co-teaching Intro to gateway
This semester I had the honor and privilege of co-teaching the intro to honors gateway course with my own honors advisor, Kyle Key. This experience was born from several conversations I've had with Kyle about my general career/life plans and toying around with the idea that I would like to teach one day.
Over the summer, Kyle emailed me to see if teaching gateway would be an experience I would like to participate to feel out the role of instructing students.
Excerpt from an email exchange:
Over the summer, Kyle emailed me to see if teaching gateway would be an experience I would like to participate to feel out the role of instructing students.
Excerpt from an email exchange:
Obviously I was very excited for this opportunity and at the prospect of visualizing myself as an instructor. In preparation, I read several articles and a book on teaching pedagogy which was really interesting. Since I spend most of my time in more DIY science classes, it was out of my typical day-to-day to contextualize the development of soft skills and student engagement.
I taught my first class by myself as Kyle was out of town and Bria (another honors advisor) was there for support. I was so nervous and sweaty and not confident in my own abilities and what I was saying (even though it was just the basics and general outline of the class). Each week I met with Kyle and we discussed the lesson plan, and divvied up the material. I think these meetings were incredibly valuable to my experience where I was able to honestly give my opinion and to reflect on the last class. I also had the opportunity to help grade and The semester went by SO quickly, and I think I learned the largest lessons after the last class.
I taught my first class by myself as Kyle was out of town and Bria (another honors advisor) was there for support. I was so nervous and sweaty and not confident in my own abilities and what I was saying (even though it was just the basics and general outline of the class). Each week I met with Kyle and we discussed the lesson plan, and divvied up the material. I think these meetings were incredibly valuable to my experience where I was able to honestly give my opinion and to reflect on the last class. I also had the opportunity to help grade and The semester went by SO quickly, and I think I learned the largest lessons after the last class.
Above are the memes I contributed to our last class's presentation, messages in fun formats that I hope I was able to convey.
The biggest affirmations that I had an impact on the students in our class was from reading the student feedback. Kyle was incredibly supportive and has always been such a cheerleader but some part of my brain lied to me and told me that he was just saying those things to be nice and that the student evals were a more objective form of feedback. I know that this is not true and yes, Kyle is kind, but also gave me feedback on things I could work on and I am glad of the collaborative and honest space we created.
Reading the feedback made me cry, and I really felt like my presence and what felt like minimal contributions were actually not minimal at all. I
Threaded throughout this experience was some form of self-doubt, something that will probably plague me for the rest of my life. I have to consistently remind myself that I am accomplished, I have knowledge that is worth sharing, and I have the kindness and capacity to support others in a loving way. I know these things to be true, but I also know that my doubt and anxiety prevent me from acknowledging these things in every situation I'm in.
Going into this experience, I've known that relationship building is one of the things that I value the most and one of my strengths but it's mostly been in a 1-1 context, and this was a test of sorts to see how and if I could cultivate a sense of community in a classroom.
On the last day of class, Kyle and I had a conversation that in this situation, as an instructor, they have no obligation to stay in touch and a continued relationship is something they initiate on their own accord. It kind of reminds me of a mama bird, where after nurturing them, they fly off on their own. This has been different outlook than the one I typically know — where I make a friend with the intent to prolong the connection. If I was a momma bird, I'd want them to leave and if they want to come back, they should but only on their own accord. It's up to them to form these relationships and I am just a passing friend to share what's important to me and if they take it, great - if they don't, I wish them well on their journey.
All I can hope is that the information and experience I shared was valuable to them, that they are able to navigate the honors program with as much love and dedication they want to, and that the lessons of connection and vulnerability are not diminished by the otherwise demanding rigor of regular classes.
Lastly, I want to address the *feeling* that I didn't do anything (again) and it wasn't until this last student feedback that I genuinely changed my perception— highlighted below. I emphasize feeling because it is not a fact and while I need to honor my feelings, I need to recognize they are not always the truth. I talked to Kyle about this and he said, "it's not necessarily about the work, but showing up authentically and being there" and I think that's the biggest take away out of all of them.
The biggest affirmations that I had an impact on the students in our class was from reading the student feedback. Kyle was incredibly supportive and has always been such a cheerleader but some part of my brain lied to me and told me that he was just saying those things to be nice and that the student evals were a more objective form of feedback. I know that this is not true and yes, Kyle is kind, but also gave me feedback on things I could work on and I am glad of the collaborative and honest space we created.
Reading the feedback made me cry, and I really felt like my presence and what felt like minimal contributions were actually not minimal at all. I
Threaded throughout this experience was some form of self-doubt, something that will probably plague me for the rest of my life. I have to consistently remind myself that I am accomplished, I have knowledge that is worth sharing, and I have the kindness and capacity to support others in a loving way. I know these things to be true, but I also know that my doubt and anxiety prevent me from acknowledging these things in every situation I'm in.
Going into this experience, I've known that relationship building is one of the things that I value the most and one of my strengths but it's mostly been in a 1-1 context, and this was a test of sorts to see how and if I could cultivate a sense of community in a classroom.
On the last day of class, Kyle and I had a conversation that in this situation, as an instructor, they have no obligation to stay in touch and a continued relationship is something they initiate on their own accord. It kind of reminds me of a mama bird, where after nurturing them, they fly off on their own. This has been different outlook than the one I typically know — where I make a friend with the intent to prolong the connection. If I was a momma bird, I'd want them to leave and if they want to come back, they should but only on their own accord. It's up to them to form these relationships and I am just a passing friend to share what's important to me and if they take it, great - if they don't, I wish them well on their journey.
All I can hope is that the information and experience I shared was valuable to them, that they are able to navigate the honors program with as much love and dedication they want to, and that the lessons of connection and vulnerability are not diminished by the otherwise demanding rigor of regular classes.
Lastly, I want to address the *feeling* that I didn't do anything (again) and it wasn't until this last student feedback that I genuinely changed my perception— highlighted below. I emphasize feeling because it is not a fact and while I need to honor my feelings, I need to recognize they are not always the truth. I talked to Kyle about this and he said, "it's not necessarily about the work, but showing up authentically and being there" and I think that's the biggest take away out of all of them.