I distinctly remember looking at the lab packet the first
week of school and being very overwhelmed. Looking through that 44 page book
was quite daunting but what I didn’t expect was how much fun it was going to
be. I found lab to be difficult to prepare for but it was fun to “play” teacher
with my classmates. I also learned a lot about myself and teaching.
The first
lab I had to teach was on juggling. I had 10-15 minutes to teach all of my
classmates how to juggle, and the worst part was, I can’t juggle! I had an
instruction sheet that walked me through the steps and gave hints. When the day
came to give the lesson it was a flop. Trying to teach “students” a motor skill
when I couldn’t do it myself taught me an important lesson, demonstrations are
important and directions need to be clear, clear, clear!
There’s a
difference in instructing a class and talking to someone one on one and
explaining exactly what you want to tell them. I didn’t realize this until
after lab. Sure, it seems like common sense but learning how to use variability
and methods to teach high school kids is no easy task.
This lab
has forced me to reflect on lessons that I would have loved to walk out of the
room and forget as quickly as possible. However, when we are required to write
a blog for each lesson you are forced to think about how the lesson went, what
you would change, what you liked and what you didn’t like. It was really great
to bring to light my bad days and pull out specifically what needed work.
This lab
has without a doubt better prepared me for my teaching career. It showed me the
areas that I truly need to be better prepared on, for example clarity in
instructions. It has grown my confidence in talking in front of a group and it
has brought me closer with my cohort. We had some great laughs and learning
experiences in the AEE 412 Lab Course.
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