Passing on the Knowledge
They say the best way to learn something is to have to teach it. After teaching the introductory microbiology lab for two quarters I can absolutely confirm the truth of this maxim. When I received the email from one of my instructors inviting me to TA Microm 302, I didn't hesitate to accept. I was anxious about the level of responsibility I was taking on, but motivated to transmit my excitement and enthusiasm for science to other students like myself. I was also looking forward to stepping into a leadership role and getting a taste of what it was like to teach.
Now that I'm preparing for medical school and applying for jobs, I can categorize teaching as one of the most influential experiences of my undergraduate career. I gained extraordinarily useful and translatable skills almost without appreciating how enriching the experience was at the time. I practiced my public speaking skills with my lectures and my diplomacy when dealing with students disgruntled about a grade or during a clash of the lab partners. I learned how to be an adviser and a cheerleader when students struggled with the material while learning to write fair quiz questions that truly tested their knowledge and critical thinking. I learned how to work as a collaborative member of a team of other TAs while establishing independence in my own classroom. Teaching the material further cemented my own knowledge and deepened my experience with my field. But perhaps most important was the respect and appreciation I gained for my own teachers and the work they put in to my classes. As a person who considers herself a life-long learner and who has quite a bit of formal schooling left ahead of her, I know I will approach my future classes in a different way than I did when my only experience was sitting in the seats instead of standing in front of the board. On the other side of that coin came an ability to recognize when my teachers were not putting in the same kind of work my supervisors had required of me. At the same time as I gained appreciation for my dedicated instructors, I became disenchanted with the teachers who I now saw were not putting in the same effort. I became more discerning about my evaluation of my teachers, appreciating fairness in exams, rapport with students, and engaging examples more than I ever had because I knew how much effort it took to provide those elements.
Reading my own evaluations was both humbling and inspiring. I was lucky to be able to teach twice and improve on my previous experience. It was extraordinarily helpful to hear what my students really thought about my teaching and about the course itself. While things like "Can we have fewer quizzes?" are not so informative, comments like "Laura sometimes went off on tangents during her lectures" or "Laura sometimes spoke too quickly" were extremely helpful for me to hear. Then comments like "Laura was the best TA I have ever had!" brought me to tears. Now, no matter how annoyed or tired I am at the end of the quarter, I ALWAYS fill out evaluations for my teachers as thoughtfully as possible, remembering to leave helpful criticisms and praise alike.
Below I have posted the first draft of one of the quizzes I wrote during my second quarter teaching, along with my supervisors edits and comments.
Now that I'm preparing for medical school and applying for jobs, I can categorize teaching as one of the most influential experiences of my undergraduate career. I gained extraordinarily useful and translatable skills almost without appreciating how enriching the experience was at the time. I practiced my public speaking skills with my lectures and my diplomacy when dealing with students disgruntled about a grade or during a clash of the lab partners. I learned how to be an adviser and a cheerleader when students struggled with the material while learning to write fair quiz questions that truly tested their knowledge and critical thinking. I learned how to work as a collaborative member of a team of other TAs while establishing independence in my own classroom. Teaching the material further cemented my own knowledge and deepened my experience with my field. But perhaps most important was the respect and appreciation I gained for my own teachers and the work they put in to my classes. As a person who considers herself a life-long learner and who has quite a bit of formal schooling left ahead of her, I know I will approach my future classes in a different way than I did when my only experience was sitting in the seats instead of standing in front of the board. On the other side of that coin came an ability to recognize when my teachers were not putting in the same kind of work my supervisors had required of me. At the same time as I gained appreciation for my dedicated instructors, I became disenchanted with the teachers who I now saw were not putting in the same effort. I became more discerning about my evaluation of my teachers, appreciating fairness in exams, rapport with students, and engaging examples more than I ever had because I knew how much effort it took to provide those elements.
Reading my own evaluations was both humbling and inspiring. I was lucky to be able to teach twice and improve on my previous experience. It was extraordinarily helpful to hear what my students really thought about my teaching and about the course itself. While things like "Can we have fewer quizzes?" are not so informative, comments like "Laura sometimes went off on tangents during her lectures" or "Laura sometimes spoke too quickly" were extremely helpful for me to hear. Then comments like "Laura was the best TA I have ever had!" brought me to tears. Now, no matter how annoyed or tired I am at the end of the quarter, I ALWAYS fill out evaluations for my teachers as thoughtfully as possible, remembering to leave helpful criticisms and praise alike.
Below I have posted the first draft of one of the quizzes I wrote during my second quarter teaching, along with my supervisors edits and comments.