In two weeks time I will be at my practicum school getting ready to teach my first classes in Biology 12. We will be focusing on a few aspects of human physiology, namely the circulatory and respiratory systems. I am very excited to (finally!) teach in a classroom, and even more excited to plan my own lessons and activities. I have been given quite a large amount of freedom from both my faculty and school advisers, and am feeling confident in my ability to perform at a high level. Much work needs to be accomplished before I begin teaching, namely I am not pleased with my current level of understanding of both topics. I would rate my current knowledge as “acceptable” but more needs to be done for me to confidently teach these subjects. I would not be pleased with myself if I were to teach any topic for any class and not have a strong understanding of what I was teaching, and this goes double for my subjects of expertise (biology and sciences). Once I am confident with my knowledge, I can really start to spend time on providing the class with as many applicable and meaningful contextual examples as possible. I feel as though this is very necessary in science because it is very easy to lose track of the end product. For example, when learning about the respiratory system it is very easy to lose touch with the importance of a healthy immune system and respiring. However, when one learns about the difficulties that individuals with cystic fibrosis or sickle cell have, one begins to form a very meaningful relationship with their body. Furthermore, these examples provide necessary context for why one should learn about human physiology, because when we have the tools and the information pertaining to how our bodies function we can take the steps to ensure that we stay healthy. My first lesson revolves around this concept as I am going to demonstrate how healthy lungs function compared to smokers/cancerous lungs. Normally I despise using “scare tactics” to drive home points, but in this context I feel the comparison is necessary. It is (relatively) difficult for one to examine their lungs (and many other physiological processes), but seeing the difference in person creates something much more substantial then simply labeling the important structures in respiration.
Adventures in Teaching and Life