One of the more enjoyable aspects of our semester in Dunedin was the opportunity for me to act as a teaching assistant in the Department of Music. The classes here are structured a bit differently than back home. Monday is the big instructional day, and the class instructor, Shelley Brunt, would lecture on the week’s topic. On Tuesday, small groups of students would make presentations on the week’s set reading, and their fellow students assessed their work. On Wednesday, Shelley and I would split the class in half for tutorials – she would take half to a different room, and the students would (normally) lead a discussion regarding the week’s readings and topics. They would them self-assess based on their preparation and participation in the class.
Today was our last tutorial group, and as classes are now officially done, I asked them to allow me to take a picture of them. Thank you all, it was a great semester. Of course, I have five or six weeks to go before we leave, and have much more work to do on my research preparation. No rest for the weary.
