OH! That's The Feeling: When U R A Lecturer!

Assalammualaikum and a Happy entering December, peeps!

Pejam celik pejam celik, we are almost come towards the end of 2013 session! Yet, too many datelines are queuing in the list to be completed! Maka aturan tidur turut terganggu, here come the panda mode.

"Apahal la pulak babitkan aku ni? 

Aku cukup jek tidur, berlebih-lebihan lagi. 

Macam okay je, macam comel jek!"-Baby Panda

I am targetting to finish my phD by 2014, no more no less! Semangat untuk mencurahkan khidmat pada anak bangsa terlalu berkobar-kobar sehingga menyesakkan diri untuk push to the limit (sebenarnya lebih kepada nak ada duit kepuk2 tiap bulan, LOL). Alhamdullillah, towards the end of the study, byk dpt peluang dan kepercayaan daripada my SIFU untuk dapatkan pengalaman dalam bidang research and education ni. I feel so blessed!

Last week, dapat SMS from my SIFU yang dia perlukan bantuan aku and my colleague untuk conduct her lecture for this week which is yesterday due to her sudden change for the Talk Schedule in KL. We were asked to finish her last 2 lectures and evaluate the student presentation. Bagi aku ini peluang keemasan yang jarang-jarang kita dapat untuk peroleh kepercayaan dari supervisor kita. It was a big calling for both of us! Biasanya, as a student under her supervision, we were asked to assist her lab, marking paper if it involved in academical level.

Walaupun aku seorang tenaga pengajar pusat tusyen yang ada pengalaman dalam handling students, tapi the feel and tense are quite different. Mungkin disebabkan kumpulan targetnya adalah pelajar Bacelor Degree yang lebih matang dan pengetahuannya lebih tinggi berbanding pelajar sekolah menengah atas, takut gak dengan pengetahuan aku dalam bidang ni tak seberapa, how are you expecting that I can handling them? Ayat pembakar semangat untuk kurangkan nebes kteowg, "Lek ar, budak-budak degree jek pun!".

Since my colleague is a tutor in our department, this is the 1st stage for her to take a hit. So, I give the opportunity to deliver the lecture about 20 minutes to built up her confidence level. I knew her back then since in our matriculation and we ended up doing Bachelor and phD degree together under the same supervision. This is what we called fate! And I see she's growing in many ways (including her size, LOL) and I believe she would sustain and succeed in this field (she doesn't even expecting that she will be in this career, isn't it cool). Even we are not close friend, we belong to a great team. We help each other, share problems in our study while enjoying life as a phD student! The words that make me feel flustered and make me feel appreciated, "M, aku tak tau cam mana ngan aku kalau kau tak de!". Ayat tak perlu bombastik utk buat aku terharu weh. 

Then, lepas my colleague habis bagi lecture, we proceed to student presentation. Seperti biasa, aku akan bertindak sebagai MC and back up apa-apa yang my colleague terlepas pandang. Actually, aku dah pernah handle this class before untuk visit ladang. Itu pun secara ad hoc, my colleague mintak tolong disebabkan dia kena uruskan something urgent. Nasib baik bukan aku yang kena briefing. Bila datang gila, aku ni ada sifat untuk malas nak orang tau sapa aku, aku lebih suka jadi hollowgirl (masalahnya it won't follow my will, lagi aku nak halimunan, lagi tu la orang kantoi mengenali aku, hampeh tul la teori approach tu)! Dah la dtg pakai baju kurung berkasut ladies masuk ladang, tak pernah dibuek oghang jang oi! Kesudahannya, student mistook aku as a bachelor student. Dah la masa aku conduct class tu aku tak buat pon self-introductory, elok bebenor la tuh!

Berani pakai cenggini masuk ladang?

This time pun aku tak buat self-introductory since aku berperanan sebagai silent backer di belakang memantau kelas saje al-kononnya (memang tak de senyap la aku kat belakang). Plan asalnya, aku nak attend as peneman kawan aku jek. Macam pelik pulak kalau ada 2 orang handle class yang dipenuhi oleh 22 orang student. Tapi kesudahannya, tidak mengikut plan asal kerana student seolah-olah lebih familiar dengan aku. Before the class started, the student tanya aku nama aku apa, terus terkedu aku menjawab, "Syalina". Terlupa bahawa etika nak presentation perlukan kata-kata aluan, makanya perlulah nama aku and my colleague disebut2kan. Sudahnya, macam-macam nama aku yang dowg sebutkan, "Syerina", "Syarina"! That's the reason why M is preferable! Mudah, mungkin sedikit pelik tapi tidak pelat nak menyebut.

It was so funny at first, when I was attending the class and feel a little bit nervous but as the time passed by, I started to adapt and feel comfort in that position, like this is not the 1st time! Luckily, the topic covered in the student presentation were quite reachable. Phuhh! So, senang la nak faham untuk tanya. Hehehe! Bila tengok student present kat depan, teringat waktu zaman degree dulu. So, barulah aku tau expectation as:

a) viewer sebagai student terhadap lecturernya

• feeling nervous duk risau lecturer nak tanya and komen apa, are the contents enough to cover the topic and so on.
• pandang tinggi pada lecturer seolah-olah hebat and tau semua benda

b) viewer sebagai lecturer pada studentnya

• boleh tau student yang prepare and tidak
• boleh spot student yang copy paste and yang goreng ayat
• boleh spot kesilapan pada slide dan perkataan yang student cakap if the topic is reachable
• tak semua benda yang lecturer tau

So, here the tips for students if your lecturer: 

1. asked questions: if your slide have too many words, they ask basic question indicated that they want to know are you really know what you are presenting, not copy paste!
2. asked to refer back to certain slides and give comments: indicated that they spot some mistakes or wrong info in your presentation and they try to corrected them!
3. don't asked question: you are way too good and perfect OR they unfamiliar with the topic
4. don't give comment or don't focus on your presentation (eg: texting or sleeping): your presentation are way too boring to hear. Hahaha

It was a good experience. And I would to experience it more in future! So Students, be prepare to meet DR. M in the house! Thank you, my SIFU for giving your trust  and opportunity to us for this valuable experience. We are too way far to be awesome as you, but we going to catch up the distance. 

This is the process of life. Dulu mungkin anda seorang pelajar, sekarang anda adalah pengajar seorang pelajar. You don't know what the future holds. But you know what you have to hold now, HOPE! Enjoy your life, peeps!