Blog #12 (Blog #9)

I would have never realized that teaching is far more complicated than just standing in front of the class and teach the material. With respect to teaching skills, I was surprised in the sense that we, as professors or teaching assistants, must maintain the class in order at all times. That is, we should know how to deal with difficult students and difficult situations such as plagiarism and the behavior and/or misconduct of students.

The things I learned and stand out most in my mind are the organization of a professional portfolio and the blogs. I mean, having a portfolio is the key to understand our teaching philosophies and how good we are doing our jobs as teachers. I would have never imagined that a professional portfolio is one of the keys to succeed as a professor.

The information that I received at the seminar were helpful in the case of our teaching philosophies and professional portfolios. I would have preferred that the seminars were twice a week or twice a month with the participation of professors in the different fields across UTEP.

The way the class explains teaching makes it fun and enjoyable. Even difficult topics, such as knowing ourselves as professors and knowing our teaching philosophies, were greatly addressed with learning modules, homeworks, and blogs.

However, I’m still struggling with my teaching style. So far I’m following one style (drawing on the board and talking), but I’m wondering if I’m doing it right or if this is my style. Hopefully, my evaluations for my development plan will show me how good or bad I am. I think this will help me a lot.