ONLINE MICROTEACHING

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During the tasks, learners seemed to struggle and I was able to use my content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge to assist the learners in constructing their knowledge of Apostrophes by scaffolding their thinking through probing open ended questions.  Learners seemed to be responsive and fully engaged in the lesson as I believe the activities allowed them to practice and apply the rules and notes of apostrophes instead of merely spending the whole lesson writing notes or trying to memorise the rules. By providing opportunities for learners to apply and practice their skills and knowledge of Apostrophes during the lesson activities - they were able to grasp the understanding needed to successfully complete tasks. This and the fact that learners were able to complete the task and explain their thought process can be a testament to the fact that the lesson objectives s set out for this lesson has been achieved.

I planned to show 2 videos - one on contractions and the other possessions (the two features of using an Apostrophe) however the sound was not working which was challenging as it was supposed to get learners informed about the purposes of apostrophes and the importance of knowing how to use them. To address this, I had decided to verbally explain the rules and purpose of Apostrophes whilst learners do the examples on the PowerPoint. Each learner was given an opportunity to apply their knowledge of apostrophes in the examples given.

In addition to that, after explaining to learners about Apostrophes and their 2 functions, I should have prepared a cheat sheet that learners could frequently refer to throughout the lesson as the rules and explanations of Apostrophes was verbal and they needed something concrete to assist them through the activities. This was the feedback given by my peers. Therefore, in the future, be it teaching online or face-to-face, I will ensure that learners have a cheat sheet that contains a summary of the notes on Apostrophes so that they can continuously refer to it when necessary to assist during tasks.

The ICT’s chosen for the lesson was appropriate as it was easily accessible to the learners and they were already familiar with it given that they have used it both as teachers and students. For example, the blackboard tools such as the whiteboard, polls and chat box. This also allowed me to interact meaningfully with immediate effect. Learners were given a link that took them to Canva where they were supposed to watch the two videos on the 2 purposes of Apostrophes but due to technical difficulties, they were not able to hear it. An online quiz was also created on WordWall to assess their understanding of Apostrophes. However, due to time constraints, I was not able to get to this part which was a little upsetting as I put a lot of effort into it. In the future, I should have a contingency plan with regards to time to ensure that my planning is as realistic and achievable as possible.

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Overall, this online microteaching has allowed me to teach in a new context – online – I was perplexed at how different it seemed which made an initially nervous. It was certainly a transitional time for me to assess whether or not I can in fact teach in a variety of contexts if need be. This opportunity allowed me to broaden my horizons and get more comfortable with the idea of blended learning (face-to-face and online lessons) – especially considering that my learners are going to be generation alphas “iPad” kids and I should have the skills to operate my teaching online and physically. This task allowed me to develop my online teaching skills to the point that I am now confident I can strive triumphantly in that context.