Micro-Teaching Log:

What I liked and disliked about the lesson:

I particularly enjoyed the fact that conducting the lesson felt so comfortable and that I was in control of the information being displayed. I also enjoyed that I had ICT tools at my fingertips that I could utilize at any point of the lesson if and when I felt it was necessary, to enhance and accommodate my learners. I further enjoyed that my peers were in the same boat as me and could therefore relate to how I felt about teaching and I found comfort in the fact that I am not alone and that they share my sentiments. I did not enjoy that I could not physically engage with the students. I found this difficult as I wasn’t able to gauge whether or not the concepts and information was being received effectively by my students. Additionally, me not being able to see their body language also made it challenging for me to ensure that they are still engaged and that I still have their attention.

New skills learnt:

The new skills that I learnt within this micro-teaching lesson is being able to navigate an online platform that I haven’t used before which is something that I feel is very handy within this day and age, especially after being forced to incorporate ICT when COVID-19 hit. I have also learnt to narrow down my thoughts and concepts in order for it to be simple enough for my learners to read and understand so that they are not overloaded with information all in one sitting.

What I would do differently:

When it comes to delivering the content, I would allow for a more learnercentred approach rather than teacher-centred. This, I feel is important as it allows me to step back and let learners take control of their learning with my role being to facilitate and scaffold their prior knowledge. In relation to my lesson, I would allow for this by having learners define what sorting and recycling is and pick learners to cover certain aspects i.e. paper, plastic and glass and to give their thoughts and knowledge about it. I would also utilise images for learners to view and for them to tell me what they see in the images and what can be done about the problems being displayed, regarding recycling. Lastly, I would include a feature within Wooclap that allows learners to view which questions they got right or wrong in order for them to be aware of their mistakes or their strengths and to improve on them, depending on the outcome. Appropriate Tools:

The tools that I chose for this lesson is one that I have feel is user-friendly and effective for learners to use. It is one that is easily accessible and that I feel has a lot of potential. The platform allows for learner engagement and interaction by making use of images and different questioning strategies to guide learners’ thinking, to build on their understanding and to consolidate their ideas and newly acquired knowledge.

How this experience has helped me develop:

This experience was definitely a learning-curve for me, yet one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Although I was nervous at first, as this is a new concept to us all, it forced me to think creatively and to challenge myself which is something I wouldn’t do voluntarily. The experience however, allowed me to interact with different platforms and allowed me the opportunity to find out how things work and how I could incorporate these skills and features into my lesson. It also allowed me to interact with my peers and to learn from them in terms of strategies and even different ICT tools that I could incorporate within my classroom. These are all skills and concepts that we can carry with us into the outside world and what better way to be exposed to these concepts and opportunities than with peers who are in the same situation as what I am. Having them be in this experience with me allowed me to learn from them in terms of content, but also in terms of interactive skills and different approaches to teaching and learning. What a fun online experience it has been!