Zzzzzzzzzz. . . . .
I'm sure it's much easier to critique a teacher when I'm in the audience, but since I'm 100% positive that I'm not alone in the following analysis, I'll ramble about it anyway.
Today I attempted to remain conscious & alert during class, and thankfully my classmates interjected periodically and shared anecdotes. (I can dinstinctly remember who was talking, but what they said is a curious blur.) Anyway, our discussion at one point involved the importance of using different teaching methods in order to hold students' attention. Our sagacious instructor uttered the astute advice: "Yes, no one can listen to lecture for very long," and then proceeded to warn us against lecturing for entire class periods. Always timely, my nodding head jerked forward with just the right amount of "snap" to arouse me from my imminent doze, precisely in time to catch the professor's eye. Ummm hello?? Case in point, lady. Why can't you follow your own advice? (Ok, so she did allow 15 minutes of group work, so I suppose I shouldn't be too harsh.)
I can honestly say that some of my professors in grad school thus far have truly attempted to model good teaching, and for that I am grateful. Others, however, seem to possess knowledge of theory but rarely practice it. I've discovered that the quality of one's teaching is indirectly related to the amount of glances a student gives the clock. . . 3 hours can seem like an eternity or a blur, depending on who's in charge. I checked my pulse 3 times today. . . it went from 56 to 48 over a 90-minute period. Thank goodness for J's sugary snacks ~ I'm fairly certain I may have flatlined without them.
Today I attempted to remain conscious & alert during class, and thankfully my classmates interjected periodically and shared anecdotes. (I can dinstinctly remember who was talking, but what they said is a curious blur.) Anyway, our discussion at one point involved the importance of using different teaching methods in order to hold students' attention. Our sagacious instructor uttered the astute advice: "Yes, no one can listen to lecture for very long," and then proceeded to warn us against lecturing for entire class periods. Always timely, my nodding head jerked forward with just the right amount of "snap" to arouse me from my imminent doze, precisely in time to catch the professor's eye. Ummm hello?? Case in point, lady. Why can't you follow your own advice? (Ok, so she did allow 15 minutes of group work, so I suppose I shouldn't be too harsh.)
I can honestly say that some of my professors in grad school thus far have truly attempted to model good teaching, and for that I am grateful. Others, however, seem to possess knowledge of theory but rarely practice it. I've discovered that the quality of one's teaching is indirectly related to the amount of glances a student gives the clock. . . 3 hours can seem like an eternity or a blur, depending on who's in charge. I checked my pulse 3 times today. . . it went from 56 to 48 over a 90-minute period. Thank goodness for J's sugary snacks ~ I'm fairly certain I may have flatlined without them.
posted by Kat at
9:39 PM
1 Comments:
Isn't it interesting to make that transition from student to future teacher! I remember sitting in my MAT classes (at that other university) and comparing notes with my fellow teachers-to-be about how good/bad our professors were. There was one who drove us crazy because he wouldn't answer our questions about teaching English - just told us we'd figure out the answer when we started teaching in our own classrooms. Not sure that was a very helpful technique...
Here's a thought: What if a future students of yours has the guts to tell you that she isn't happy with your style of teaching? How do you respond to that?
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phd me, at 12:08 AM
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