This past Wednesday was a different kind of school day for one group of 8th grade engineering students at McKinley Middle School in Northeast D.C., as GWTeach students made their way back into D.C. classrooms. For most GWTeach students this semester, it’s their first time teaching.
GWTeach Step 1 and 2 Hybrid (GTCH 2003) students, Aneeka Jain, Aaliyah Guzman, and Elise Hedlund, had their own turn at delivering a lesson to students, under the mentorship of Ms. Djuna Henderson, a GWTeach Mentor Teacher for the last 7 years. The teacher interns reflected on executing their first prepared lesson on the Engineering Design Process, which they designed and taught.
“[Teaching] definitely taught me to roll with the punches and be flexible, but it went very well. . .feeling great!” said Jain. Echoing her sentiment, Guzman and Hedlund said students’ enthusiasm exceeded their expectations.
“The kids were super engaged, excited to raise their hand and participate. . .” which the group said contrasted to their own middle school experiences.
When asked how it felt to be in the teacher role, the group was eager to express their excitement for getting into the students’ material themselves. Hedlund elaborates, “I never had an engineering class, ever [in K-12], so it was really interesting to see what [the students] were learning already!”
While the group shared their frustration with minor and unexpected technology issues during the lesson, their positive takeaways left them with some words of encouragement for students heading out for their own first teaching experiences.
“Relax! They smell fear. There’s no reason to be anxious, kids are understanding and will work with you,” Guzman said.
The group is already gearing up for their next lesson with the same group of students later this month, where they say more peer-to-peer interaction is a clear goal, as well as incorporating more pedagogical strategies, “. . . putting the steps that we talked about to use.”
GTCH 2003 students will prepare and carry out two more lessons throughout the remainder of the semester as they continue to make the most of their time engaging with the D.C. student community.
Jain, Guzman, and Hedlund are all first-year students in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.