Virtual micro-teaching for the win!

This week I had the wonderful privilege to virtually micro-teach with Ms. Jessie Shafer at Salisbury-Elk Lick High School. For 3 days, I took over her animal science course to teach a lesson about wool. While planning for this experience, we decided the content that would be appropriate to teach, how the class would meet virtually and how I can best interact with students to help them learn the content in a meaningful way! 

I had planned to teach the students a 3-day lesson about wool. We dived into the wool uses, examples of wool in our daily lives, the follicle parts, impurities of wool, and the different characteristics that add value to wool. 

This experience really helped me practice many techniques that I have learned throughout my classes in college and advice that has been given to me. The major lesson that I was able to take away from this experience was about being flexible. In my Methods of Teaching course, we are always told to be flexible with your plans and adapt to any situation. From day 1, I had to adapt to the timing changes and technology challenges with the students. At the end of this experience, I was able to troubleshoot a lot of my challenges through the techniques of virtual teaching that I have learned from my professors and fellow teacher mentors. 

I hope to not have to teach virtually, however, I know that I have acquired many skills that I will be able to apply in the classroom. From the surveys that I conducted with my students, I learned that Kahoot is an absolute favorite! The students were able to review my lesson through Kahoot and also get to know me as the teacher better. This platform produced great results and I know that I can apply this virtually and in person. 

I also learned the importance of reaching students on their levels and meeting their needs. I had a student write in their anonymous form that they are very shy and quiet. I was able to take that feedback and apply it when creating my final project to make that student feel comfortable. 

All in all, this experience was very beneficial as it helped me prepare for the classroom, practice skills that I have been learning about, and interact with some incredible students that helped me learn how to be a better teacher! I am so grateful for this opportunity and cannot wait to continue to practice these skills in the future!