Midterm: A little bit of Reflection

“Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner; put yourself in his place so that you may understand . . . what he learns and the way he understands it”—Soren Kierkegaard

I wanted to reflect a little bit on my experiences so far in this teaching practicum which I have found to be quite valuable. Let me start out by saying that this has definitely been an interesting and very informative semester for me. The best part of this teaching practicum is gaining hands-on experience in working with students. There really is no better way to learn about something than to actually “get in there and do it”! I have gained experience and knowledge that I have already begun to put into practice, and am sure that I will continue to do so as an educator in the future.

I have enjoyed observing and learning various different teaching strategies while working closely with an instructor at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) as part of my Teaching Practicum. The instructor that is precepting me to the experiences of an educator is the lead course instructor for the Critical Care Course at UTA. This course has been an excellent learning experience thus far, and it has truly been an eye-opening experience to participate in the learning process from the view point of an instructor. Throughout this semester I have worked with my preceptor and observed different teaching and communication strategies used with undergraduate nursing students in several settings including the classroom, private one-on-one sessions, and also in the clinical hospital setting. This practicum has also allowed me the opportunity to observe and participate in the several various roles that a university instructor holds.

Throughout this practicum I have been able to see first-hand the amount of preparation involved in every aspect of teaching. Adequate planning and preparation are not only necessary in creating lectures, but also in writing quiz and test questions, and in administering quizzes and exams. This was something that I learned on the very first day I attended class at UTA, as I assisted in proctoring the student’s first course exam.

This practicum has also taught me that it is one thing to learn as a student, and entirely another to learn as an educator. As an educator, you must not only be able to teach students and share your knowledge with them, you should also learn from your students and continuously strive toward improvement. I have noted that educators must not only be prepared to teach specific content, they should be flexible in their methods of explaining information. It is imperative for instructors to adapt to the needs and concerns of the students they are teaching, in order to effectively get the information across to them. Furthermore, educators should also be knowledgeable enough in the content they are teaching to answer any questions that may arise. Misinformation may not only be harmful to a nursing student in applying their knowledge on exams, it can be harmful to the student and possibly others if it causes a mistake during clinical practice.

Among the other roles that I have observed and participated in during my teaching practicum, I have also attended several different faculty meetings with my preceptor. It has been very interesting to see how the nursing department functions at the university, and how they work through the issues and changes they continually face as educators and nurses. Thus far my experiences in the Teaching Practicum have been progressing smoothly. I have enjoyed learning about teaching in the classroom, preparing lectures and quizzes, proctoring exams, preparing for clinicals, and attending faculty meetings. I have learned some valuable information throughout this experience that I will definitely be able to apply in my future role as an educator.

I hope that everyone is having as great an experience as I am. Take care.