Soooo.... [intake of breath]... this PRESENTATION micro teaching....
The first thing to say about this Micro Teaching is that I had Berlitz PPP interference with my Harmer (P)PPP. The term 'Presentation' in the Berlitz world is a lot broader than the Harmer definition, and actually includes what he would call the Preview. Due to this ingrained method (I taught this way for 8 years), and despite having re-read the Harmer chapter at the beginning of the week, I fell back in the Berlitz habit. For this reason, from a Micro-Teaching Presentation perspective, this MT was a complete mis-fire as it did not demonstrate what it was intended to. The gong went just as I was about to hand out the reading material. So, to begin this reflection, the first, most important thing was that I should've done what I was supposed to do. This reflection should have been about my presentation. Instead, it is a reflection on a lack of presentation.
I was beginning to reflect even during the MT. I heard several Evaluative T-Talk slip out, almost like a verbal tic when a student has finished speaking. I became so aware of it, that in the second half of the video, I grimace several times as "Nice" or "Very good" comes out of my mouth. I think it's less about I think it's less evaluation more about needing to say something when a student has finished speaking. Along with saying "A'right, so" every 2 minutes, this is definitely something that needs to be curtailed in my teaching.
Alright so, to reverse traditional structure of teaching feedback (the good-the bad-the good), I will fry up the positive burger to this negative bun.
Maybe it's because I was the first teacher, but the class atmosphere was positive and encouraging, which helped things go very smoothly. We even had a bit of fun with"she should have put out " response from Heidi. My teaching style was the usual pleasant manner/act that I adopt with lots of NLP-inspired nodding and a fairly energetic approach. I feel like my use of the whiteboard was just enough: Not too intrusive but there to help students construct the TL.
For MIC techniques, I used a lot of hand gestures, for example to elicit full sentences and repetition and used these gestures in some cases, without speaking, to elicit their appropriate reaction. If I can pat myself on the back for just one moment, I feel my MIC techniques are probably my strongest teaching element. Having worked with group classes for 90% of my teaching life, it has now become more or less second nature to me. For example, in the MT, I point to words in the TL sentence in order to help the student construct the question form, both negative and positive, thereby avoiding having to give the students the fall written sentence [this isn't shown in the video as the camera is on Jason giving the question as I'm doing it].
The final positive elements is that I didn't say more than two sentences without giving the students a chance to speak. This isn't something I had ever been told before starting this course, however it was a pleasant surprise to see that I was doing it anyway. One of the benefits of teaching for years is that you very quickly get sick of the sound of your own voice, and embrace the best STT techniques.
Alright so, for the top of the burger bun, let's get back to the negative part of the reflection. As I already mentioned, the most disappointing part of this micro teaching was that I failed to start the reading section of the presentation. I.E., the most important part of this Micro-Teaching. I had taken the Harmer textbook example of teaching present continuous using the family picture. Instead of using it to introduce the presentation section (the picture slides in my ppt), I expanded it into what was actually an extended preview before the presentation. I'm pretty disappointed with myself that I could make what is a rookie error at my stage of teaching and at this stage of the TESOL course.
I could see from Tom's face that something was going wrong, but I could not mentally juggle the tasks of continuing with my plan and assessing what was going wrong at the same time. As soon as I heard the gong, I realised where I had gone wrong, as I stood there holding the hand-outs that should've been handed out, ohhhh, about 8 minutes before.
This is a good example of one of my weakest elements in teaching: my comfort zone. My reliance on what I already know. It's easy to fall back on the excuse that I was exhausted at the end of the mid term week. However, I should have known better. I went into a kind of glazed-over auto-pilot teaching.
So, in conclusion, it's ironic given the TL of my MT that my final thought on this micro teaching is that I "should have" prepared more carefully, and I "shouldn't have" made a school boy error given the preparation I've had.
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ReplyDeleteWe are 2 captains of the same vessel. I was very displeased with my micro teaching because I didn't use the WB and there was a TON of Ttalk, I was more concerned with getting the video started (which took 2 minutes of an allotted 9 minute time frame) as opposed to showing my teaching abilities. Time is a foul mistress. Also, It's always difficult to go first, I ve done it twice, (as have you) and I will never go first again unless directed to do so.
ReplyDeleteIt's difficult to assess yourself, since we tend to notice the negatives as opposed to looking for the positives. I actually thought you did quite well in your MT, even though the introduction was long, your techniques were good. You elicit answers well and as always, you gesture well.
First thing I noticed was the quality of your T-talk. It is pretty good! Makes me re-think my teaching personality and reflect on my own "active" "dominant" T-talk. Your gesture use is always top notch when eliciting. I didn't see a lot of gestures as an MIC technique but I don't think it was needed for the lesson. Whiteboard use was good, too. Perhaps, since the elicited responses came mostly in a common structured form, writing the responses broken up into a "chart" form could help the "listening" students process the information and help them strategize their possible response.
ReplyDeleteI admire the pacing in your lesson and your patience when it comes to "wait-time". Comparing with my own video, it is a stark difference. Something I can learn from. In the video you volunteer the students a lot yourself. I am wondering if there is a way for students to volunteer themselves more? like an open forum? Maybe increasing "wait-time" here before you volunteer someone? I think the key could be more communicative responses from the teacher rather than evaluative responses. As you mentioned, there were some occasions where you gave feedback in the form of "good" or "nice". I understand the temptation is there to encourage students and to acknowledge their eager participation or correct use of grammar. I do it too sometimes. Especially, when I hear a student deliberately recycle old TLC!
I can't really talk much about the reading part because we didn't have a chance to see it. So, no comment. But, I felt the setup was good at foreshadowing what was to come and I was already thinking of possible scenarios the reading example could talk about. I guess that means the preview component was effective!
All in all though, I felt that the classroom environment was very comfortable and non-threatening. The students still retained a bit of "school" feeling but there were a lot of "real" conversation moments going on. The input was comprehensible and I was quickly able to identify the TLC. The use of pictures had a nice top-down approach (especially with the cigarette leading to the house fire). It is always interesting to observe ourselves in various stages of development (teaching). Nice job!
The evaluative T-Talk is an old habit and a tough one to break. Like you say, when a student produces something exceptional or responds with old TLC it takes Gandhi-like self-restraint not to go "well done".
ReplyDeleteAs for my wait time, that has come with mileage - realising that, the lower the level, the more silence there is going to be. Giving the students time to formulate an answer is vital is you ever want them to say anything! When I trained new instructors at Berlitz, I always had to remind them about silence as we come from countries where silence is uncomfortable.
As for volunteering the students, that's a good point that I hadn't noticed. I think it's a hangover from university teaching days when I'd ask a question and consistently get NO responses! So I seem to have gotten in the habit of just picking someone first. But you make a good point so I'll try and do something a bit more open in future.
The actual presentation (which no one saw) was an company email about two laptops and a bag having been stolen from the office. I used the bike wheel picture to try and get "lock"/"locked" as it would hopefully come back into play during the exercise of 'what should the manager have done?'.
Keep this discussion going. Interesting stuff. I like Justin's peer reflection as an example of the details that would be useful in the self-assessment, Andrew. You seem a bit hung-up here on not getting to the Pres, which, while an issue,doesn't help you reflect on the mechanics of what you DID do...
ReplyDeleteAnyway -- just keep the dialogue going.