did not seem to be as effective as the previous two methods. When I posed the discussion questions to the students, only a few students raised their hands to offer answers. The answers that were offered were accurate, however, the pace of the lesson slowed. If I were to execute this lesson again in the future, I would explore how to make class discussions more engaging or change the method used for the debriefing entirely, such as small group discussions or personal reflection.
Finally, the survey method was mostly ineffective. Many students had issues accessing the survey's website. Since I assumed most students would be able to access the site, I did not bring enough paper copies of the survey and some students were left with no way to participate. In the future, I will have to bring enough paper copies for each student and never assume that the required technology will work properly. Despite these problems, I was able to quickly make the decision to skip the survey and carry out the rest of the lesson as planned.
Personal Takeaways
Personal Takeaways
While I had been familiar with much of the information that I presented, the Tufts University study which provided evidence for the benefits of diversity was new to me. Learning that verifiable research exists on the positive impacts of diversity makes me want to seek out and study more of this work in the future.
In preparing the lesson, I saw how my instinctual approach to teaching is a student-centered one. Originally, I wanted to take an entirely student-centered approach for the lesson, making me more of a facilitator than an instructor. I thought this approach would be most engaging for students. However, as I planned the lesson, I saw how some teacher-centered sections were necessary in order to give a meaningful context to the student-centered sections. This realization process has had a permanent impact on my teaching style, as I have seen first-hand the value of some teacher-centered instruction.
Furthermore, planning and teaching this lesson to my COR students has further confirmed my desire to be a middle or high-school teacher in the future. Although I was nervous before the lesson, I was also excited. My nerves completely faded as I moved through the lesson and I came out of the experience more confident in a teaching position than ever before. Additionally, finishing the lesson and seeing the students walk out of the room in pairs or groups conversing (which they had rarely done before) filled me with a sense of fulfillment and happiness. I was reminded again of why I want to become a teacher and my commitment to education was strengthened.
Overall, this experience considerably enriched my college experience and preparation to be a future teacher. I applied for this position with the goal of helping first-year students, but I did not realize how much I would come away with as well. The knowledge, skills, and experiences that I gained from planning this lesson and being a COR 101 TA overall will help me be a more effective teacher for even more students in the future.
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