Microteaching 2 Reflection

I think that this lesson went well, and it went in the direction that I intended it go based on the student centered learning. The students teaching each other about the artist and discussing about them in the small group went well. Each student was able to connect with the others and share some interesting facts about their given artist. The discussion I had with the students also went well, when we talked about each artist and saw their art visually on the PowerPoint. I wanted to get the students opinions and I hoped they would participate, which they did. I would say an area of weakness, was that maybe I talked a little too much during the discussion of the PowerPoint. I should have showed them the art on the slides, and let the students take the discussion into their own hands like they did in the small group.

            Overall I think that my objective was met, because the students did learn about each artist and they were able to make connections between what they had read, and the art that they saw visually after the little group teaching. The evidence that the students were able to do that is that they were able to fill out a worksheet I made which had questions asking about each artist and what type of art they created. If some of my students did not meet the objective, it was because they were not paying attention or taking notes during the teaching discussion.

            I think that as a teacher, I like to plan everything out and be very detailed so I know that every area is covered and I can clearly present what I want the students to know. I like to have visual aids for the students in my lessons, so that they can learn not only through reading, but seeing different visuals. I could step back a little bit more for indirect teaching and let the students take control at some points in my teaching as well. This experience will influence my professional identity, because it showed me what works in a lesson, and what does not when it comes to group discussion. You have to choose topics, which interest the students, or try to make slightly boring topics more interesting. I tried to pick artists who created art that was controversial to get the students to react and be opinionated, and they were. In the future, I want to teach my lessons in more unconventional ways, to keep the students interested and wanting to learn. Also I will stick to making sure every detail is accounted for when planning lessons, but also be more flexible and open to the students during group discussions.