Education’s challenge
As a rookie TA this academic quarter, I’m learning. Learning that it is challenging to teach others what you know, especially if you have to learn and understand the material in only days in advance ( in my case, 1 day in advance). The lab section of my TA course consists of working on oscilloscopes and circuit boards, which requires some understanding of electricity and biophysics. The students are not very familiar with the lab setup as well, and heck, I have troubles on my own. I feel bad that, as a TA, I should be helping the students, and not having to confuse them further.
There are examples of teachers having to learn a subject that they are not familiar with, and have to teach a class about it. That’s a challenge. On one hand, you need to understand it yourself. On the other, you have to find a way to teach the students so that they will understand you teaching it. Also, time commitment to this process is incredible. The two nights after lab, I could hardly function to do my own work because I was so exhausted. One expends a lot of energy in teaching…
As a rookie TA this academic quarter, I’m learning. Learning that it is challenging to teach others what you know, especially if you have to learn and understand the material in only days in advance ( in my case, 1 day in advance). The lab section of my TA course consists of working on oscilloscopes and circuit boards, which requires some understanding of electricity and biophysics. The students are not very familiar with the lab setup as well, and heck, I have troubles on my own. I feel bad that, as a TA, I should be helping the students, and not having to confuse them further.
There are examples of teachers having to learn a subject that they are not familiar with, and have to teach a class about it. That’s a challenge. On one hand, you need to understand it yourself. On the other, you have to find a way to teach the students so that they will understand you teaching it. Also, time commitment to this process is incredible. The two nights after lab, I could hardly function to do my own work because I was so exhausted. One expends a lot of energy in teaching…
