Teaching Reflection

Christina Allen
Argosy University
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I was a guest lecturer at Johnston Community College in Smithfield, N.C. In an Introduction to

Psychology course taught by Professor Laura Flewellyn. This class was comprised of 32 diverse

students. Students were given an assignment before I met with them to bring photos or think of stories

and experiences they have encountered with animals in their lives or the lives of others. I previously

obtained informed consent to video from each class participant. I began class by introducing myself

and providing a brief bio. I asked students to think of their animal stories and distributed chart paper

and markers. I had students count from 1-5 and placed them in random groups according to their

number. Students were instructed to write their stories on their chart paper along with feeling words

they heard discussed.

On the fifteen minute video clip attached in this file, you will see the interactions between each

group. Dynamic interchanges among students from diverse backgrounds occurred. One challenging

student you will see, Jermaine, was not initially engaged but became engaged later in the discussion.

Students shared their stories and emotion words after their discussions. I witnessed empathic listening,

engagement in discussion, and overall enthusiasm for the subject matter.

After the discussions, I shared a Power Point handout on Animal-Assisted therapy and resources via

a handout with the students. I answered questions students had about populations that benefitted from

AAT and what factors to consider that may indicate AAT is not beneficial for a client. I ended by

passing out notecards for students to write anonymous comments to me about the course material and

my performance.

I collected the notecards the next week from Professor Flewelling and I was nervous as I opened

them! This was my first teaching opportunity in higher education. I learned from the student responses

what worked and what I need to improve upon. I was overwhelmed by the positive comments such as

“Interesting class” and “Mrs. Allen was comfortable with us”. The students positive feedback was
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encouraging and gave me confidence. I also felt my course is a valuable contribution to the field of

counseling. I did receive constructive criticism as well. A few cards stated I needed to not explain

everything before I did it and not talk to them like elementary students! When I read this, I knew

exactly what they meant! My majority of experience is as an Elementary School Counselor and I have

to explain each step carefully as I go along and my speech is slower. In the future, I plan to practice

speeding up my speech before presentations and not explaining each step as I go along. I found their

feedback enlightening and beneficial.

In reviewing the video, I feel my strengths are teaching creatively, being comfortable presenting,

using relevant examples, being genuine with students and demonstrating enthusiasm. I enjoyed my

experience and more importantly I feel others did as well. I plan to continue researching creative ways

to foster interaction between students for class cohesion.