Materials for Microteaching #1
In your mentor teacher's classroom, you will introduce a unit of study, a week's lessons, or even a single lesson. You do not have to take the complete class period to do this. Plan this in conjunction with the teacher. You are to activate students' prior knowledge and tap the intrinsic motivation that they might have for the lesson/unit to follow. Turn in a plan to the teacher and to the instructor; this may be one plan turned in by two of you if you have been placed in the same setting. Each of you, however, must do a self-evaluation; questions are at the end of these materials.
To review the parts of the lesson plan (from General Methods) that you should turn in for your MT #1. Remember this is only a part of the larger lesson or unit that you might do (3-5 minutes)
Backwards Design Lesson Plan
Content Standard: ignore this for MT #1
Understanding(s)/Goals- do this
Students will understand that:
(this is a goal, not an objective. List the big ideas or concepts that you want the to come away with, not facts they must know)
Essential Question(s)-do this
What leading questions can you ask of the students to get then to understand the Big Ideas? Address the heart of the discipline, questions are framed to provoke and sustain students interest: unit questions usually have no one obvious "right" answer
Student Objectives (outcomes): do this
Students will be able to: These are observable, measurable outcomes that students should be able to demonstrate and that you can assess. YOur learning activities in Stage 3 must be designed and directly linked to having students be able to achieve the understandings, answer the essential quesitons, and demonstrate the desired outcomes
Assessment Evidence (ignore this for MT#1)
Learning Plan: do abbreviated form of this
Include, at least, the set induction (anticipatory set), that part of the lesson which will motivate the students and will give them an overview of the unit of study. List what the students will do in the set induction to prepare them for the outcomes you expect of them and the unit they will study. List what the teacher will do to guide the learning.
Observation Guide for your initial visit to your mentor teacher's classroom:
Turn this in with your self-evaluation for MT#1:
Observation allows you to develop invaluable skills which will pay off in teaching. Train yourself to be active in all parts of observation: watching and describing events in the classroom and recording your own feelings and responses to those events. During the classroom observation that you do in preparation for Microteaching #1, spend some time focusing and reflecting on the following issues. You will not be able to cover all these in one observation, but see how well you can do.
The students:
The teacher (Remember this teacher has given years to teaching and to students and deserves your respect. Nevertheless, you will be learning in your observations in this program what kind of teacher you want to be. Be analytical, don't be judgemental, look for both the good as well as the things that you will do differently):
The instruction:
Set Induction/Anticipatory Set: Getting Things Going in the Classroom
INTRODUCTION
The study of learning is basic to understanding of the teaching-learning process. Without knowledge of how and under what conditions a learner becomes involved in instructional activities, planning a learning environment is difficult.
The classroom environment, the specific teaching technique used, the place of the learning goal in the overall scheme of things--all contribute to the extent to which students become involved themselves in learning. In implementing plans for instruction, a critical role is that played by the introductory experiences a teacher uses to bring about the desired high level of involvement.
For the first microteaching you will first study techniques for set induction, then plan and try out specific procedures for getting things going in a classroom. Remember to use those things that motivate the student intrinsically to connect to and learn the concepts you want to teach:
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:
How much does initial involvement in a learning task depend
upon past success with similar tasks?
anticipated rewards?
natural interest?
effective interest and curiosity arousal by the teacher?
clear understanding of the nature of the task?
the "need to know"?
self confidence?
reasonable expectation of success?
identified value to one's goals?
What classroom factors external to the student contribute to a positive set toward a learning task? How do these factors connect with the intrinsic motivations listed above?
SET INDUCTION
Many teachers spend outrageously little time preparing their students for classroom activities. Often this preparation consists only of telling their students to read some story by the next class session or to watch some demonstration carefully. With such a limited introduction, could any teacher truly expect students to be attentive and eager to learn the material? The purpose of this microteaching is to stimulate you to think of better ways of preparing your students for learning.
Several psychological experiments have demonstrated the importance of set induction in learning. Research indicates that activities preceding a learning task influence the performance of the task. The research also indicates that the effectiveness of a set depends somewhat on the situation to which it is applied. Hence, teachers must find those kinds of sets most appropriate to their purposes and must modify these sets to fit the specific classroom situation.
In most cases, the initial instructional move of the teacher should be to establish a set. The set focuses students' attention on some familiar person, object, event, condition, or idea. The established set functions as a point of reference around which the students and the teacher communicate. The teacher uses this point of reference as a link between familiar and new or difficult material. Furthermore, an effective set encourages student interest and involvement in the main body of the lesson.
The establishment of a set usually occurs at the beginning of a class period, but it may occur during the session. Set induction is appropriate whenever the activity, the goal of the content of the lesson is changed so that a new or modified frame of reference is needed. Set induction is also used to build continuity from lesson to lesson and from unit to unit. Thus, a new set may be linked to an established set of to a series of sets.
All of us have experienced the influence of set induction on our responses to a situation. If we have been told that some person is a brilliant scientist, we respond differently than we would if we had been told he or she were a star athlete. What we "learn" during our conversation with this person will depend in part on what we have been told. Similarly, whatever information a teacher gives students about the degree of difficulty and format of a test will probably affect the way they study for it.
Suppose that a teacher wants the students to read Chapter Six in their textbooks as homework. Suppose Chapter Six is about the Constitutional convention of 1787. What remarks or activities will produce the most learning for the next day? The teacher could say, "Now class, for tomorrow I want all of you to read chapter Six in the text." Such a weak set would normally produce a weak response. The next day the teacher might discover that half the class had not read the assignment, and that the other half, although claiming to have read it, was unable to discuss it in any depth.
The teacher might have said, "For tomorrow, I want you
to read
Chapter Six in the text and come to class prepared for a discussion."
This set is an improvement. It gives the students more information
about eh instructional goal; they are to prepare for a discussion.
But the students need a good deal more information before they
will be able, or disposed, to prepare themselves for an interesting,
stimulating discussion. Exactly what will be discussed? What points
should they consider as they read? What should be the focus while
they read? How should they use previously learned material? Should
they study facts or principles? Should they compare? Should they
contrast? Both? Neither?
The teacher could take a completely different approach to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. A different set, one more likely to motivate the students, might be something like the following:
Teacher: Suppose you were setting up a colony on a distant planet. Since this colony will be self-governing, the colonists have to draw up some kind of rules for governing themselves. For tonight I want each of you to pretend that you are a colonist on that planet, and that tomorrow you will begin discussions to draw up some sort of constitution. Think about who will do the ruling, how the ruler will be chosen, and what kinds of rights each individual will be guaranteed. Also consider what the colony will do when its population expands to over a million people. Each one of you should answer these questions and be prepared to discuss them tomorrow.
After spending a subsequent class period discussing these and related questions, the teacher could assign appropriate reading and conduct discussions about the problems that confronted the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The teacher would have established a sufficient set, one that both stimulated the students and prepared them for the learning activity.
Sets are appropriate for almost any learning activity. For
example, a set is appropriate:
1. at the start of a unit
2. before a discussion
3. before a question-and-answer period,
4. when assigning homework,
5. before hearing a panel discussion,
6. before student reports,
7. when assigning student reports,
8. before a film or other media event,
9. before a discussion,
10. before a homework assignment based on a discussion that followed
a filmstrip.
The most effective sets are those that catch the students' attention and interest them in the material. The following examples present learning activities or lesson material with ideas for appropriate sets:
1. Lesson: Tone in poetry/song
Set: Compare Bob Dylan with Rage Against the Machine
2. Lesson: Henry James' "Turn of the Screw"
Set: Ask the students to decide if this is a ghost story or a
story written by a neurotic who distorts reality.
3. Lesson: Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"
Set: Say, "Before we read "The Lottery," I want
to finish giving grades. I've decided to fail three students.
I have placed three slips in this hat that say "You fail"
and thirty slips that say 'You pass.' Now we will pass the hat..."
4. Lesson: Student book reports.
Set: Give examples of good book reports.
5. Lesson: Ordering and categorizing behavior.
Set: Give the class CD cases. Ask them to sort the cases
into four categories.
6. Lesson: Cultural differences.
Set: Ask the students to imagine that they are Italians, and that
you are an American walking down a street in Rome. Ask them if
and how they could tell you were an American.
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
PERFORMING IN FRONT OF OTHERS
Prepared by Instructional Development Staff: R. Flagler, J. Hamlin
One of the most stressful situations you are likely to be placed in is that of presenting material in front of a class. The process by which you present the material is equally as important as the content to be presented. Regardless of how well you have researched your topic, if the presentation is poorly prepared or unorganized the point will be lost. The audience will quickly lose interest.
Here are some tips and notes on how you can be most effective:
1. Know your material! Have your content well in hand. Most problems can be alleviated by being very well prepared. Be sure to do a complete job in your research and reading.
2. Show interest in your topic! Find something unique of special interest about the topic and most importantly, show your enthusiasm and interest. An enthusiastic presenter will get an enthusiastic audience.
3. Know your audience. Whom will you be presenting to? How involved with the topic is your audience? What level of sophistication does your audience have with the topic? Do you expect them to be asking questions? If so what kinds? What do you expect your audience to be doing during and after the presentation? You may need to tell them your expectations. How you present the material will foster questioning, comments or arguments.
4. Outline your talk in advance. The fewer notes you use the more natural your talk will be. Get a clear idea of the main points and supporting information, anecdotes, etc. Keep it simple and to the point. Be sure to utilize all the appropriate parts of a speech including introduction, body and conclusion.
5. Make use of visual aids. They are a good way to draw and maintain interest from your audience as well as highlight main points. Be sure they are appropriate and support your presentation. Check them out to be sure they work. When you are not referring to them, set them aside or cover them up.
6. Practice your presentation. Talk to yourself OUT LOUD going through all the motions and gestures you expect to use during your presentation. Make the practice as real as possible. Start practicing with your notes, you will quickly find you will no longer need them and your presentation will be more natural.
7. Look sharp and expect butterflies. Don't be fooled! Everyone is nervous to some degree, some people hide it better than others. Prepare yourself, this is an important event. Dress, eat, and sleep appropriately.
8. Be yourself. Don't try to fake it. You are who you are: smile, speak and gesture as naturally as possible. Remember the more you practice the more at ease you will become.
9. Don't apologize. Don't downgrade yourself by making excuses either at the beginning or the end of your presentation. Stand up. Give your talk with enthusiasm. Don't drag it out. Then, sit down and let others decide how well you did-unbiased by any apologies from you.
Giving a good presentation requires skill. Above all, you must be well prepared and practiced. Be observant of others-watch what they do well and how you think they can improve.
Appendix I
GIVING FEEDBACK- If you are placed with another student, you can give that student feedback to her/his lesson:
The following guidelines for effective feedback were adapted from Porter (1982).
1. Effective feedback describes situations or behavior. Statements which evaluate or judge performance tend to make the receiver more defensive.
2. Feedback is most useful if provided soon after an observation has been made. Generally, feedback should be supplied immediately after a lesson or at the end of the day. In some instances the person being observed may need time to collect him/herself after an upsetting experience. The observer will need to assess when the receiver is ready to discuss the lesson.
3. Feedback is as specific and objective as possible. Script notes and audio and video tapes are excellent tool for providing feedback which is objective and specific.
4. Feedback is a two-way interaction and must consider the needs of both the sender and receiver. In providing feedback the sender must keep in mind the needs of the receiver. Feedback which only considers the sender's needs can be both frustrating and destructive to the receiver.
5. Feedback is most useful when it is directed at behavior which the receiver can influence or change. Frustration and resentment may occur when the receiver is informed of shortcomings which can not be controlled.
6. The sender should check to be sure that the receiver has understood the feedback. When feedback lacks clarity, misunderstandings may produce unintended results which are counterproductive.
7. Feedback may be provided by asking honest questions which are open-ended and encourage the receiver to analyze feelings, beliefs and behaviors. "Trick" questions or questions which the observer already has an answer, may undermine the trusting and supportive relationship needed for effective analysis of classroom events.
8. Feedback needs to reaffirm the receiver's worth, competence and ability to achieve success.
Porter, L. (1982). Giving and receiving feedback; it will never be easy, but it can be better. In Porter, L. & Mohr, B. (Eds.), NTL reading book for human relations training (pp. 42-45). Arlington, Virginia: NTL Institute.
Microteaching #1 - Self Evaluation- to be done individually
Write a long paragraph for each:
1. Describe how you came up with the idea you used for your set induction.
2. What beliefs about teaching entered into your planning of this set induction?
3. What did you notice in your viewing of the lesson on video:
about your use of non-verbal communication?
about the effectiveness of your lesson?
about areas in which you need to improve?
4. List two goals that you want to meet in your next microteaching (examples: I will get out from behind the podium and walk around. I will get each student to say something. I will get at least one discussion going between students instead of between myself and a student.)
5. Was there a difference between what you thought of your lesson before you saw the video and what you thought of it after your viewing?
6. What was the opening of your lesson like?
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