Week 10: Mircoteaching Reflection

NOTE: Due to human error about 5 minutes of this wasn’t recorded. This was an honest mistake and can’t be helped, so we’ll have to do our best based on the video we do have available and our memories. This should still allow for some positive self- and peer-reflection!

So, just how did my Presentation stage go this week? Take a journey into the lesson with me by watching the video before reading what I think went on.

Pre-video impressions

I felt very positive about my microteaching this time around. Not overjoyed or ecstatic, more of a “I think I’m on the right track” kind of feeling. It helped that I wasn’t too nervous, having tried this class out four times the previous day with my students. I think I kept my T-talk to a minimum (though I may have spoken a little fast) and I allowed my students plenty of time to speak or think through their answers. I think the atmosphere seemed fairly relaxed (I certainly felt relaxed), and while Ss were not entirely forthcoming with their answers, it didn’t seem to be down to the atmosphere. The biggest interruption I spotted was the lack of connection between the speaking and reading activities – it was quite sudden, and may have thrown some Ss off. But overall? I was quite pleased with this assignment.

Post-video reflection:

In comparing this video with my previous microteaching I can spot a few improvements in style. Firstly, I am much more relaxed. I walked around the room and interacted physically a lot better than before (I wasn’t stuck to the podium this time), and my verbal interactions were much less evaluative; I was able to hold more of a conversation with the students. This could also be seen in how I monitored the pair work activity, where before I spent my time waiting for the activity to end by reviewing my lesson plan.

Despite these extra expressions of interest in what my students have to say, it was very interesting to see that when wrapping up the main activity I looked rather uninterested and even impatient. In my mind I was listening carefully and working out what to do, but it clearly didn’t come across this way. I’m really curious to see if I can do this part of an activity without giving this impression. It’d probably be a good start to stop folding my arms and moving around the room restlessly. However, this doesn’t come naturally to me and is hard to spot without a recording. Lots of recording to be done, then. And maybe some time spent in front of the mirror in the mornings.

That said, overall the atmosphere seemed very positive. Ss made good points, and we had fun interacting and coming up with gift ideas (though this may have had something to do with cows!). One point for concern in this area is that I seemed to be cutting off my student’s voices during interaction. While my feedback was largely communicative, I noticed that I occasionally went to one student for an answer, and another would jump in. Rather than giving the first time to complete their answer or to interact with the other student, I jumped on the new interaction and changed the focus to the next student. My intention was to help the first student answer, but I didn’t move back to them to help them produce the answer. I was too keen to move on instead of allowing the S their voice.

In terms of MIC, my whiteboard work seemed excellent. I did exactly what I had planned, and managed to use it as a tool to reduce T-talk, scaffold answers with Ss and even elicit new sentences. I also used the WB to correct errors, helping Ss to identify where the problem was and letting them fix it themselves. I also did this verbally a number of times - only ever helping the S to identify the problems and fix them themselves.

A lot of my other MIC techniques were on the positive side, too. This could be seen well when I explained the reading activity, where I used plenty of gesture and clear speech. Though I got the impression my Ss understood me, I could have made sure of this by getting them to rephrase the instructions or explain what they had to do. Also, to make things really clear I could have shuffled the actual paper rather than using a gesture. Using real examples is usually simpler to understand!

My last worry is that I didn’t give enough time for all of my Ss to interact. They all had a chance to talk during the pair work, but I find that getting one student to speak takes so long that I both forget who has spoken and run out of time to get everyone to speak before the class. I wonder if there is a solution to this or if I will have to use choral repetition to make sure that everyone gets to speak rather than spending the majority of their time listening and watching.

Conclusions

I was very pleased with my microteaching, but have identified areas that need some work. I need to look more engaged and interested in class, and need to make sure I give every student time to use their voice. While I’m using the whiteboard and MIC techniques pretty well, I am still speaking too fast when not using the TLC. These aren’t problems that can’t be fixed, though; I’m confident that I will be able to do something about these and the future issues I spot thanks to this tool of self-reflection. To a brighter future and better reflection!