The strength that I have
identified during the microteaching that I have conducted on the 11th
of March 2014 is the good flow of the lesson. According
to Farrel (2002), a good lesson has a sense of coherence and flow. In other
words, an excellent teaching and learning process is one that hang together and
related to each other rather than just a sequence of discrete activities. For
instance, all the five stages in the teaching and learning activities my
partner and I conducted are interrelated in such a way that the pupils are able
to grasp the lesson. Besides that, I also ensured that the materials used are
of the same topic rather than just chunks or gist of it. Thus, this is the
strength that I have identified during my microteaching session.
However, the weakness that I have
identified is that I am being too taut during the teaching and learning
session. According to Borich (2000), a teacher who is excited about the subject
being taught and shows it by facial expression is more likely to hold the
attention of pupils than one who does not exhibit these behaviours. Since I am
too stiff, the condition of the class is dull, hence, not a very good learning
environment for the pupils. I am also lacking in my facial expressions which in
return sending a negative message to the pupils. The pupils may be thinking
that I am a grumpy teacher when actually I am not. Thus, in order to improve
this, I need to be more cheerful and move around the class to make it livelier.
I also have to fix my facial expressions so that I can lift up the mood of the
class.
Moving on to the materials used, I
have used Mr. Bean shopping scene for set induction, a dialogue from the
British Council for while-listening stage and a song for closure. The reason I chose
Mr. Bean shopping scene for my introduction is because I wanted to set the
class with a happy and joyful environment. According to Ellis (2005), a good
learning environment can improve pupils’ active participation and the
effectiveness of teaching. Therefore, this is why I used the said video for my
introduction. Next, I have chosen a dialogue about shopping from the British
Council. Widdowson (1990) states the usage of authentic materials will give
pupils the exposure to real language and its use in its own community. Hence,
this is why I have picked the dialogue to be adapted for my lesson because I believed
that the pupils should be exposed to the real English language. Other than
that, I have opted for the song Let’s Go Shopping for closure is because I want
to help the pupils to form a coherent picture of the lesson. Eken (1996),
states that song can be used to practice a language. Hence, by using the song, I
believed that the pupils will be able to comprehend the lesson better.
Finally, the High Order Thinking
Skills (HOTS) question used in the lesson. Newmann (1990) defined HOTS as thinking skills that
include critical, logical, reflective, metacognitive, and creative thinking. I have integrated the elements of High Order
Thinking Skills (HOTS) in my lesson by posing a question that enables the
pupils to express themselves creatively in simple language. According to Bruer
(1993), fostering students’ higher order thinking skills is considered as an
important educational goal. By giving the pupils HOTS question, I believed it
can help to produce high-achieving pupils.
However, before I posed the question, I gave them a specific situation
to help them constructing their answers later. The situation is that Mother’s
Day is coming soon and based on a list given to the pupils, they have to choose
a present within the given budget which is RM 50.00. Among the presents listed
are perfume, cooking book, accessories, watch and a bouquet of flower. After
choosing the present, the pupils have to give a reason to their selection. I
divided them to a group of 4 so that they can learn to solve problem
cooperatively. Then, they have to present their answer in front of the class. Through
this activity, the pupils can develop their thinking skills by choosing an
appropriate gift for their mother. They have to consider which gift suits the
Mother’s Day theme and whether the gift is within their budget. So, aside from
making a suitable choice, they need to a little calculation too. Hence, I have
integrated a bit of Mathematics in my teaching and learning activities.
As a conclusion, I have identified
strength and a weakness during my microteaching session. My strength during the
teaching and learning activity is the good flow of the lesson which makes the
pupils grasp the input better. On the other hand, I have also discovered my
weakness; being too stiff and taut while teaching. In order to improve this, I
need to change my behaviour by being more cheerful and I also need to have
better facial expressions when I am teaching. Besides that, I have also
justified the reasons for my selection of materials that I used in the teaching
which is to make the lesson more enjoyable, to make the pupils participate more
and also to aid the pupils in practicing the language. Last but not least, I
also have incorporated HOTS question in my lesson in order to produce
high-achieving pupils for nation.
(850
words)
