Teacher Candidate
MY WPI EXPERIENCE
As a student of the graduating class of 2021 at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, my coursework and experience at WPI has been invaluable in supporting my success as a student teacher.
WPI Coursework
The content I have learned at WPI contributed greatly to my success as a student teacher.
I have taken many classes that supported my teaching and made me a credible source of knowledge. Before I started teaching and during my period of observations, I was terrified that I would not know enough to teach the class. My mentor teacher taught lessons with so many interesting facts about diseases which students find interesting or relatable, since some people in their family may be affected. Students had many questions while I was observing that I didn’t think I would be able to answer if I was their teacher. I was afraid they would lose respect for me and lose trust in my accountability. However, I shared knowledge from my classes and my experience to which students responded very positively. From my coursework in and Introduction to Biotechnology, I connected ideas in modern applications of biology concepts to solving problems around the world. I also spoke about my experience in the course called Cancer Biology. Since many students have a personal connection to cancer, I tried to share some information in the anatomy unit about how cancer affects different parts of the body and why cancer occurs in the first place. I loved my anatomy course at WPI, and my experience teaching anatomy to my students was heightened since I had a strong background and interest in the subject matter. I even shared a software that I had used in my anatomy class which helped me to visualize anatomical interactions in the hopes that students would benefit similarly. The labs I took while I was student teaching also provided interesting conversations in some classes. The concepts from class about biochemistry and cells often applied in some way to my lab studying bacteria and antibiotics, and I updated my classes on the real biology that scientists work on every day.
Besides the biology courses which have supported my background knowledge for teaching, I also took courses to help me prepare for teaching itself. In my sophomore year at WPI, I took Psychology of Education and another course called Teaching Methods. These two classes provided me with some background on how students learn and then what ways students learn best through specific classroom strategies. Theses course introduced me to ways to support learning with technology and showed me how to best manage a classroom with specific tips. My Sheltered English Immersion course helped me to recognize that any student could learn language or other skills in a content classroom. I recognized my responsibility to teach students much more than just biology in my classroom, and I discovered new ways to alter my lessons to help reach students who felt disengaged or confused by language.
Theory and Practice
In the High School Classroom
Students at WPI follow the WPI plan which adheres to the motto “Theory and Practice.” All classes and the overall series of coursework and project work that each student complete at WPI are designed to present students information with the opportunity to apply that information. In my experience as a biology major, this comes to life in both my lecture-based classes and labs. In addition to lab experiences to apply new information, WPI emphasizes project work for each course and in opportunities to work in an interdisciplinary setting with a team of other students. This has been very effective for my learning, since peer review and input are sometimes the most valuable sources of learning.
This has definitely influenced my perspective on teaching. In class, I encouraged discussion between students during class time. For most assignments, I asked students to work in groups of 3 or 4, since multiple voices without too much distraction creates positive teamwork in my experience. In each unit, I provided students with opportunities to discuss concepts with partners. I provided partner or small group activities such as POGIL worksheets or other interactive activities, and provided individualized feedback by circulating the room to address concerns and answer questions.