Education: Psychology of Teaching and Learning – Day 1

Psychology is one of my favorite subjects. I love the idea of learning about human behavior and understanding the underlying motivation behind people’s actions. It is like having access to their secrets without them knowing. I find on occasion people are in denial, having a blind spot, and they themselves not knowing their true desires, hopes or reasons. The hidden truth, right in front of your eyes. That is what Psychology allows me to see.

Therefore, you can understand how earnest I was to begin the semester. In this class, I would understand students, learners, exceptional students, teaching methods, strategies and finally learn how to do a lesson plan. Yay me!

The start of the semester certainly did not belie the work that was ahead for this psychology class. I wondered early out where our assignment schedule was and the deep-seated fear I had would eventually be justified.

Our teacher, Miss Ellis, was cool. My first impression relayed that I would have an ace facilitator who knew her content, was ready to work and had hidden layers. This was a good thing because it meant that she would not torture my poor overactive brain with boredom. No, she wouldn’t. Instead, she would stretch me beyond my perceived limits. Tell you more about that later.

In our first class, we reviewed the good and bad qualities of Jamaican teachers. This was collated after everyone shared their childhood and adult experiences with horrible and exceptional Jamaican educators. I had enough experience to draw on for both sides of the spectrum.

After that lengthy session down memory lane, we were released. Thank God, because I was more tired than a mother with sextuplets.