Today I had another review of my teaching. I was uber nervous because the first professor who observed my class a few weeks ago basically ripped me apart. She hated my class and the way I teach, which made me really upset. I was worried that I would never get the hang of teaching and that my students would do poorly overall.
Things are looking up now, though. My class had one of the best averages on the departmental midterm, and the professor who reviewed me today had many nice things to say. It was so helpful to hear the things I am doing right; it really improved my confidence and mood towards teaching after getting blasted last time. She said she was impressed about how knowledgeable my students are. She also told me that I have a great rapport with my students and that I am comfortable in front of them, even if things get bumpy during the lesson, which are things you can almost never teach, you just have to have. These compliments are great, because sometimes I feel like I really have no idea what I'm doing and it's obvious. The professor's criticisms were only that I the way I explain things is too metalinguistic and that both my students and I need to use more German in class. I feel that these are good criticisms that I can use to improve in the next few weeks, until she reviews me again.
Showing posts with label Teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teaching. Show all posts
Oct 21, 2008
Aug 25, 2008
Thoughts on Teaching
Today was my first day of teaching, and it went surprisingly well! I had pretty much imagined the worst, but it turned out ok I think. It's easier to stand and talk in front of them than I thought-- my only complaint is that they just stare so much. Everything I did, they were staring at me. I guess it's to be expected, but it is a really awkward feeling for me. Overall though, I'm really very proud of myself! This is the scariest thing for me that I've done in a long time, and I did it fairly well. Get this- Im even excited to teach them more tomorrow.
But some of them already dropped my class! I take offense to this- I may not know exactly what I'm doing, but that totally doesn't mean you should drop my class on the first day! I know it happens for many different reasons, and our advisor did tell us not to be upset if many people drop, but still.
But some of them already dropped my class! I take offense to this- I may not know exactly what I'm doing, but that totally doesn't mean you should drop my class on the first day! I know it happens for many different reasons, and our advisor did tell us not to be upset if many people drop, but still.
