Reflecting on Micro Teaching

During my micro teaching at Bald Eagle high school I got to experience teaching students I a classroom setting for the first time. This was a great experience that I'm glad I had as it gave me the chance to see what it will be like during student teaching. It also showed me some areas that I need to work on, with the main area being my confidence. I knew the topic of my micro unit, plants and pollinators, fairly well which wasn't the problem, and I can explain the relationships between the two fairly easy to a few people but when I was in front of actual students I kept feeling like I was going to mess up, which inevitably caused me to stop and rethink what I'd said and repeat what I'd already said. On the other hand Mr. Biddle, and the students, said that they liked the activities that I had in my lessons. I made some of these activities and adapted others and they went over fairly well. The main issue that at least I thought existed was that I didn't plan out how to transition from one topic to the next. Due to this some of the students were already working on the activity when I finished explaining. On the other hand at times I did not give good enough directions so I would need to clarify what was meant in the directions. Both my confidence and my planning are areas that I know need work so I am curious, what has helped you?

What methods have you used to help calm your nerves before presenting a lesson?
How does experience help you to improve?
What planning techniques have you used to improve activities?

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