My non-recorded Microteaching

In my first micro-teaching, I chose to use the lesson plan I wrote earlier on my blog.

My lesson went smoothly as I was planned. Although I have been teaching for two years, I was still feeling a bit nervous not knowing what to expect at the end of my lesson. The 5-E inquiry based type of lesson plan is still new for me to use. For that reason, I wanted to stay on the safe side and I used the explanation, elaboration and talked about the evaluation part. I was a bit afraid to try the Exploration part although I planned it perfectly.

When I presented the lesson, I was physically really sick and I didn’t think I was really prepared to present. Therefore, I worked on my self confidence. Before I distributed the worksheets to my classmates, I thought to myself not to forget to give instructions. Yet I did. What I should have done to make it more perfect was to tell them first what they are expected to do with these worksheets. First, they had to read it for a minute, then they should have filled them out as they were watching the video so that we could discuss the details right after. I was able to see some confusion in their eyes (yet they were sweet enough not to mention it). I believe that the video targeted visual learners. It allows some of the students’ imagination to actually work before I explain the lesson. I think using such a technique allows the students to know what to expect when I (the teacher) actually do the teaching. A longer video would be boring and more explanation would also be boring. Therefore, I thought that having around 4 minutes of each technique is the best way to make sure no one gets bored.

The students stayed engaged throughout the lesson. At the end of the lesson, I used the analysis part of Bloom’s Taxonomy. I wanted to make sure I use the indirect type of instruction since I used the direct instructions in the previous part. I didn’t take into consideration the way my students were divided. I thought it won’t matter. Yet after I was done, I realized that I had to divide the groups according to the way I wanted to differentiate them. I think in such an activity, I would have divided them into homogeneous groups. In that way, I would approach the students who needed more help and then guide them into the conclusion of the experiment.

I think I didn’t take that micro-teaching as seriously as I was supposed to. The 15 minutes limits did make me nervous. I didn’t know if I should actually divide the groups as I should in class or if I should give instructions as I am giving my grade 9 students. I was a bit confused. I am glad this experience wasn’t recorded. I believe I learned to fix these mistakes for my recorded microteaching.