Session 5 Reflection

Today's session was interesting in lots of ways.
First, the structure was different. Instead of 1 x 3 hr block we ran the 3 x 1 hr rotations. This made the sessions more like a 'typical' school time for both teachers and learners. The idea behind the change in structure was to be able to give students a taste of the specialist areas that they are planning to teach as well as acquainting students with some of the aspects to look out for in terms of safety and knowledge about lab procedures and equipment.
Second, the feel was different in that I was interacting with different groups which meant that some students I knew well and others hardly at all.
Third, I was trying to balance supplying information about the Study design with engaging students in an experience of learning that is relevant to the study design and that introduced new teaching procedures ('Draw what you know', Venn Diagrams) and content (plant transport systems, pathogens and parasites).

Okay some more detail about each of those aspects and my response to them as a teacher.

The structure.
This was a good reminder about making a compressed message - which is the everyday work of teachers in schools, compared with the relative 'luxury' of uni teaching in 3 hr blocks. What can you reasonably get through in 50 mins? How can this be constructed as a worthwhile learning experience? I was much more modest in my expectations for this session than a regular 3 hr session, but then still struggled to get through the intended curriculum. That this struggle is experienced by teachers no matter what their level of experience was brought home to me in a comment from a student (a comment which i was very happy to hear), that he was yet to see a teacher educator model getting through the intended plan with time to spare. That's true. It is ALWAYS a balancing act for teachers/teacher educators since there is more than the plan going on in a classroom. Because teachers are interacting with people with a variety of needs that are changing, then the intended plan is being moderated against that all the time.
Another aspect of the structure meant that student teachers were more in the position of school learners, moving from one (shorter) class to another, without a break in between. I kept thinking about what this was like for you. I was expecting students to engage straight away with what i was doing, and yet you were dealing with what had come before and what was coming next. As the afternoon wore on, the weariness factor would have also kicked in too - I still had a message to give but i was aware that by 4.30 it would have been harder to hear. I would be keen to hear responses about that.

The 'feel' of different groups.
It was clear from the first group that I needed to resolve some confusion - as far as possible - about the structure of the afternoon. This then impacted on what was possible to do in terms of intended plan. Part of me felt annoyed that it seemed as though some people had not checked out the website or the unit guide as to the week's activities - another part of me acknowledged that maybe it wasn't so clear and that i should spend time on it. This will be a dilemma that you experience as teachers all the time - learning to balance explaining what is going on, with getting on and doing it. Understanding this aspect also includes recognising that maybe a minority of students wanted to know this information, and in this case, I may have been allowing them to 'hijack' the lesson with their concerns. I know i did stress to the group that if you don't deal with these concerns as a teacher then it will be hard for students to focus on your intended message.
As the groups changed, then this aspect of confusion reduced and i could direct the session differently.

Supplying information and engaging in learning.
At the end of the first session, i asked the group about how they experienced what i had offered and what changes they thought i should make for the next group. I 'thought-aloud' with them, deliberating over what would best serve the needs of learners when there is limited time. I found it very interesting that the feedback from some students was to reduce the amount of time spent on the study design and get on with the learning activities. (Surprised because i thought students would be hungry for detail about the curriculum - even though my view is that beginning student teachers should be realistic about what it is possible to know about the curriculum.) This then influenced the approach for the next group - i went more quickly through the design and we had at least 20 mins on the learning. Feedback from this group indicated that the pace was ok. In the 3rd group, a change of rooms meant there was no access to the powerpoint, so that my explanation of the study design was much more of an overview, and then instead of looking at 2 different learning activities we looked at one, because the small size of the room would have made it too difficult to run, otherwise.
Important point here, and that runs through the whole afternoon, that as a teacher you are always working within an intended plan and an enacted plan. The enacted plan must be sensitive to the learners and the context, but should not be compromised by them. Knowing how learners are experiencing the teaching then matters in feeling your way towards what will be most helpful as a learning experience. Getting through the plan can become a trap - a sense of completion for the teacher - but not necessarily a good learning experience for the learners. On the other hand, not getting through enough of the plan can disadvantage learners - particularly in doing a senior curriculum subject and may leave learners confused.....Good teaching is complex!

Finally the two teaching procedures: draw what you know and Venn Diagrams. I was really interested to hear the variety of student responses to the drawing task - some were over it in a matter of moments, others had way more to write and draw. This does highlight the individual nature of learning and that the teacher can not 'get it right' but is always balancing different needs. Belinda asked a very good question of the group about doing the tasks - How do you think your students might experience this task compared to how you experienced it as an adult learner (with a biology major)?? This is a great question to take into practicum as the assumptions that you have about what students should know, what they might enjoy and how they might learn from your teaching may be vastly different from your own views. I will be keen to learn how you might find this out.

As always, am keen to hear your thoughts about this or any other aspects of the session....