A Nurse's Journey to Education

Naihma Mae E. Casicas, Senior High School Teacher at Liceo de Cagayan University

Naihma Mae E. Casicas is a dedicated Senior High School Teacher at Liceo de Cagayan University in Cagayan de Oro, Northern Mindanao, Philippines. With a strong academic background from Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan, Naihma Mae brings expertise and a passion for science education to her role. Open to exploring new opportunities, she is interested in positions as a Science Teacher or High School Science Teacher, where she can further her impact in shaping young minds and contributing to a thriving educational environment.

Through this article, Casicas emphasizes the importance of ongoing professional development, particularly in STEM education, and the impact of their nursing background on their teaching approach.

I started as a registered nurse by profession and shifted my focus to education early in my career. It was, in a nutshell, quite a challenge to start all over again with education and getting a new license while juggling my responsibilities as a teacher trainer at my full-time job during that time. Right after, I was hired in the current institution that I am hired in and started as a plain science teacher. During this time, I was trained by my chairperson in STEM education and by my principal in student engagement. I was also able to participate in multiple STEM-centered workshops where I gained more knowledge in the topics relevant to STEM at present, with consideration for the generation of learners that we are teaching. After three and a half years, I was appointed as the department chairperson for STEM, managing the STEM teachers and the students in the said strand. I had to learn a new set of skills in managing the teachers and students under my care and balancing priorities with the school and the stakeholders. Now that I am the Academic Chairperson of the Senior High School department, more responsibility has been thrust on me with a broader scope of accountability. Discipline and critical thinking both play a huge part in this endeavor, and I think I fostered and honed that in my nursing years. Alongside these, my sense of leadership, firm decision-making skills, and student advocacy came from learning from my mentors, colleagues, and principal at the university.

Professional Development That Shaped My Teaching Approach

It is, of course, imperative that ongoing professional development is sustained in this profession. Because the Senior High School years are much more focused on a career-centered pathway, my training in Nursing is very useful, providing unique perspectives in interdisciplinary teaching, especially in the STEM sections in the healthcare pathway. Training and workshops centered on STEM teaching have helped me by providing insights from educational experts and academicians in the field of STEM. Additionally, leadership training and workshops aided me in my role as a chairperson.

“The teachers will have to ensure that there is no full reliance on technology so that a degree of humanity and the lesson’s integration into reality will still be an essential part of the curricula.”

Challenges in Implementing New Technology in Higher Education

Our department has been offered multiple technological and online platforms that serve as our learning management system and our source of learning materials. The main challenge is choosing the right one for our department’s demographic that works well with the teachers and the students. The teachers will have to ensure that there is no full reliance on technology so that a degree of humanity and the lesson’s integration into reality will still be an essential part of the curricula.

Impact of Technology on My Teaching Practices

The pandemic mandatorily thrust teachers and students to the usage of online platforms, and it has become part of our teaching-learning activities ever since. Our university is subscribed to Google Workspace, so we use applications such as Google Classroom, Google Meet, and Google Drive daily. Student submissions and grades are managed online, online synchronous classes and conferences are done through Meet, and student communications off-campus are done through the spaces in Google Chat. In STEM, simulations offered free by PhET are very much utilized since they offer a visualization of the concepts learned in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Astronomy. In addition, videos of interest from credible channels on YouTube, such as National Geographic or BBC, to name a few, may serve as energizers for the introduction of a specific topic in science subjects.

Initiatives to Enrich Student Learning

There are two initiatives that I would like to bring to my university to enhance the student’s learning experiences. The first would be to enhance the STEM research culture, making it more robust so that the student’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills will be further honed. Third-party mentors and professionals could become consultants for STEM teachers so that knowledge can be exchanged between the professional and educational sectors. More professionals in the different STEM fields could help the students in actualizing their research proposals. The second would be for the STEM department to partner up with health or environmental organizations so that students will be engaged in community-based projects. This could also help them in finding their research proposal topic and making it environmentally significant, conscious, and sustainable.

Advice for Aspiring High School Teachers

There’s nothing simple about teaching. You may have all the knowledge in your field, you may be competent in your teaching demonstrations, and you may have garnered a satisfactory grade to pass your teaching degree, but nothing will ever prepare you to teach full-time. The greatest challenge of teachers nowadays is establishing rapport with the students so that the teaching-learning activities in the classroom will be harmonious. As someone considering a career in teaching, you must learn how to work with children from school age to teens. Consider taking up training, workshops, and courses that focus on fostering a positive and productive learning environment in the classroom. Furthermore, since high school students are preparing for college or work, you must find ways how to relate and integrate the concepts in your lessons to real life. This is a way for abstract ideas to become concrete, which would augment the students’ valuing of the lesson.

Healthcare

Learning Management