Field Experience Essay

Question 1

The most challenging situation I have faced as a college student occured during my fourth semester. I was enrolled in an anthropology course meant to discuss the evolution of medicine from a social sciences viewpoint. I was incredibly excited in the course, and was fascinated to learn more about the evolution of medicine and our bodies. I received a good grade on the initial essay, and was pleased with how I thought I was doing in the course. Upon receiving an initial grade just after Spring Break, I found the professor and I had different thoughts on my participation grade. When attempting to discuss it with her, she shut me down. In that moment, I was afraid to attend lectures in fear of being told I wasn’t participating enough

When attempting to teach material, there is disengagement between the teacher and the student. While the student may be listening, often times they are not engaged in the material being taught, and leave the lecture having learned very little information. Teachers can increase engagement by using different activities and videos, but this is not always feasible in a classroom environment. When facilitating, you are enabling individuals to teach themselves in ways they best understand by providing them with the opportunity to participate in different engagement activities. By using prompts and aids, you allow students to think for themselves and come to conclusions on their own, rather than giving them the answer. This engagement causes better retention of the material being learned because the students are being forced to think about the concepts and what they have learned to come to the correct conclusions. Another important part of facilitating is allowing students to work together to come to these conclusions. By working in groups to create diagrams or answer questions, they utilize the knowledge of their students to learn more. Working with other individuals that are similar to them, students trying to learn the material, will also give them a sense of ease, allowing them to focus their mind entirely on the information being learned. These opportunities are available to students in Supplemental Instruction sessions, allowing them to receive and utilize the hands on engagement offered to better understand the material taught during the