ES 1.1 - Task 2: Microteaching
- Sara Spano
- 29 set 2020
- Tempo di lettura: 3 min
Aggiornamento: 22 feb 2021
Handout -->
Video of Microteaching lesson (split in three parts)
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
Reflection
Based on the feedback I received, my Microteaching class went very well, but there are some areas of development. Here are the positives and negatives of the lesson.
TOPS:
The lesson structure, the topic and the activities were very much appreciated.
The fact that I played the song 3 times —making students first listen for the gist, then for detail and then for specific information— helped them memorise the vocabulary, which was the aim of my lesson.
Asking questions during and after the activities helps the teacher check if students are acquiring knowledge or if they need more support before moving forward. It also helps pupils review what they have just learned, before more information is presented to them.
The lesson aims were fulfilled.
Non-verbal communication: my outfit and posture made me look (and feel) confident and professional. Good use of hand gestures and facial expressions.
Verbal communication: clarity of the explanation; I did not take things for granted, so I always checked pupils’ understanding before moving on.
Friendly attitude.
TIPS:
Time management needs to be improved
I could have chosen a different song, because it was very fast and the voice was metallic, so pretty difficult for non-native speakers to distinguish words.
Include transitions between activities.
When giving instructions for an activity, provide an example.
Improve confidence and authority.
After re-watching the video of my Microteaching class, I am very proud of how I performed:
the lesson aims were achieved and my presence on stage conveyed confidence and professionalism. This was thanks to my verbal and non-verbal communication, such as the enthusiastic attitude, the fact that I was well-prepared, my outfit and hand gestures, the monitoring (walking around to check on students while they do the activities) and the questions I asked students during and after each activity to check that they were acquiring knowledge. I am also very proud of the fact that I stood up to the student who was refusing to do the activity —maybe because he felt like a colleague of mine, more than a student, but this was still a lesson and I had prepared it very thoroughly— and made him do it, without changing my friendly attitude.
However, I need to work on my time management and on the way I present the lesson aims: this stage is crucial because its purpose is to make students interested in the topic and enthusiastic to learn it. Also, next time I do a listening task, I will need to chose a song that is not too fast and that has a clear voice, so that students can better understand the words. Another aspect I should work on is the confidence: I know I said I am proud of my performance, but at times my non-verbal behaviour showed some shyness. For this reason, I should try to focus more on it. As for the activities, I should make smoother transitions, perhaps by verbally linking the first one to the next one (they are already linked content wise) and explaining the students why we are doing it.
Lastly, I am not whether I want to continue sitting in the centre of the classroom, because I feel like it takes away some of my authority and I personally do not need that, since my attitude is already very nice.
Overall I am very happy with my lesson and performance and I will keep working on my areas of development.
I am not going to change my lesson plan, because my areas of development are about my confidence, presence on stage, time management in class (and not on the lesson plan itself) and the transitions between activities, which is also something that is not written on the lesson plan, but a skill I have to develop in myself. As for the listening task, if I changed song, I would have to change the whole lesson, because it is based on it. Therefore, I will definitely work on this for my future lessons that include listening activities.
Finally, based on my peer student teachers' lessons, I have confirmed that the CELTA-based method I use, focussed on student engagement and active learning, is the most effective method. It requires a framed teaching style that, both as a teacher and as a student, I highly prefer to the closed one used by some of my peers. One thing that I appreciated from them and would like to integrate in my lessons is the use of ICT tools to check prior knowledge and/or as formative assessment.
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