I remember one of the first assignments we did was for the How students learn module. We were tasked with completing a reading and then working in groups to present a poster, which would later be displayed in a virtual gallery. Easy, right? No. It took me at least 3 times to read “Vygotsky’s educational theory in cultural context” before I fully understood what on earth he was talking about! I remember feeling so out of my depth and worried that I had underestimated how difficult this course would be. Coming back to the group to discuss our findings immediately put me at ease when I discovered I wasn't the only one feeling this way. 

 

When I look back at my opening teaching statement, my lack of self-confidence stands out. Having been promoted to a teaching fellow quite soon after being a GTA, I really felt the symptoms of "imposter syndrome". During my first year of teaching I had no idea what I was doing or why I was doing it. I really was winging it. I would use “techniques” I had seen other teaching fellows or lecturers use but had no understanding of why it was working or if it was even working at all.

This year has been incredibly challenging as I have been teaching on four different degree programmes while simultaneously trying to make sure I was present at all the PGCert sessions and handing in assignments on time. Aside from allowing me to work on my time management skills, the PGCert has opened my eyes to the world of pedagogy whereby I now understand why some teaching approaches work more than others and how to ensure students are reaching the higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy to allow them to become deeper learners rather than surface learners that see passing an exam as their end goal. 

The most rewarding moment this year for me was leading a module for the first time. I led a very short but intense 2-week Global Health module for third year biomedical students. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. The feedback for the module the previous year was excellent and I was worried I wouldn't be able to fill the shoes of my predecessor. The two weeks of teaching on this module were the best two weeks I've had all year. I woke up every day excited to work and open up my laptop to engage with the students. I was so pleased when I concluded to the module to receive kind emails of thanks from the students. I truly believe my success with this module in particular was down to what I have learnt from the modules I have done as part of the PGCert.