I Survived...My First time Teaching

That's right, I survived my first teaching or being an instructor at the graduate assistant level. It was definitely a teaching moment, and this post will be about what I've learned well as what hasn't changed.

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So let's back track, for the last 3 years, I've been supporting graduate learners since 2018, so being move to support the undergraduate learners this year was quite the change between from learning the professors' teaching styles to improving my technique when meeting and supporting learners.

Just to give you a quick overview of my grad assistant past, for the last 3 years, I supported learners, professors, and supplemental instructors who taught the material in sessions, like lectures, for a Tests and Measurements course. Also, I supported multiple sections and told to focus more so on the content of the learners' writing and APA formatting and guidelines. So when I was sent an email that I would be "temporarily" supporting undergrads for Intro to Pysch, I was completely down for it. Now, literally a week before the academic quarter starts, I get an email telling me I'm actually teaching the material, discussing the discussions and assignments with learners enrolled in Research Methods of Psychology course. First off, what?! So my acting supervisor connected me with the instructors I'd be supporting and they've been very supportive and have been clearly communicating on things I would need to include, exclude or improve when I meet with learners. So what exactly did I learn during my first time being an instructor, regardless of level?

Time Management is a MUST

At the beginning, I had no idea what I "signed" up for when I was advised that I would be literally teaching material for a course for the first time, what the time commitment would be, what to include and exclude. But I learned that blocking time off to dedicate for teaching-specific activities, whether it's prepping the slides for teaching sessions or reviewing material, helps keep me on track with teaching deadlines.

I suggest to use a calendar and/or planner, physical or electronic or whatever works for you, to understand what your daily and weekly schedule looks like so you can schedule time for "instructor duties," as well as time for yourself to decompress!

Get the Feedback of Your Learners

Since it was my first time teaching Research Methods in Psychology, I felt asking learners the best ways they learn information so I could incorporate it into my sessions. I think it's extremely important to realize and acknowledge everyone learns their own way, so I try to do what I can to support an inclusive class setting, especially in a virtual setting. Not only does this make the course room a more inclusive environment, your learners will feel that their opinions and feedback really matter, which they do!

During my live sessions, I always ask for feedback towards the end and make note of it so it can be incorporated into future sessions. If one learner feels that something could use improvement or incorporated, chances are other learners feel the same.

Engage Your Learners and Provide Different Ways to Learn

I like utilizing different tools to make the sessions and learning engaging for the learners based on their feedback in what they would like to see incorporated. That may consist of pop quizzes in the forms of polls or quiz applications like Kahoot! Other times, I incorporated videos that discussed material we were focusing on for the week. I know how it feels to be a learner, sit through lectures and feel like you did retain any information due to lack of engagement. So, I aim to be the instructor I wanted and needed during undergrad and graduate degree programs.

When it comes to APA formatting, I found doing pop quizzes to test their knowledge on the standards and guidelines while using examples was a great tool to use. The learners were able to see where they were proficient and where they need improvement at. So this was engaging, as well as a learning experiencing for the learners to know where they stood with APA formatting. This can definitely be used when testing their knowledge on the course material.

Overall

My first teaching experience was an interesting one, more good than bad, and learning of additional behaviors of learners who lack accountability was exhausting. But while working with my dissertation Chair and one of the instructors I supported, I learned how to navigate those challenging conversations and provide the best support for the learners while upholding the standards and expectations set by the university, program, instructor(s), and myself. At the end of the day, it was very rewarding and I enjoy the interaction with the learners, especially learning more of how they learn individually.

If you have any suggestions on bettering the teaching experience for myself and the learners, please share!