Being Taught How to Teach

As I become more adjusted to my new schedule and commute, I am beginning to realize the value of what I am learning in the immersion training.  However, it is not what I expected, even by a long shot.

The way I understood Immersion Training to be was to essentially be content review.  I expected to be going through basic and in depth biological concepts.  In reality, Immersion Training is more oriented towards teaching larger concepts in science such as critical thinking, observation, analysis, etc.  While in some regard, this material is content, it is certainly not specifically biology content.  In fact, for one portion of the training, earth science is being used as content to teach us pedagogical methods.  I've never had a deep interest in earth science, but the instructor is extremely well-versed in what he does and knows his stuff upside down and inside out.

I also expected an 8 hour schedule, just as any typical work day would be.  Instead, I report at 12:15 and am dismissed at about 5:45, with maybe a 20 minute break half way through.  I am glad it is not 8 hours, because learning the pedagogy can be taxing mentally and emotionally.  I can only imagine how the instructor feels.

I am glad to see that what we're learning is useful.  In slight retrospect, I think reviewing biology content would have been much less useful than what we are actually doing.  While I highly value the content of the course and even enjoy it, I will still say that I look forward to the weekend.