Teaching milestones
I have always though of myself as more of a researcher and a perpetual student than a teacher. Not totally uncommon in academia I hear. I have been however trying to pass myself off convincingly as a teacher and an authority figure for over ten years now.
Teaching style, persona
I am currently involved in assisting in several bachelor and master level courses. When assisting, I like to make very detailed instructions and timetables beforehand to present to students at the beginning of each course. I also prepare a nice and clean LMS site with a logical structure and set out email remainders. I do this, because I hope that it helps both students and teachers schedule and keep track of all that they have to do. It also removes a lot of the confusion from the course ultimately also take the weight off the shoulders of the teaching staff during the course.
Inspiration
Lately I have thought a lot about what is a good teacher. I think that first and foremost a good teacher is interested in the subject that they teach. They also keep track of the developments in their subject area and update their materials if need be. Seems simple, right? I think that most lecturers in the IT field are indeed into their subject, which is great. The resources on the other hand is another thing. I think that the first problem is that our classes sizes are usually quite large. The second problem is, that the teachers are strapped of time. This has lead to a long history of mass lecturing our subjects to death.
Future as teacher
I would say, that this university pedagogics course has been the latest big milestone on my path. I am one of those students who learns best on their own, likes tinkering and working with their hand, and shies away from too much attention. The course days we have had over the last year have made me get out of my comfort zone, and helped me analyze my past and present as a teacher and student, and envision the future.
Heidi Hartikainen 