Friday, October 17, 2014

Experiencing Teaching from Cindy

After reading Stephen Brookfield, I have a clear mind of the three stages of experiencing teaching--scanning, appraisal  and action.

I have been teaching ESL for more than 12 years. Because I am not majoring in education, so during the beginning years of teaching, I have to learn Educational Psychology, Educational Law,etc.
I used to teach both undergraduate students and graduate students, even some middle school students.

Looking back to those years, I have learned a lot. First, I think that scanning is important. "Scanning is the initial sweep or experiential trawl we undertake to diagnose the big picture". I do need to know what the students want, what the English level they are, or why they would like to study English,etc.

During the appraisal phase, I need to know their specific need. For example, some students are bad in grammar, others are not good at speaking, etc.
During the action phase, I have to choose the proper teaching materials for them. For teenagers, I will have to find some interesting stories, or articles with more pictures, or journals related with their daily life,etc.

During all these years teaching experience, I find I must choose the proper teaching material to the right student and apply different teaching style to students with various characters. When I taught those undergraduate students, I may explain the material in a detailed way and asked them to do some assignments; while I taught those graduate students, I may ask them to prepare the course in advance, and asked them to explain the key points to me instead. also, I asked them to write some journals and do some projects.

When I came to Canada I have to do these three phases again,because the requirements ,assessment and teaching materials are quite different with those of China. I have to study those carefully before I decide I choose which way and what materials to deliver.

I love teaching. Staying with students, I can find many fun , stay young and also learn from my students.