Week 3:
This week, with the help of another volunteer we taught the science workshop that I have been putting together over the past few weeks. I led on three of the days, Jo did two.
It was hectic but a really good time. There was a variety of abilities, from students that have never studied science to those that are around GCSE level. There was a lot of material to cover and often pretty tricky concepts but the students were really keen to learn and had great questions - which at least most of the time I could answer.
We spent a day looking at one of five topics, which were (in order) Space, Earth Sciences, Biology Chemistry and Physics. This made up the week of science. A big challenge were IT problems on the first day. Which I was leading on. I had planned to use a number of videos to explain certain topics - especially the more tricky ones regarding space. But they would not show through the power point. Along with the projector crashing a number of times as well. It was a bit stressful but I feel I was able to improvise and adapt well. I learnt a good lesson, if you are presenting on a topic, don't be relying solely on IT to help you present even with the tricky concepts. Be prepared for the IT to not work, have a backup plan for if it doesn't.
After this first day, we fixed the IT problems and the rest of the week was much smoother. It became a lot easier to teach. It definitely benefitted the students being able to visualise the concepts we were teaching using the powerpoint. We did practicals with the students every day. The best was on day four. We did an experiment looking at the density of liquids that sit on top of each other when poured into a glass. On day two we extracted raspberry DNA from an alcoholic solution. This was also cool.
I have a meeting with Steph - the lead volunteer - at the end of the week where we will review how the science workshop went. I’m going to go through what went well with her and what can be improved for next year. Such as the Physics day being quite material heavy without much active learning or interaction with the students. I’m then going to consolidate the curriculum and make the changes we agree on. I’m really looking forward to this; its an impact that will outlive my time at the Habibi Centre.
Week 4:
This week was back to normal, I was back to having my two English classes per day. Rather than doing my first one and then doing the science workshop after. This was nice to get back to the more relaxed English lessons compared to the hecticness of the science workshop. My English classes are with much smaller groups so they are a lot easier to teach. And the material is a lot less complex than the sciences.
Both of my classes are continually improving. (My second class was taught by another volunteer in week 3 when I was doing the science workshop). I feel I have adapted the pace of the students and I’m able to explain concepts better to them. I’m really happy to see their progression and that I’m being of benefit to them.
I feel settled now at the Habibi Centre and I am the groove of teaching. Its been great getting to know the students and other teachers better. We’ve been speaking a lot about the cultures and politics in some of the student’s countries which has been fascinating to learn about. I’m finding myself learning a lot about the cultures from the middle East and central Asia. I’m really interested in these parts of the world. Regarding the other volunteers here, I have loved spending time with them and getting to know them better. It is a great bunch of people and we’re all pulling in the same direction. We want to teach well, help the students mature into adults and help them to improve their futures. I'm looking forward to weeks 5 and 6!