Week 11: In week 10?!?!?...... Even if you're scared be prepared!

This week's class was a continuation of last class on Caribbean Weather Systems. This session was fully content driven with an interesting twist. Brochures, videos, standard cloud type charts, calypso, synoptic charts were among the resources used in this one class session. The first brochure was based on flooding. It gave details on everything we needed to know about flooding. Since we live on an island that is prone to flooding, it was quite helpful be reminded and sensitize ourselves of this reality.

After reviewing the information on the brochure, we were then instructed to use our observation skills to critically assess the way in which thunderstorms develop just by looking at a time lapse video. The questions that our lecturer gave us helped to guide our observations so my classmates and I knew exactly what to pay attention to while we viewed the video. It was quite interesting to note that by looking at one video, we can drawn so many conclusions about the topic. After discussing with my team members, I realized that we all had similar and dissimilar observations. Therefore, as we engaged in collaboration, we learned a lot more than we would have if we did it on our own. Additionally, after viewing the video several times we were able to discover more about thunderstorm development. Engaging in such engaging activities in this class has helped me to understand and value the importance of collaboration in the classroom and I intend on using similar strategies in the classes that I will be teaching.

It was time to move on to Northers/Cold fronts. My classmates and I were instructed to work individually on the exercise to determine the conditions before the passing of a front and after the passing of a front in Yucatan Mexico and in Belize. Although it took us a while to complete the exercise, I was assured that I answered the questions to the best of my ability. In my to do list, I know that I will definitely need to include, "memorize the symbols that are used to determine weather conditions" because during the exercise I often looked at the handouts that our lecturer gave us. I think that by now I should have been able to interpret the symbols without the aid of a weather symbol chart. Thus, it is important for me to review all the aspects of weather and climate. Additionally, I also have to do more extensive research on tornadoes and ITCZ so that I will have a greater understanding of the in which theses systems work.

In the final segment of this week's class, we review a brochure on disaster preparedness. As we followed along with out lecturer on the items needed in the even of a disaster, I asked myself, "How prepared am I in the event of a natural disaster?" "How prepared are my family members?" I then realized that in the event of a natural disaster, my family and I will not be fully prepared. I instantly had a flashback to the time when Tropical Storm Bret passed over Trinidad and Tobago. During that time my family and I were not fully prepared. However, now that I have the information at hand, it is up to me to sensitize my family and friends about the items needed in case of a disaster. It is crucial that we be fully prepared because we never know if we may end up in a similar position like our Caribbean neighbours in Dominica and Saint Martin. In future, I can definitely reassure myself that I will be prepared in the event of a natural disaster because I will use the information given to me and accept the challenge of making my own disaster preparedness kit.

In essence this was a very informative class and I realized that I need to continue doing research in order to memorize and deepen my understanding of geographic phenomenon. Additionally, I must ensure that I am fully prepared in the event of a natural disaster.

Week 10: Presentations again

At the beginning of this week's class, my classmates and I were given the opportunity to share our three week practicum experiences firstly with our team members, and then with our classmates. I must say, this debrief exercise was quite enlightening. I actually had an epiphany after hearing some of my classmates speak about the challenges they encountered during the three week period.

One of my classmates indicated that at the last minute she was challenged to teach a lesson that she was unprepared for on one of the days during this term's practicum. Despite the challenge she encountered at that moment, she indicated that she delivered the lesson successfully. She was able to assess the situation and quickly think of a solution to her problem. As she shared her experience, I actually began to think of the things that I would have done if I was in a similar situation.

As a relatively inexperienced teacher, I must say if I was in her position at that point in time, I would have been panicking and I would have felt so flustered that I would not have taught the lesson. I'm not sure if many people may share similar views but I am one of those individuals who cannot function efficiently if I do not feel as prepared as I should be in certain situations. Especially when it comes to teaching a lesson or doing an oral presentation. The fact that she was able to pool together the appropriate and available resources at the very last minute even though she did not initially planned to teach the lesson, is commendable.

Based on the experience she shared with the entire class, I realized that in the event of any challenge we might encounter during our teaching career, we must have the ability to respond to a particular situation with practical solutions that will work in the classroom using the available resources. She made a smart move by working with the resources she had and drawing from her previous knowledge of the topic. Thankfully she was knowledgeable in the content and this I think was an important factor that aided in the successful delivery of the lesson.

Therefore, with that being said, every chance I get, I must think of ways to refresh my memory in certain content areas where I may be lacking. So in the event that I am challenged to teach a certain topic, I will be prepared because I will have the content knowledge and I will make use of the available resources. I also have to constantly remind myself to keep up with current events to related information to students using real life examples which will also aid in the successful delivery of any lesson.

Another experience that was shared by my other classmate, really got me thinking. She indicated that the class she was assigned to consisted of students who had low literacy rates. Therefore, it was difficult for the students to grasp certain concepts. This for me sounds quite terrifying, knowing that some students may not have the ability to read or understand a concept. However, the ticket out of a situation like that, is using the appropriate strategies and techniques in a lesson that will allow students to understand the content. Her experience made me realize that as prospective teachers we must cater for all types of learners with learning disabilities. Therefore, I have to put in the extra effort to find different strategies and techniques that will appeal to the different types of learners I may meet throughout my career as a teacher.

After sharing our experiences, it was time to present our working models as part of our course assignment. I must say that the presentations from all my classmates were excellent. The working models that they produced were so well constructed. It gave me inspiration to construct the different model's that can be a useful and interactive teaching resources for their students. My team members and I also produced a working model which was selected from the module Caribbean Weather Systems, particularly hurricanes. Although my team members and I put effort into the construction of the model, there was room for improvement.

At the end of the presentations our lecturer instructed us to walk around to each group's model and allocate a mark to the different criterion on the rubric. This exercise made feel like an examiner, critically assessing the working model produced by my classmates in order to allocate a fair and deserving mark. I think it was good practice for my classmates and I to carefully inspect the work produced by each person, since we will soon be doing the same with out students.

After we were finished with that part, we did a quick overview of hurricanes which is one of the Weather Systems that affect the Caribbean region. The brochure that was produced by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and  Management, had sufficient information about hurricanes. The information helped to remind me of the main points that I need to know about hurricanes, and to re-emphasize that hurricanes are a serious threat to the people living in the Caribbean region. I think that brochures are a great way to summarize critical information on any topic. If I were to give an assessment for students, I may instruct them to create a brochure that will summarize the main points of a unit topic.

Overall, at the end of this week's class I was able to learn from my classmates practicum experience, get inspiration on ideas of working models that can be constructed as a teaching resource, practice allocating marks to students work, and refresh my memory about key elements about hurricanes.

Week 9: So divine

This was the last week of our practicum field teaching experience until the grand finale next term.

On some days the lessons that I needed to teach didn't go exactly as planned. Aside from more whole-school interruptions, I had to deal with time constraints and technical difficulties. However, I did manage to deliver the lessons to the best of my ability. During the past three weeks, by teaching the topic Human Resources, I was reminded that I must continue to develop key skills in decision making, creative thinking, classroom management, time management and so on, in order to be a productive and beneficial Human Resource.

In some of the lessons I taught this week, I ensured that there were group activities and it worked out well. Therefore, I will continue to involve the students because they were really engaged in the lesson and excited about the activities they were given.  Based on the observations I made, I was able to tell which groups were stronger and which ones were weaker. In the next practicum field teaching when I have more time with the students I will be able to assign them to groups where they could build on each others strengths and weaknesses. That is, I will not have all the stronger students in one group and all the weaker ones in another but rather have mixed groups.

Conversely, I instructed the students to do an individual research project and some of them really worked hard on it. I allowed the students to present their projects to their classmates and instructed them to indicate what they have learnt from their research about the topic. The students showed great interest when their peers presented their projects because this was something new to them and I think it was very effective. The pictures below are a few of the students work.

As the principal of the school indicated, in order to keep up with the time lost, we as future educators must be proactive. I think I am slowly becoming more proactive because on one of the days during this week, the teachers had a staff meeting which meant that the students did not have a teacher in their class. Like I did last week, knowing that the students did not have a teacher, I decided to take the opportunity to teach the lesson that I was supposed to but didn't get the chance due to a whole-school interruption.

I tried really hard to keep up with preparing and adjusting lesson plans, preparing resources, and keeping up with assignments for my other courses. Consequently, by Wednesday I felt both mentally and physically drained. The two key things that I need to work on to avoid these feelings are ensuring that I am fully prepared to teach a lesson and living a more healthy lifestyle in order to keep up with the daily pressures. I realized that like any other job, the teaching profession requires a lot of time, energy and effort. Things were so bad that I started to seek inspiration online. Viewing countless YouTube videos about inspiring the students of the 21st century has helped me. I needed some sort of external motivation to continue. This is when I began to question myself. Do I really think I am capable of keeping up with the demands of the teaching profession? YES! The answer is yes.

Teaching is a profession I have always wanted to venture into but I never expected it to be so tiring. However, if I keep the right attitude and right mindset I will be an efficient and effective teacher. In addition to that, I will take the advice from all of my practicum advisers and make the necessary adjustments to accomplish my duties as a prospective teacher which will in turn help me when I actually become a teacher.

Moreover, although the students gave positive feedback about the lessons that I taught during this three week period, I still feel as though I could have done so much more to assist the students in understanding the content better. Additionally, I could have been more prepared during this practicum and used different teaching strategies and techniques in each lesson. As one of my practicum advisers said, "its all about balance".  I still haven't mastered the art of multi-tasking but with time I will gradually get better at it.

Therefore, I will not give up and I'd like to think of myself as being very persistent. I did learn that preparation is definitely a key component and having appropriate teaching strategies and techniques as well as effective resources, will make the teaching/learning experience worthwhile. At the end of it all, I don't simply want to settle and be a mediocre teacher. I want to be that teacher who inspire my students during the teaching/learning process. So, with that being said, as long as I continue to work on my shortcomings, I think I will be ready and fully prepared for the next practicum field teaching experience and for my lifelong career as a teacher.

Proud and confident prospective teachers.

Week 8: Deepening the teaching/learning experience

Two weeks into this field teaching experience and I have already learned a lot about myself and about the way in which school activities can affect the regular teaching schedule. This week there were a lot of interruptions to the regular day to day schedule. Principals holiday, Math Olympiad, Polio Awareness Seminar just to name a few. However, despite the minor disruptions the work still needed to get done. 

On one of the days, the students were required to assemble in the auditorium for a seminar which lasted for the first three periods. This meant that I would not have been able to teach my lesson because I was scheduled to teach on second period. However, after the seminar I decided to find out if the students had a "free period" so I can go ahead and teach the lesson I had prepared. Fortunately, the art teacher did not come to school that day and I got permission to teach the lesson even though i was not scheduled to teach at that time. I felt so proud of myself for making that decision because I knew that the students benefited from the lesson. At the end of the day, I want to feel accomplished. I want to ensure that time spent on planning and preparing was not wasted and that students should not be deprived of a learning opportunity.

I've realized that students ask a lot of questions and I must ensure that I can answer these questions to the best of my ability. In doing so, I must be well informed, I must be knowledgeable about the topic and I must have the ability to give appropriate examples for students to understand the content better. If I'm unsure about it, I should not hesitate to seek help from the experts or from my peers/colleagues. For every lesson that I have taught for this week, I got better and better at my classroom management and time management skills. As the saying goes, "practice makes perfect".  In addition to that, the feedback received thus far (from the students I have taught and from my practicum advisers) have given me the motivation to continue learning new strategies and developing as an efficient and effective teacher. 

On another note, the school has a student led geography club. Kristy and I took the opportunity to attend the club's meeting this week to get an insight about the way in which the club operates. The president of the club gave us a brief overview of the club’s purpose and informed us that they have a weather station at the school (which I am yet to explore), they have started recycling plastic bottles and they are now working towards raising funds for upcoming projects such as developing an aquaponics and hydroponics system on the school compound. The teacher who is overseeing that the activities carried out by the students go according to plan, indicated that we are free to attend meetings therefore, during the time that I spend at the school, I will try my best to attend the meetings which are held on a weekly basis to learn more about the club and assist in any way possible. I think that this will be great exposure so in future when I enter the teaching service, I can encourage and assist my students to become more involved in geography related activities.

In essence, this has been a very fulfilling week and I do look forward to learning more about myself as a teacher, more about the students and more about the school operations in the upcoming week. 

Week 7: Theory into practice

This was the first week back out on teaching practice since year three and I must say it is a pleasure to be back training in a school, putting theory into practice. I have mixed emotions about going into these classes and teaching because I must ensure that I am well informed and well equip in each class that I go to deliver a lesson. As the days went by I have realized that the work of a teacher can be overwhelming on some days and quite mellow on others. The more I interact with students, the more I am able to plan better lessons and relate the content in a way that students will truly understand.

This week I only got the opportunity to teach one class due to some minor disruptions that affected the entire students body. Nevertheless, I was thankful that I still taught and used some of the techniques and strategies I have learnt over the three years that I have been to UTT. This form 2 class was quite interesting because I was able to develop an understanding about the way in which the students of this age group (12-13 years) think, and the way in which they ask and answer questions. It was a review lesson so the students had previous knowledge about the topic Humanitarian Law. Therefore, using the questioning technique, I was able to activate their previous knowledge about the topic. I realized that the students had more questions about war rather than the humanitarian law governed to protect people who are victims of war. Therefore, I needed to redirect them by asking questions that will channel their thinking along the lines of the purpose and importance of the Humanitarian Law.

There were minor classroom management issues during this lesson. Whenever I asked the students a question they just blurted out the answer instead of raising their hand before they were chosen to answer. Then, when one student was speaking the others began to have their own conversations thus, ignoring the contribution their peers had to make on a particular point. In an attempt to minimize classroom disruption, I asked the students to remind their classmates about the class rules and expectations before I continued with the lesson. After that the class proceedings went quite smoothly. Another issue I encountered during this lesson was time management. Although I was able to cover the content I had intended too, I was unable to get the assessment done. However, I improvised by using oral questioning as a means of evaluation. The period had ended and I was unable to address all the questions asked by the students concerning war.

However, although I was unable to address the concerns of the students about the topic, I distributed index cards to each student and instructed them to write down the questions that they have concerning the topic and informed them that we will discuss it during the next class. Some students indicated that they understood the lesson and therefore did not have any questions. Instead of telling them don’t bother to write anything in the index cards since they didn’t have any questions, I told them to write something they liked about the lesson, something they disliked, and something that they found interesting in the lesson. Based on the feedback given by the students I realized that they are still unclear about the way in which the humanitarian law is implemented or enforced. Does this mean that the students are not thinking? or Does it mean that I did not relay the information in a way for them to understand the content? Either way, the next time I have to teach the class, I must ensure that each student truly understand the reasons and importance of Humanitarian Law.

Despite the minor challenges with classroom management and time management, I was able to capture the students’ attention at the very beginning of the lesson with the video I used for the set induction and I kept them interested by playing other videos during the lesson. The use of videos to teach the lesson was effective because of the positive feedback given by the students at the end of the lesson. Therefore, I will continue to use a technique of playing appropriate media content to keep students interested and attentive during the lesson. In addition to that, the students responded well to the questions I asked and they were quite interested in learning more about the Humanitarian Law in relation to war.  However, I do intend on clearing up the misconceptions they have about the Humanitarian Law in relation to war. In the future, I also intend to instruct students to create a list of class rules and expectations or have them remind their peers about the class rules and expectations before we proceed with the lesson. Additionally, I will ensure that I get the assessment done before the period is over. This means that I will allocate a proposed time frame to complete each teaching point in order get the closure and assessment done. I will also distribute handouts to the students which will guide them through the lesson. 

Ultimately, there is a lot more to learn in this teaching profession and I am looking forward to the days ahead so I can learn and develop as an effective and efficient teacher to deliver lessons that will be meaningful and of great importance my students. 

Week 6: Synoptic Charts a work of art

My classmates and I were quite grateful to welcome Mrs. Carol Subrath-Ali, the Senior Meteorologist at Trinidad and Tobago's Meteorologist Office in this week's class. Mrs. Subrath-Ali is an expert in the field of Meteorology due to the qualifications she possesses and years of experience she has gained at the Meteorological Office. Therefore, it was appropriate that she came to our class and assisted in helping us draw and interpret synoptic weather charts. 

I think it was a great idea to invite an expert in the field to engage us in the activities because of the first hand experience that person possesses. Therefore, in the event that I have to teach a particular topic where there are experts who is qualified and experienced, I will try to request them to my class to assist in delivering the lesson to make it more meaningful for my students, and to enhance the teaching/learning experience. In the same way that we needed assistance from Mrs. Subrath-Ali to help us use synoptic charts to forecast changes in weather with the movement of weather systems through the Caribbean region, whenever I am required to teach a particular topic for example, Natural Hazards and Natural Disasters, I may want to invite an expert from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management to share his/her experiences about the topic and brief the students about disaster preparedness. 

At the beginning of the class Mrs. Subrath-Ali did a review of the concepts that we . During the activity I felt a bit lost because I did not do any prior reading. However, if I had payed attention when she was . As I reflect back to that moment I've realized how important it is to pay attention and get some reading done before each class so I will not feel as lost and confused as I did at the beginning of this week's class. During the weeks that I will be out on my field teaching and even when I enter the teaching service, I think that it will be my responsibility to encourage my students to read in advance in order to enhance the teaching/learning experience. Additionally, I think that it will also be essential to stress on the importance of paying attention.

Apart for that, I was so proud of myself after plotting and analyzing the synoptic charts.

I appreciated the fact that Mrs. Subrath-Ali took the time to walk around to each individual in the class and gave assistance where necessary. This is a technique that I may want to adopt when teaching because I will want to ensure that each student gets the assistance and guidance that they need in order to effectively complete and learn something while engaging in the activity. Additionally, during this week's class, I was able to gain a better understanding of the way in which meteorologists interpret data collected from the radiosondes released on a daily basis. 

At the end of the class, Mrs. Subrath-Ali did not hesitate to give us her office number because she indicated that she is willing to work with us and assist in any way she possibly can in the near or distant future. This immediately gave me an idea when I have to teach the topic weather and climate at the CSEC level. In the event that I have to teach this topic I would love to organize a field trip for my students to the Meteorological Office for them to view the weather instruments in which they use  at the office and organize a brief lecture session with any of the qualified Meteorologist's at the office. 

Ultimately, this was a great class session and I was able to better understand and interpret synoptic weather charts. As a result I am now capable of delivering a lesson with confidence based on that topic in the future.

Week 5: Enhancing my presentation skills

Although my classmates and I wrote an in-class reflective blog for this week's class, and our lecturer informed us that we don't necessarily have to post an online blog, I still felt the need to share some thoughts about something I learnt in today's class. After all, sitting in class writing a reflection between ten to fifteen minutes was not enough for me to truly gather my thoughts.

So here we go!

This week's class was based on enhancing our presentation skills. In doing so, each group were assigned to present the following wind systems.

Jet Streams

Desert Winds

Mountains- Anabatic and Katabatic Winds

Monsoon

Oral presentations have been a requirement for every single course at UTT thus far, so it was nothing new when we had to present for this week's class. Although I tend to get a bit nervous during presentations, I have realized that preparation and confidence is a key ingredient to a successful presentation. Therefore, for this week's presentation, my team members and I ensured that we were fully prepared and this resulted in an overall successful presentation. Ultimately, I enjoyed learning about these wind systems and I intend to do some extended research to find out more about it.  

Week six will be a mix!

Week 4: Am I really ready for more?

I thought I would have been both mentally, physically and emotionally ready to take on this week's class but I was somewhat wrong.

For the past three weeks I have been battling the flu-like symptoms while trying to keep up with my course assignments and day to day classes. Unfortunately, this has affected the way I operated in the classroom mentally, physically, and emotionally. I really tried my best to pay attention and take away the key elements from my classes which can assist me in enhancing my practicum field experience.

At the beginning of the class, my classmates and I were required to define key terms related to atmospheric systems and processes which we have come across thus far. In this simple exercise, I was able to define most of the terms that we were required to define. However, although I was familiar with all of the terms, it was difficult to remember the definitions for some of them. Out of eighteen terms I awarded myself eleven marks for the definitions I provided. Upon reflecting on this memory exercise, I have realized that as an upcoming geography teacher I must be able to remember the terms and its definitions.

How can I be a great knowledgeable teacher if I cannot remember key terms and definitions?

Thus, through this recap exercise, I have learnt that I must have a clear understanding of the content I intend to teach my students and I must also be knowledgeable and able to remember key terms and its definitions.

This make me question the importance of having a clear understanding and being knowledgeable in the subjects I intend to teach in the future. The answer to that is simple. By having a clear understanding of the content and being able to remember the terms and definitions, will allow me to correct any misconceptions a student may have about certain terms and definitions, and answer questions posed without having any doubts. Its about conveying accurate and factual information about the subject matter to my students.

After the introductory exercise, we moved right into learning about planetary winds. This topic has always been quite challenging to understand because of the complexity of the way in which the air circulates across the globe. However, with the aid of an outline of the globe and the assistance of our instructor to guide us through the process of understanding the way in which air circulates across the globe, I was able to have a clearer understanding of the topic. The videos were also helpful in understanding the Coriolis Effect. Therefore, in this segment of the classroom proceedings, I have learnt that videos and diagrams can definitely assist in understanding the content better, especially for complex topics like the global circulation of air in the atmosphere. In light of that, I still think that I need to do further reading and note taking with regard to the topic in order to remember its contents.

Here comes the disappointing part of this week's class.

As an activity, each individual was required to create a body movement/s as a way in remembering the rules of air movement in the northern and southern hemispheres. The same movement I had in mind, was the same movement one of my classmate's had already demonstrated. This immediately side tracked me and I was unable to think of another movement to show one of the the rules related to air movement. This activity made me wonder whether or not I am a kinesthetic learner.  I felt so embarrassed and disappointed because I was unable to create a movement and I believe I was capable of thinking of something. Nevertheless, while most of my classmates had already created theirs and sat in their seats, I along with a few others were unable to complete the activity. This did not mean that we got away. Our instructor still insisted that we create a movement/s to demonstrate by the next class. However, we were not restricted by just creating a movement in relation to the rules of air circulation. Instead, we were instructed to demonstrate a movement/s based on any topic from the course outline. What a relief?! because I truly felt like I was under pressure during the activity in class.

By reflecting on this activity, I am now beginning to wonder how will I deal with such a situation. What will I do if my students are unable to complete an activity that I instruct them to do? Perhaps I can use my instructor's strategy and give an alternative way in completing the same activity. After all, not all students are the same. This means that I have much research to do, in an attempt to figure out alternative ways that I can enhance my students learning experience when they are unable to complete certain activities.

The final segment of this week's class was based on conducting research and presenting the information obtained from the research. It was easy to source information because of the availability of computers with internet access and with the help of my team member, the information was sourced and refined within the allotted time frame of fifteen minutes. I enjoy doing research and presenting information to my classmates. This activity has allowed me to manage my time, work together with my team member in order to complete the task on time, and allowed me to enhance my presentation skills. Although some of the information sourced may not have been quite accurate, positive feedback was given by our instructor. This gave me a little confidence and I felt much better than I did earlier in the class.

It is definitely an activity I would love to implement during my field teaching. However, the most challenging part of these type of exercises is lack of available computers, no internet access as well as time constraints. As much as I would love to have my students explore with technology during class time, realistically, in some secondary schools, these are some of the challenges faced. Thus, as an alternative, I may divide my students into groups, distribute information handouts with different areas of a topic, allow them to highlight key elements from the information handout, and then have them present it to their classmates. I did try that strategy when i thought the topic natural hazards and natural disasters, and it worked pretty well. Another alternative is to divide students into groups and give them a different topic to research, then instruct them to find research outside of class hours as homework, then allow them to present their information on a particular day. In that way the students will surely engage in the use of technology at some point in time.

Ultimately, I have learnt quite a lot in this week's class. Among the key things, it is important for me as a prospective teacher to remember key terms and definitions related to the subjects that i will be qualified to teach and there are alternative ways in allowing students to complete tasks assigned to them in order to enhance their learning experience.

There is still much more to be learnt thus in week five i'm going to strive.

Week 3: Finding my bearings on a world map!

Here we go again working our brains to its full potential! 

At the beginning of this week's class a question was posed which required my team members and I to engage in some critical thinking because aside from answering a simple yes or no question, we were required to justify an appropriate reason for choosing our answer. 

'Can snow exist on the equator? Explain why or why not.' 

Our initial answer was no. Why would snow even exist when there is direct sunlight at the equator all year round? Interestingly, I along with my team members were able to change our misconception about the existence of snow on the equator through the learning process without even realizing it until the very end of the class session. 

Halfway through the class, we were instructed to make a few calculations. This task was a bit confusing and challenging for me because I am not that good at math so it took me a while to figure out what exactly we ought to do. Thankfully, one of our team members is an expert at mathematics therefore we were able to use her strength in that area  to make the necessary calculations needed to determine the temperatures at the highest points on each continent.

After that, we were required to use a key skill that every geographer must possess. That is, the ability to locate countries/continents on a world map. However, as a team, we did not just locate a certain country/continent on a world map but we located the highest point in that country/continent and then plotted the points on a blank world map. 

There we were back and fought looking into our atlas and then at our blank world map, trying to ensure that we plot the points as accurately as we possibly can. It was quite easy locating most of the points on the map. However, it was hard to decipher where exactly Mount Kilimajaro was located in the African continent. When our instructor pointed out that we plotted that point in the wrong place I realized that I needed to sharpen my skills in locating countries and physical features on a world map. Therefore, in addition to all the assignments that I have written down in my to do list, I will definitely need to add "Print political map of each continent, label the countries, locate physical features of countries".

Anyway, what exactly was the point in making all these calculations and plotting these points on the blank world map though?

Initially, I thought the whole point in making the calculations and plotting the points on the map were to detect that temperatures vary at different locations on the Earth which is true BUT!!!. 

Yep! Here comes the aha moment.

Apparently this was a strategy our instructor used to clear up our misconception of the existence of snow on the equator. Here is were we realized that altitude is a contributing factor to the existence of snow at the equator. Aha! I can't believe I didn't think of that in the first place. Shame on me. The concept that we needed to understand behind all of this was lapse rate. 

Phew! That was a lot to take in which is why our instructor incorporated an energizer activity at the end of that exercise. 'ZIP, ZAP ZOP' definitely had us going and I quite liked that little activity. In addition to that, counting from 1 to 10 with our eyes closed wasn't bad either. Especially when we each had to call a different number and in the event that more than one person blurts out the same number we had to start all over again. The joys of being a student. Thank you Dr. De Four-Babb for those two wonderful activities. Its definitely something I will try with my students when i'm out on practicum this term.

All fun aside, our instructor demonstrated the way in which sunlight is unevenly distributed on earth's surface which accounts for the occurrence of the different seasons in relation to the tilt of the earth on its axis. This demonstration took me back to the time I was on my year 3 practicum. Although the demonstration was a bit different from what I did, the idea was the same but maybe I will try it another way to see how well the students grasp the idea.

Essentially, there was a lot to take away from this week's class. I hope that the strategies that I have picked up on will benefit me and my students in the upcoming teaching practice. Sharpening up my maps skills is definitely going to be on my to do list and reviewing the concepts of atmospheric cooling and lapse rate will be a priority before the week is over. 

By week 4 I'll be ready for more!

Week 2: Teamwork makes the dream work!

Apart from deepening the learning experience, team building was a key item on the agenda. 

This week's class allowed me to discover the importance of team building in order to accomplish certain tasks. The first activity was aimed at generating rules that will guide our action as a group and to ensure that tasks are completed on time. The other activity was a 'get to know you' type of exercise. It’s amazing the way this simple activity can allow you to discover new things about the people you interact with on a daily basis. Additionally, aside from knowing my group member a little better, the team building activities encouraged effective collaboration and communication to complete tasks assigned for this class. In essence, team building exercise is one strategy i will implement in the classroom to build positive relations among group members and foster effective communication and collaboration. 

The topic of interest for this class session focused on atmospheric energy. The Sun is the source of heat energy and light on Earth’s surface. Additionally, a percentage of radiation from the sun is absorbed by earth, while a percentage is reflected and scattered. One way in representing this information was by drawing an annotated diagram which helped in understanding the transfer of heat energy to the Earth. In addition to that, key skill in geography is to interpret diagrams. Thus, this class allowed me to sharpen my skills in interpreting and explaining a diagram related to the greenhouse effect and the ways in which CFC’s, deforestation, carbon monoxide emissions and fossil fuels affect the atmosphere.

  Source: https://images.google.com/ 

  After interpreting the above diagram, it was time to compare answers with my fellow team members. Unfortunately, one of the Triple S team members were not present but we still managed to work around it. In an attempt to deepen our learning experiences, we were instructed to present our interpretation of the diagram as a group. This was an indeed fulfilling exercise for me because I was able to engage in some form of critical thinking. Each group were required to ask the presenting group a question. As a result, some interesting questions were raised after each group presented which I intend on investigating to deepen my understanding about the greenhouse effect, the causes, the consequences and the ways in which it can be controlled.

Ultimately, I’m looking forward to more activities that will foster effective communication, and collaboration among group members, and critical thinking because these are the strategies that I will be implementing in my classroom. 

Week 1: Tropical Skies Make Them Excited

Final year is here! This is one of the two remaining Geography courses required to be completed for the Social Studies/Geography Specialization. 

Apart from successfully passing this course on atmospheric systems and processes, I do expect to gain a deeper understanding of the content it entails and develop a clearer understanding of the way in which the dynamic atmospheric systems work.  I also intend on developing new skills which will allow me to successfully deliver a lesson efficiently and effectively using various teaching strategies and techniques. 

What makes the Earth's atmospheric systems and processes so intriguing?


Perhaps it is due to the way in which the elements of weather and climate interact within the environment to create the varying atmospheric conditions that are experienced across different regions and spheres of the Earth. However, its a bit more complex than it seems and i'm about to find out the reasons for such processes to occur.

Weather and climate are two distinct driving forces experienced by human beings. According to an article published on NASA's website (2005), the difference between the two is the measure of time. Weather is deemed as the short term state of atmospheric conditions that can change at any given time. For example, it can be sunny in a particular place during the morning and by the evening it can rain. On the other hand, climate is the average atmospheric condition of a particular region experienced over a long period of time, usually about 30 years. For example, some regions experience a Tropical climate where it is hot and dry while other regions experience a Mediterranean climate where there are mild winters and hot, dry summers (Locsin, 2017).

Dividing students into groups and then into peers to work together on each concept was a great strategy used to build on each others ideas and I do intend on implementing this strategy in my classroom. Additionally, discussing the differences between the two concepts in peers was also a very effective way in allowing students to share their knowledge about the concepts of weather and climate. In order for students to remember the concepts, a great tool that can be used is a Venn diagram graphic organizer to show the similarities and differences between weather and climate after they have completed their discussions.
Other activities incorporated outside of the classroom was a great strategy to keep students interested in the content.

  After this first class I know i'm in for a treat! I am definitely looking forward to learning other strategies that can be implemented in my Social Studies and Geography classes.

Sources
Locsin, A. (2017). What are the Six Major Climate Regions?. Sciencing.com. Retrieved 5 September 2017, from http://sciencing.com/six-major-climate-regions-5382606.html 

NASA (2005).  - What's the Difference Between Weather and Climate?. Retrieved 5 September 2017, from https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/climate/climate_weather.html