Preface: During the second round of UTAing, we had an opportunity to review the lesson plans that first UTAs would be giving. The following is a reflection I did immediately after providing feedback, with additional details looking back on the whole experience more recently.
BLOG POST - Week 7, March 16, 2019
"I just finished reviewing lesson plans - I think they were all great! I was really having trouble finding "criticism" or points of improvement though. Partly because of the obvious (I'm not in the class so there is a sense of - I'm definitely missing something here) and partly because I thought they were awesome anyway. It was however really cool to see that some of the students were working with online classes as well. It's always helpful to see what other people are doing, and I learned a few things for myself. For example, many times for online classes our lesson plans consist of a video/powerpoint that focuses on a core concept that either the students are missing or will need to master for an upcoming assignment. The downer is that it's difficult to assess whether the concept was really solidified until you have another assignment. Many of the lesson plans noted that having a discussion board post after the lesson would help to underscore the core concepts and clarify any residual confusions. I also thought it was really fun that I got to peer review Lauren's (my fellow UTAs for 390) lesson plan. I worked with her on the first one, and this one was her solo. She created a powerpoint on Audience Analysis and paragraph construction which was much needed, since this is crunch time for our students to figure out their primary/proposal audience for their final paper. This is a huge deal, and I think Lauren dedicating a whole lesson to it, provided students with another resource. Besides that, our class is going really well! I have a few "regulars" who email me with questions/comments and it's nice to feel like we have an active and engaged student/UTA dynamic. I fell a little behind on my grading with studying for midterms and Im really chastising myself about that since I know everyone is looking forward to grades. I've got some major catchup to do. Otherwise everything is going really well - check in soon!"
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Looking back on this whole experience, I thought it was great for us to be able to provide feedback for the first time UTAS. I know when I was in the first part of this internship, I received feedback from a more seasoned UTA, and it really helped me focus my lesson plan. I used to think that I wouldn't really have anything valuable to provide other students. My reasoning was something along the lines of "I'm a student, they're students, what more can I provide them with, than the logic that they most likely already have?". However, through this experience I had a small revelation. Yes, like I thought these students are bright, logical, and immensely talented. However, contrary to my belief, they really valued what I had to say. I realized that even if you are telling someone something they likely already know, they haven't heard your experience yet. Every situation is different, either entirely or minutely. In any case, the more information, the better. I provided details for other UTAs on how when I was delivering my lesson plan, I found myself struggling with timing and nerves. It's really quite difficult to put yourself out there and try to look authoritative and knowledgable to your peers. Coming from this place allowed me to connect with the other UTAs. I told them that focusing on timing is secondary. Yes, it's important to have a plan of action - however it's largely dependent on the flow of the classroom. I myself used to have a difficult time being flexible and it's a skill that I've been actively working on. I think in any situation, it's important to be able to adapt. Sometimes in the classroom, the conversation is leading a certain direction you didn't expect, or it's going over time. Sometimes this is okay and the value of having those conversations and collaborations overwhelming triumphs whatever clock we think we're on. Often times, these important discussions lead to greater ideas, understanding, and insight.