Throughout my education I have been taught by many excellent teachers and had many memorable moments of learning. One moment that stands out in recent memory occurred when taking a two day electrofishing course. The course included one classroom day to learn about the device used, the science behind it, and techniques to effectively use an electrofisher followed by a day at a local stream to practice what we learned. We were taught how to set up the electrofisher and set it to the appropriate settings for the conditions, then we were able to test and refresh our knowledge the following day. We were shown the electrical theory behind the device and how the electrical field is created between the anode and cathode and then were able to observe with our own eyes how fish were caught in, and reacted to, the electrical field created by the device. We observed the intermittent electrical field causing the muscles of the fish on the side of the field to contract and relax due to the current, causing the fish to swim towards the anode. We were then guided through all the techniques we learned in the first day to find fish in likely habitat areas and approach them in such a way they are not alerted of our presence until caught in the electrical field.
This teaching approach of presenting material in a lecture format, then re framing the information and guiding the application of learned material allowed me to take in the information in a more meaningful way and to retain more of what I learned. This experience reminded me that presenting learning material in multiple different ways multiple times can be helpful and usually necessary for students to gain a deeper understanding of important concepts. This learning moment was also a good example of the importance of practice and review to improve the ability of students to apply things they have learned.
My watering can represents that like a planted seed, knowledge is better fostered than merely planted and left to fend for itself.