I had an internship with the Mathematics facilitator Daniel Bradic; my interning focused on the precalculus class, primarily the one during 4th period. Day by day I would follow along through the problems with the students as well as go around and assist those with the class problems; I would check the homework and stamp their worksheets as well as occasionally assist in grading. Then in order to get ready to teach the class I would watch Khan academy videos, fill out worksheets, find practice questions and answer them, and try to learn why things worked how they did. Skills that were used were problem solving, research, social positivity and time management.
I learned from this internship how learners have a talent for asking questions you haven't even considered yet, how they may not get the same passion for certain concepts that you do. I learned that just knowing the content isn’t enough to be able to teach it, but that you also must know how to convey it to people; that different classes can have completely different enthusiasms levels which makes it more rewarding to teach one class compared to another. I learned that some learners really don’t like to pay attention in certain subjects and that you have to hypothetically pull their teeth until they participate. I learned teaching is some much fun but also terrifying.
The one major obstacle I had to overcome involved how to relay to the students the information from my lesson. I knew the concept inside and out after hours of preparation, but I didn’t realize that I would need to prep how to go from subject to subject.When it came time for me to teach that first class I became terrified, because I didn’t know how to explain everything I knew to them, I hadn’t thought of how to use the whiteboard properly, and I wasn’t looking forward to the solumness that is their class. After teaching for the first class I spent the entire next period practicing for the next one; I wrote everything on the board, rehearsed how I would resent it, asked Danny how he would suggest that I should continue, practiced my handwriting, and did it all over multiple times. By the second time I had to teach I had it all figured out, I knew exactly what to say, had very involved students, and flowed more fluidly from concept to concept.
From a young age I had wanted to be a math teacher, so I expected this to be very easy to do. I expected for teaching to come easily for me and to be able to fluidly talk about complex subjects. In truth it didn’t come as naturally to me when it involved teaching in front of a group of learners, that took more practice. In comparison talking to learners one on one was a lot easier for me; I was able to address all of their questions and understand how they got to the roadblock that they did, and once I was able to understand it was easier for me to help them think around it and come to the correct solution. This experience has not detoured me from becoming a math teacher, simply taught me what I need to practice more on in order to be a truly great one.
I learned from this internship how learners have a talent for asking questions you haven't even considered yet, how they may not get the same passion for certain concepts that you do. I learned that just knowing the content isn’t enough to be able to teach it, but that you also must know how to convey it to people; that different classes can have completely different enthusiasms levels which makes it more rewarding to teach one class compared to another. I learned that some learners really don’t like to pay attention in certain subjects and that you have to hypothetically pull their teeth until they participate. I learned teaching is some much fun but also terrifying.
The one major obstacle I had to overcome involved how to relay to the students the information from my lesson. I knew the concept inside and out after hours of preparation, but I didn’t realize that I would need to prep how to go from subject to subject.When it came time for me to teach that first class I became terrified, because I didn’t know how to explain everything I knew to them, I hadn’t thought of how to use the whiteboard properly, and I wasn’t looking forward to the solumness that is their class. After teaching for the first class I spent the entire next period practicing for the next one; I wrote everything on the board, rehearsed how I would resent it, asked Danny how he would suggest that I should continue, practiced my handwriting, and did it all over multiple times. By the second time I had to teach I had it all figured out, I knew exactly what to say, had very involved students, and flowed more fluidly from concept to concept.
From a young age I had wanted to be a math teacher, so I expected this to be very easy to do. I expected for teaching to come easily for me and to be able to fluidly talk about complex subjects. In truth it didn’t come as naturally to me when it involved teaching in front of a group of learners, that took more practice. In comparison talking to learners one on one was a lot easier for me; I was able to address all of their questions and understand how they got to the roadblock that they did, and once I was able to understand it was easier for me to help them think around it and come to the correct solution. This experience has not detoured me from becoming a math teacher, simply taught me what I need to practice more on in order to be a truly great one.