I am a Math and Physics Undergraduate student. I have done a High School level placement in Mathematics and Physics.
For this block, I am working with a Grade 8 Language Arts and Social Studies teacher. I have spent two days observing and discussing with my associate as well as observing a Grade 8 Mathematics class taught by another teacher.
With my own associate, as he is teaching a subject I know very little about and have no experience teaching, I take what he says as THE WAY of doing things. In my observations of the Grade 8 Math class, I find myself thinking of different ways in which I would go about doing what the teacher is doing/teaching. My experience teaching Mathematics myself helps me anticipate where students may get confused/stuck with the teacher's explanation or scaffolding. This shows that I have learned a lot from the actual process of teaching in my placements, not just about myself, but also about students.
The realization that I learn how to teach better by learning what students struggle with makes me want to do two things:
1) Work more closely with one or two students in my Langauge Arts class while I am still in observation phase this block.
2) As I am returning to Waterloo University for another year, I want to still spend time working (perhaps tutoring) students in any and all subjects during that time to better understand how different students think.
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