Reflections on Microteaching

It was a fun and good experience to work in a team to microteach.  Each member had new ideas and a different perspective to contribute.    We learnt from each other as well.   For example, Min used magnetic fridge magnet strips to tape onto cardboard to make pieces that would stick on the whiteboard.   What a cool idea!   Erica had puzzle pieces cut out for showing that the squares forming the 3 sides of the triangle have a relationship.

Regarding our lesson,  general feedback told us that the activities were fun and generally enjoyed (except by the team that was slowest at finishing the puzzle --oops, sorry!).  We learnt that it is difficult to predict how long an activity will take, especially if that activity involves the students.    Our puzzle game went by much faster than anticipated.      It would be have been good to provide an overview of where this lesson fits into the unit plan,  so students can see a big picture.    For example,  we can mention that in the next class, we will continue this lesson to look at ancient and modern day applications of the pythagoreas theorem (our lesson only focussed on introducing the theorem).  

It is also difficult to judge the students "prior" knowledge when you jump into a lesson like this.   Life as a substitute teacher?   This challenge affects how much time we spend explaining things, and how deep we go into it etc.

Was it useful experience?  Yes!
I will use these activities again if I have a chance to teach this topic, and know how to refine the lesson to make it more effective.   I can't wait to try it out again, in real life!