Laidlaw LiA Reflection Week 3: Lost and Found

This 3rd week was brimming with excitement. This week started great, and I went into this week excited after seeing the progress we have made during the last week. This week, the teaching section was completely led by my fellow scholars Callum and Nico, interchanging between teaching Arduino and 3D Modelling. I, on the other hand, was having fun in assisting their teachings and also tried to learn a bit about those topics so I could assist them in guiding and helping out the students who had questions or trouble assembling the circuits. 

Having more time in the back seat to assist, It gave me a sense of perspective. It enlightened me to the fact that teaching is not as clear-cut and easy as I may have thought in the past. It requires preparation and a lot of assistance as well to adequately educate and guide the students through the materials. I gained a sense of higher respect toward my own teachers and teaching assistants who have helped me out as well in my own University.

Furthermore, this week, a lot of aspects have improved as well including our in-class chemistry between the scholars and the students, as well as seeing how a fair portion of our class has shown more excitement in our teachings. Looking back to how things were the first week, where everything was somewhat chaotic and misplaced, this week was a major contrast from it. It seems that the scholars and I have finally found our rhythm in leading this instruction for the program. A rhythm that clearly was lacking when we look back to our first week.

This further progress shows just how much we have grown and the slight impact we have made on the students in just a matter of 3 weeks. This excites me to just how much we can achieve and the scope of our impact as leaders by the end of the 6 weeks.

However, the progress we’ve made was also slightly hindered by a few more hurdles that we have found along the way. Currently, my fellow scholars and I are still figuring out how we can motivate a few of our students who have shown a lack of engagement and motivation in joining this program. This group of students sometimes hinder the overall productivity of our classroom. Hence, dealing with this issue would be our next goal.

Aside from this progress and the new challenges we’ve faced this week, I myself also had a highlight moment from this week’s immersive experience. This week allowed me to teach practical agriculture and gardening to our students as the lead agriculture instructor. This opportunity was so exciting for me as it practically gave me a free stage to share my interests and passion with people who are completely unfamiliar with the subject. It was fun seeing how our students were willing to give a shot at potted gardening and planting their favourite herbs or vegetables. As an enthusiast, I am interested to see the progress of their plants and how the students can take care of them in their own homes, as well as the life lessons the students can learn which come from building the habit of gardening their food.