Olivia Miller

Pedagogy Final Reflection

December 8, 2014

Entering into the Communication Studies graduate program at Colorado State University,
I had little previous teaching experience. Moreover, I had never taught public speaking before.
My previous experience with public speaking was in high school and in my previous jobs,
typically speaking on a subject personally dear to my heart. To say the least, I faced many
obstacles in my first semester, some dealing with my nascent status and others dealing with my
self-confidence, sometimes both at once, as the two are not unconnected. I know that especially
now because the mistakes I made and the obstacles I faced this semester have equipped me to
deal confidently with issues in the future. Already I have started to make changes in my teaching
persona which I am excited to deploy next semester. In demonstrating my confidence of
realizing this future goal, following I briefly review my journey this semester, obstacles
unanticipated and adjustments made toward improving the efficacy of my teaching.
The training I received previous to my teaching covered many obstacles that I might
potentially face. Despite this, I still made many of the mistakes we were warned against. I had
difficulty consistently maintaining my authority as I am not an assertive person by nature. The
students were close to my age, and some of them had strong personalities which initially made
me feel intimidated. I decided that students who did not turn in grading rubrics to me for the
diagnostic would receive an F in spirit. I explained this, but I had one student who responded
with push-back. This push-back recurred throughout my experience, and at times, when put on
the spot, my confidence wavered, contradicting my authority and coherence. At times, I also
gave into student excuses. If it was a completion assignment, I often let students turn it into me
late with a point deduction, but I realize now that this attitude was the largest culprit in
undercutting my authority, and in doing this, I lost my students respect. A strict policy would
have set up definitive expectations. I tried to change much of this as the semester went on, but I
found that I received even more push-back from the class. This does not mean that I didnt
continue being more strict, but those policies were difficult to enforce once Id lost their respect.
These were my most difficult obstacles, but I appreciate they happened because I have
confidence in my abilities next semester in dealing with similar issues.
Re-writing an aspect that seems intrinsic to your personality is intimidating, but my peers
and pedagogy instructor have given me advice which has and will continue to improve my
efficacy as a teacher. I recently taught for one of my peers classes, and I tried presenting myself
in a different way, a thoughtful and more confident teaching persona, and I maintained this
persona without wavering when questioned. His students were well-behaved as a result of his
strict policies, proof that I too can create an environment of respect. I do realize that some factors
of my classroom experience, such as gender, may also have figured into my struggles, but this is
something I can not identify with certainty. My other peers have shared with me their activities
and their reactions to student misconduct, and I have recorded these strategies and feel they will
be immensely helpful next semester. I struggled initially with inventing activities, but I feel
much more confident now. One of my peers leant me his activity, and this was the first activity
that the students seemed to enjoy. The activity involved acting out emotions without saying what
the emotion was. His activity gave me a better idea of what my students wanted--to have fun--so
I began to revise my activities in a way that I hoped would be fun and educational. Before, my

activities mostly revolved around students taking time to work on their outlines or topic
proposals in class. Students often didnt use that time to work on what I asked. Toward the end
of the semester, I began to require these for points after given advice by one of my peers to do so.
My students began to take these activities much more seriously. I am excited to invoke many of
these policies from the beginning next semester.
Overall, I have made many mistakes, but along the way, I looked to my peers as
examples to fix these mistakes. I was unable, ultimately, to establish the relationship I wanted
with my class, but they have taught how to invoke more authority in my next class and why it
matters. My own fears often hindered me from initially flexing my authoritative muscles, but
now that Ive experienced the consequences of not establishing authority early on, I have no
fears. Establishing authority and remaining confident are necessary, ultimately making teaching
much easier.