Group Micro-Teaching: Feedback and Reflection

Peer Feedback:

After reviewing the peer feedback forms from our micro-teaching activity, I found the general sentiment to be fairly positive. Most of the marks were in the 3-4 range with some above and some below. What I found most beneficial (and also most frustrating) were the written comments. Many of the comments indicated that the pacing of the lesson was too fast, and that more time needed to be spent on explication, especially with respect to development of the summation formula for the geometric series. After reflecting on the exercise, I do agree with this judgment, but I have some reservations which I will elaborate on in the full reflection to follow.

Reflection:

While I enjoyed working with my partners on this activity, I found some aspects of it to be somewhat frustrating. The most challenging obstacles for me were the division of labour during the delivery of the lesson, and the fifteen minute time constraint. With regard to the partitioning of the lesson material, I feel like too much time was spent on the introductory portion. As a result, I felt pressured to race through the main body of the lesson, and there was not enough time left for the experimental activity. This was fairly aggravating for me, as I had put quite a bit of thought into coming up with an interesting lesson plan which incorporated all of the elements required by the assignment. With better preparation and communication with the other members of my team, I feel that this difficulty could have been avoided, or at least minimized. The second main challenge I encountered with this assignment was trying to find a way to accomplish all of the goals of the lesson within the allotted time frame. In the end, it turned out to be impossible to do, and we had to scrap the independent problem-solving activity. While I found this to be slightly exasperating, I also found it to be a useful experience. I learned that it is necessary to be flexible in my teaching practices, and to ‘roll with the punches.’ Circumstances will rarely behave exactly as they are expected to. Thus, it is vital to be aware of this and to be able to adapt one’s strategies accordingly.