MicroTeaching 3-Day Experience

MicroTeaching at Midd-West High School

All I can say is WOW! What a great experience that was. I did my microteaching experience at Midd-West High school with Mr. Erb. While I was there I taught three days of small gas engines with a class of 18 9th and 10th grade boys. Let me tell ya, they definitely challenged me and pushed me a times where I was clueless on what to do next. They also tested me on the content I was teaching to see how much I actually knew. Even though we had times like this, this experienced was definitely worthwhile and fun.
Day 1:
Introduction to students we went through the process of a 4 stroke engine, defined some major parts and functions of those parts. Then students were split into four groups and each group was assigned a stroke of the engine. Once they were split into groups they went and had to research on how that stroke of the engine contributed to the engine function, what major parts were in the stroke , and add a value-added piece to the presentation. After this I gave them time to work on their presentations. Constantly walking around and seeing if they needed help or had any questions. I was able to observe them working in groups and seeing how much work was actually taking place. I will say that if I would have know this class a little better, I would have assigned the groups a little differently, but I had to make sure that they used their time wisely by making sure that everyone was participating in the project. At the end of this class I went around to see where everyone was at and some of the groups needed a bit more time to work, which was not planned for my second day lesson plan.
Day 2:
I planned for the students to present and go over atleast two strokes of the engine. However that is not the way it went. Some groups were needing more time to get their stuff done. I did give them extra time, which ended up being the whole rest of the period to get their presentations finished and ready to go for day 3. I also made them add more into their presentations because it took a whole other period. By the end of this day they were ready to go and present for the next class.
Day 3:
As soon as the students got into the class, the needed to have their presentations ready to go. We were short on time because they had an assembly at the end of the day. I assigned the first groups to go that had the first stroke of the engine, then the second group with the second stroke and so forth. I was pleased with the groups who took the project seriously and they did very well. The other groups did well but definitely could have done better. The class was still very good.
Overall, this was definitely a good learning experience. If I could go back and change a few things I would. I would give them a rubric before I assigned them the presentation, instead of the last day. I would have assigned the groups differently , to avoid some of the push back that I got. Also I would have dug a little deeper in the material that I was teaching, so I could really understand and present the content a little differently. I really did enjoy the kiddos and they made the experience really fun. I learned that being flexible is a good thing, especially when you are a teacher. I truly believe that it was a blessing to be given this experience and I wouldn't have traded it for anything! Great Learning Experience!

Utilizing Twitter In the Classroom

How You Can use Twitter as a Creative Learning Tool in the Classroom

Many people out there are not fans of social media because they believe that these platforms have them put more information out there than what they want people to know, and some can be tricky to use. However younger generations can not get enough time of being on social media and know the tricks and the ways of almost every platform of social media that is out there. So why not as educators use these social media platforms as tools in the classroom to help students learn and achieve? 

Let's be hones they are probably trying or figuring out different ways in which they can "sneakily" get on Facebook to check what notifications they got in the last ten minutes. Instead of yelling at them and most likely getting no where and putting your lesson behind even more, let's go through the different ways you can utilize social media platform Twitter in the classroom. Ever have those students who forget to write assignments down in their planners? Why not "tweet" out what the homework is every night so students can easily get access to it, and not get a grade for not doing their homework. This not only allows you to limit the amount of E-mails you get a day but can help aid the students when questions arise for a quick response, and the cool part of that is that other students can comment back and answer the question for the student who asked! Which saves you time and helps you work on getting next week's lesson plans finished.

Another cool aspect about Twitter in the classroom is that you can have each of your classes create a class account and have the students help in deciding who to follow, trend information pertaining to your class, and even create some class hash tags that will you can have the students follow and use on their own personal account. This allows students the freedom to see what is going on in the class, community,and world just at the touch of their fingertips. 

Another great aspect of using Twitter in the classroom is when you want to "brag" about how awesome your students are. It is social media! You can do that and why your at it why not show off to your school board at the next meeting how you are incorporating technology into the classroom by using something your students are already familiar with. 

I can honestly say it wasn't until my last two years of college that I really began to use Twitter, I was very close-minded about using it because I had nothing that I thought was worth "Tweeting" about. However one professor showed us all the ways of Twitter and how we can use it continuously throughout our lives in and out of the classroom effectively. Take it from me, your gonna need practice but when it comes down to it, this is only SOME of the numerous benefits of utilizing Twitter in the classroom.

Check it out:

http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom

http://www.nea.org/home/32641.htm