Recorded Micro-teaching (Genetics)

When I got the feedback to my first non-recorded microteaching, I got really angry that I didn’t give my perfect work. That motivated me into working more seriously on my recorded microteaching. Our professor encouraged us to try something new.

In the Lebanese program, Genetics is first introduced in grade 9 class. Nothing about such a topic is discussed before and therefore it is purely new to the students. Grade 9 students usually sit for an official exam by which they will be tested. Introducing different Genetics terms such as: genes, traits, homozygous, heterozygous, etc… is not easy for the teacher. Therefore, I designed the following lesson plan to ensure that students use their prior knowledge of what they see in their everyday life (heredity) and use some of their misconceptions to guide them into reaching their goal.

So I decided to use almost the same techniques in some parts and change in other parts of my lesson plan. I decided to use the 5-E lesson plan again but plan it in a way taking more into consideration all the different theories I learned throughout this course. I used almost the same steps in my Explanation and Elaboration as the non-recorded microteaching because I wanted to fix the mistakes I did before. Having the recorded video helped me see where I worked on my mistakes and where I still have some gaps.

For the first time in my three years of teaching, I insisted on planning my lesson according to the three learning domains as classified by Blooms: Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor.

I didn’t have the chance to actually present my whole lesson within the 15 minutes that were available to me. Therefore, I planned the exploration part as an indirect instruction for students to be passing by destabilization by which they would be motivated to actually learn the answers to their problems they experience in their exploration.  They would later construct their own meaning of the lesson. This is the Bloom’s Affective domain. Also, I designed this part to be within groups as a cooporative type of learning. The groups would be divided in homogeneous levels. In that way, I would be able to pass around my students helping those who need more guidance than the others.

The video I used is one of my favorite videos. It helped me a lot on my actual classrooms when I used it last year. Yet, I wish I used it with such a lesson plan. This part was the direct instructions. I wanted my students to actually reach the lower levels of Bloom’s Cognitive Domain: to define facts and terms.

I didn’t have a problem in my Elaboration part. I knew that I am confident enough to present that part. It was purely teacher centered and I think I did well. I presented it in a sequential way where I finish with one term and then start working on another term. From the way I looked at my classmates, they were able to go along. Some didn’t have a scientific background. This is why when I was asking some questions about some terms, they couldn’t answer. To save the day, I acted as if they didn’t pay attention to the video (I should have used before) but still I said it with a smile. I believe it wasn’t demotivating, on the contrary, it grabbed students’ attention into participating The reason I used this part was to get to the Evaluation part which was my major challenge.

I decided to use art in my lesson plan this time. After I wrote my paper about Art and Science, I started figuring out a way to implement art in a Lebanese Classroom. I decided to use it in my evaluation.  The way I divided the groups was into different artistic activities. Different group activities help reduce social rejection within the class. The diversity in group work allows students to experience common interests (different activities) they didn't know they shared before. In that way, it helps students build a stronger horizontal relationship. Moreover, such an activity would encourage students into bringing out what they learned into their own interest. That would help them memorize whatever they learned through a particular experience of interest. Having planned all the following, I decided to take the risk of actually teaching it in my recorded micro-teaching. I could say that I was really scared in trying it in the class but it I think it went really well. One of my mistakes I did in my non-recorded micro-teaching was the fact that I did not give clear instruction. Students didn't really understand what was expected from them. When I reached the evaluation part, I gave my instructions before I divided them by groups. I told them what they will be doing, to how many groups they will be divided, and how much time they need. When I was done I asked if anyone has any questions before we start with the activity, they all answered that everything was clear. The groups should have been divided according to their interests. The groups were divided into 4: poetry, drawing, modeling and acting. After couple of minutes, two groups presented. The first was the poetry team. The poem they presented was very creative and it actually followed the criteria I was looking for: creativity and summarizing the lesson. I was starting to feel comfortable at that moment and proud of what I planned. This part was applicable in my class. The second team who presented was the acting team. They didn't really prepare a scene by they were creative in using the accessories I provided them with. Also, they were able to present a summary and use example while being creative. That was what I cared about. I realized that was also applicable in my class. The drawings that the students prepared were applicable as well. However, the modeling wasn't really applicable. The students didn't know what to do and how to come up with something new. I am not sure I could use this part in my lesson plan if I were to use it in my actual classroom. I believe I used the psychomotor domain of Bloom’s taxonomy since the students had to move and actually use their body to come up with an outcome to the evaluation.

As a conclusion, I believe the recorded micro-teaching went a lot better than the non-recorded one. I was more prepared this time and I was more confident with the lesson plan I prepared. Also, I believe I challenged myself in the evaluation part which is the purpose of teaching and the purpose of this course. I can say I could use this part in my actual classrooms at schools now since I saw the outcomes of it.