“In learning, you will teach, and in teaching, you will learn.”
Phil Collins
Anxious. Happy. Relieved. Grateful. Proud. I experienced all of these feelings during and after delivering my first demonstration. All of my concerns, which I had ever since I found out that we would be demonstrating our teaching methods in front of actual students, have been replaced by feelings of delight and pride in myself. It is not easy to prepare for a demonstration throughout the entire process, beginning with the creation of a lesson plan and continuing all the way through to the day when the demonstration will take place. The very fact that I am in that circumstance jolts me awake to the truth and compels me to confront the fact that this is how I will be in the years to come.
Effort, Time, Passion, Dedication, and Patience are all essential components as a teacher. If you want to a career in education, you absolutely must possess each of these qualities. To tell you the truth, every single day of that week tested me to my limits. I am so close to giving up, both mentally and physically, but I just can’t. I was under the thought that I wouldn’t make it, but I DID. The third week of January was a week that will stick out in my mind because it was the week that I had my first breakdown of the year as a result of academic issues. These issues included managing the hectic schedule of my online class in addition to the myriad of activities that needed to be completed before the deadline, and also our thesis defense. It’s not just my head but also my entire body that feels like it’s going to explode haha. Since this is how things are done at college, I’ll just have to get accustomed to having a routine like this. Well, college things!
So, getting back to the process of developing a lesson plan, at first I had a hard time figuring out how I was going to begin it, especially when I thought about the various technological tools that I could incorporate into the lesson; however, after a day and a half of hard work, I was finally able to complete it. On the other hand, when I give it to my advisor, she tells me that she is quite busy and doesn’t have enough time to check out our lesson plan. This is completely understandable. Because of this, the only day I will have the chance to make revision to my lesson plan is the day before my demonstration. I was having a lot of trouble and was quite nervous about whether or not I would be able to make it, but all of my concerns were replaced with a sense of relief after I was able to pass my revised lesson plan before the day was out.
Fast-forward, the day of my teaching demonstration. My anxiety begins to rear its ugly head before I even start. In all honesty, I suffer from social anxiety. When I have to speak in front of large groups of people or audiences, I get anxious, and uncomfortable. So it’s really a question to me why I decided to take this course that requires significant amounts of social interaction from other people. Well, my answer for that is, I have some hope that this course will help me in resolving this problem with myself . I feel like teaching will be the cure or will greatly help me to fight this anxiety I usually felt.
On the other hand, I used Canva PowerPoint, YouTube clips, Anki (a computer program flashcard), Google Form, Graphic Organizer, and Wordwall to offer the technology educational tools that I’ve used in my demonstration. It made me really happy and satisfied that I was able to use all of these tools during my teaching, and I would recommend using all of these instructional tools for an interactive discussion and activities.
To summarize all I experienced: It was an enjoyable experience that bolsters my confidence in my own abilities. It was the very first time that I had a real demonstration in front of the students and I think it’s not a bad performance for a first timer. At first, I was concerned about how I would carry out my lesson, particularly given the fact that my students are STEM 12; however, I was relieved to find that their enthusiasm in the class had put an end to all of my concerns. I also believe that the educational materials that I have chosen are engaging, which contributes to my overall sense of fulfillment. So, despite the fact that I feel as though my voice was about to give up due of the long discussion, I am happy to say that I was able to make it until the end. And lastly , I would say that I am proud with myself since I have been able to conquer and defeat my anxieties, worry, and anxiety.
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