Microteaching Reflection

What happened?

• My microteaching experience had a bit of a rocky start. A few days before my microteaching experience, my original school decided to no longer participate, leaving me a little bit high and dry. Lucky, Dr. Foster was quickly able to find me a new placement with Macy Fisher. Ms. Fisher was extremely helpful and quickly helped me from lesson plans for my microteaching experience. 
• The teaching episodes themselves didn't go perfectly but they also weren't horrible. I experienced some technology issues throughout my three days (I had trouble hearing the students) which was pretty frustrating. These technology issues also made me feel more self conscious when I was teach because at times I felt like I was teaching into the "void". That being said, based on my students reactions to my google form, my lessons were successful and for the most part my students enjoyed my being there. 

o How does it relate to what I know about teaching and learning and what did I learn?

• I think this relates to what I know about teaching and learning in that the only thing I can expect is the unexpected. No lesson is going to go 100% the way I hoped and this teaching experience was a perfect example of this. ultimately, this experience showed me that being a good teacher isn't necessarily about having the most flashy lesson plans but being able to roll with the punches and adjust to different circumstances as they arise. Obviously, I would have rather delivered this lesson in person but I had to force myself to be flexible and work with the tools I was given.

o How can I apply this as an Agriscience teacher?

• I think the biggest way I can apply this as an educator is realizing that I need to relax and refocus when things don't go my way. When planning lessons, it can be really heartbreaking when something doesn't happen the way you planned it out beforehand. Staying light hearted and flexible saves not only my feelings but also recovers the lesson from complete disaster. For example, during my microteaching, there were a few minutes where I couldn't her anything from my students. Part of me started to panic a bit as I started rethinking my entire lesson. However, I did my best to clam down and think of ways to adjust the lesson given the problems that had arisen.