Learning Outcome 8
Reflection on Areas for Improvement and Growth After Teaching
My teachable subject is History. Having trained as a specialist in modern history, I was genuinely thrilled at the prospect of introducing students to exciting historical stories. But I, unfortunately, never had the chance to teach an actual history lesson during my yearlong practicum. However, even if I couldn't use my academic background to its full potential, I was still able to prepare and teach lessons in other subjects including Science, Literacy, Drama, and Social Science. Since these were not my specialties, there were definitely times that I overlooked important pieces or could have done things differently. In retrospect, I can pinpoint a lot of room for improvement — but one experience really does stand out to me.
So, I taught a grade 4 science unit on Pulleys and Gears. Teaching about gears was relatively easy — I introduced different kinds of gears and discussed how they work using concrete examples — but the pulley lesson got me thinking more deeply. I thought that it would be better to present visually than to have to explain all of it verbally so I made them a PowerPoint. One of the slides I used to illustrate exactly how pulleys work, and I augmented that with a lot of questioning and discussion to get students thinking critically, a theory known as “inquiry-based”, about how they could approach the task ahead.
At the time, I believed I was teaching this lesson. But after speaking with fellow teacher candidates, I realized my approach could have been broadened. What if, instead of merely exhibiting images, we’d actually constructed pulleys?” Given how active and tactile our students tend to be, allowing them to physically construct and manipulate actual pulley systems may have made the lesson more memorable and easier to digest.
After I had explained (and shown) the three pulley types, most of the students understood the concept; a few had not, however, despite the visual representations. That made me realize that I wasn’t thinking about the people who had to learn differently.” I realise now that one method of teaching is not enough; if you favour one way, it can prevent students from reaching a full grasp of the material.
In this reflection, I learned the importance of being open to a variety of teaching strategies. By constantly trying out new approaches and solutions to problems we are more likely to find one solution that works best for our students. This realization has encouraged me to continue learning and developing my pedagogy.