Education
In this category, I will share with you all education-related blog posts.
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Teachers We Don’t Forget
Recently, a peer posted on a private alumni Facebook group about the passing of a lecturer we had during university. When asked about this lecturer, I can confidently say that my peers and I would describe him as an absolutely fantastic teacher who was caring and inspiring. As a Mathematics major and Biology minor, I found his course, Differential Equations and Biomaths, invigorating and captivating.
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Effective Science Education involves Addressing Misconceptions
Engagement is one of the key indicators for any educator that effective learning is taking place. But how do we engage our students in learning and how do we know that they are actually learning?
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Establishing Classroom Routines
According to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, up to 50% of all Aussie teachers leave the profession within their first five years of teaching. Early career teacher attrition rates are an ongoing issue and some reasons for premature leaving, as stated in a document by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), include high work load, lack of support from leadership and lack of ongoing employment. What can be done? According to the same document, factors that improve teacher retention are supportive school environments, job security and adequate preparation for teaching practices and procedures. Now, the last factor is within our power to improve so let’s begin there.…
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Fostering Student Feedback
Receiving verbal feedback from students on my teaching is a hit or miss. Helpful comments are purposeful and direct. Comments such as these have led me to adjust my instructional processes such as slowing down my pace, enlarging the font on my PowerPoints and provide more time for students to do activities etc. Though mostly, I am unable to use comments made by students as they are too vague (e.g. “I like the PowerPoint”) or simply out of my domain of control (e.g. “I don’t like this, I have to use too much of my brain”). Of course, I might be able to squeeze some more out of the students, but it is,…
