Today I had the chance to do a 15 minute micro teach lesson for my classmates. My lesson topic: KSA #7. This KSA is all about creating and maintaining environments that promote student learning and acknowledging students needs for physical, social, cultural, and psychological security.
My understanding of the KSA is that in order to create an effective classroom environment you need effective classroom management. However, classroom management is such a broad topic that could be talked about for hours, maybe even days, so I had to narrow it down to one thing because I only had 15 minutes to teach. So, I chose attention grabbers. It's quick, easy and I could make it interactive for the class. Attention grabbers are also something that we will have to use in our classrooms so it was definitely relevant to our learning.
My understanding of the KSA is that in order to create an effective classroom environment you need effective classroom management. However, classroom management is such a broad topic that could be talked about for hours, maybe even days, so I had to narrow it down to one thing because I only had 15 minutes to teach. So, I chose attention grabbers. It's quick, easy and I could make it interactive for the class. Attention grabbers are also something that we will have to use in our classrooms so it was definitely relevant to our learning.
I began the lesson with my own form of an attention grabber: Hands on your head, hands on your nose, hands on your shoulders, hands on your hips, hands in your laps. I wanted to assess what the students already know about classroom management, so I started with a question: When you hear classroom management, what comes to mind? Based on the answers I received to my question, I found students to have a great understanding of classroom management so I felt that there wasn't much I had to teach about the topic. I moved right into why I chose to focus on attention grabbers.
From there we went into activities. I numbered students off into 3 groups and made them show me the number I gave them with their fingers to hold them accountable for the number they were. This is a great way to make sure students aren't switching numbers to just be with friends. I then had students reflect on their past school experiences and discuss with their groups some of the attention grabbers they had seen used in the classroom. I wanted them to come up with their favourite attention grabbers and share it with the class. As I went around from group to group and observed their collaboration, I noticed that students seemed to be engaged in the discussion and had fun recalling past experiences in the classroom. I found some students having disagreements on what were some ineffective and effective forms of attention grabbers. I explained to these students that it is important to take into consideration what works for the teacher and what works for the students. Everyone will respond differently to attention grabbers, what works for one class/teacher may not work for another class/teacher. This discussion seemed to initiate an understanding that effective and ineffective feedback is based on what works for the teacher and the students. I had the groups share their attention grabbers, and I actually learnt a few new ones myself. I then had extra time for a sponge activity, so I asked students if they had any examples to share of ineffective attention grabbers that they've seen teachers use in the classroom. I couldn't believe some of the answers I got! Everything from throwing chalk dusters at the students to smacking meter sticks on the desks.
For closure, I went with a 3 question exit slip. I asked students: 1. Why is classroom management important? 2. Classroom Management is somewhat of an umbrella term, what components do you think you could fit under that umbrella? 3. Name one attention grabber that you will implement in your classroom. I think that they were pretty easy and basic questions to ask, and covered everything I had taught in the 15 minutes. I walked around and observed the students while they filled out their sheets and from the answers I saw, students seemed to have a good understanding of classroom management and attention grabbers.
If I could teach this lesson again, there are a few things I would improve on and change. I would improve my time management. I finished my lesson a few minutes early. I also found an awkward moment while students were filling out the exit slip activities. I wasn't exactly sure what to do with myself as they filled them out, so I walked around to make sure they were understanding it. I'm sure if I was actually teaching in a class, I'd be able to utilize that time to get myself organized for the next lesson. I'd also clarify instructions with the students. I had written in my lesson plan to ask students thumbs up thumbs down if they understood the instructions, however as I was teaching I completely forgot to ask them if they understood my instructions. For next time, I will make sure I ask students if they understand my instructions. I also found myself - thanks to the nerves - talking fast, which I think factors into my time management. I was worried that I had too much in my lesson and I would run out of time, so I talked fast to be able to fit everything in. Next thing I know, I have extra time at the end of the lesson! When I start teaching, I will remind myself to take a breath, and slow down.
I really appreciated the feedback I received on twitter from my classmates. It helped me identify the strengths I had in my micro-teaching - it was an interactive lesson, I was clear with my voice and instructions, and I had a good use of classroom management. This lesson definitely helped me realize I have some strengths in teaching and I have weaknesses that need to be improved upon, but that is why we practice in front of our classmates!
Click here to see my revised lesson plan.
Click here to see my exit slip activity.
From there we went into activities. I numbered students off into 3 groups and made them show me the number I gave them with their fingers to hold them accountable for the number they were. This is a great way to make sure students aren't switching numbers to just be with friends. I then had students reflect on their past school experiences and discuss with their groups some of the attention grabbers they had seen used in the classroom. I wanted them to come up with their favourite attention grabbers and share it with the class. As I went around from group to group and observed their collaboration, I noticed that students seemed to be engaged in the discussion and had fun recalling past experiences in the classroom. I found some students having disagreements on what were some ineffective and effective forms of attention grabbers. I explained to these students that it is important to take into consideration what works for the teacher and what works for the students. Everyone will respond differently to attention grabbers, what works for one class/teacher may not work for another class/teacher. This discussion seemed to initiate an understanding that effective and ineffective feedback is based on what works for the teacher and the students. I had the groups share their attention grabbers, and I actually learnt a few new ones myself. I then had extra time for a sponge activity, so I asked students if they had any examples to share of ineffective attention grabbers that they've seen teachers use in the classroom. I couldn't believe some of the answers I got! Everything from throwing chalk dusters at the students to smacking meter sticks on the desks.
For closure, I went with a 3 question exit slip. I asked students: 1. Why is classroom management important? 2. Classroom Management is somewhat of an umbrella term, what components do you think you could fit under that umbrella? 3. Name one attention grabber that you will implement in your classroom. I think that they were pretty easy and basic questions to ask, and covered everything I had taught in the 15 minutes. I walked around and observed the students while they filled out their sheets and from the answers I saw, students seemed to have a good understanding of classroom management and attention grabbers.
If I could teach this lesson again, there are a few things I would improve on and change. I would improve my time management. I finished my lesson a few minutes early. I also found an awkward moment while students were filling out the exit slip activities. I wasn't exactly sure what to do with myself as they filled them out, so I walked around to make sure they were understanding it. I'm sure if I was actually teaching in a class, I'd be able to utilize that time to get myself organized for the next lesson. I'd also clarify instructions with the students. I had written in my lesson plan to ask students thumbs up thumbs down if they understood the instructions, however as I was teaching I completely forgot to ask them if they understood my instructions. For next time, I will make sure I ask students if they understand my instructions. I also found myself - thanks to the nerves - talking fast, which I think factors into my time management. I was worried that I had too much in my lesson and I would run out of time, so I talked fast to be able to fit everything in. Next thing I know, I have extra time at the end of the lesson! When I start teaching, I will remind myself to take a breath, and slow down.
I really appreciated the feedback I received on twitter from my classmates. It helped me identify the strengths I had in my micro-teaching - it was an interactive lesson, I was clear with my voice and instructions, and I had a good use of classroom management. This lesson definitely helped me realize I have some strengths in teaching and I have weaknesses that need to be improved upon, but that is why we practice in front of our classmates!
Click here to see my revised lesson plan.
Click here to see my exit slip activity.