Getting My Feet Wet - A "Microteaching" Experience at Mifflinburg Academy

I had the opportunity to practice some of the teaching techniques that I have learning about this past semester as I "micro" taught at Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology in Lewistown, PA. I taught some lessons that I wrote for my soils unit, specifically about what soil is and why it is important, how soil is formed, how to collect and prepare a soil sample, and a lab in which the students tested for macronutrients in the soil. I had a really good time and I think that the students did as well. The Agriscience teacher, Annette Sprenkel, gave me some excellent feedback and I am excited to be able to improve my teaching techniques. 

Students collecting a representative soil sample

Some key takeaways

What I need to improve:

• I need to prepare materials for the students like guided notes and handouts to enrich the retention of learning
• I need to ensure that I maintain professionalism throughout the lesson. I am still struggling with this, because I want to have fun and I want the students to have fun, but I need to be conscious and careful that I don't let the students forget that I am their teacher and that they are here to learn
• Transitioning from interest approach to lesson material and activities. Make sure that there is a clear connection and that adequate instruction is given

Some things that I did well:

• I made the students work and think. As a new person coming into the classroom and only being there for 4 days it is hard to develop a rapport with students and encourage them to feel comfortable to ask questions and participate, but I think I did pretty well with that regard.
• The students were engaged. I spent a lot of time thinking about interesting ways to teach soil properties and processes to design an engaging and interactive experience. There are a lot of things that I need to improve, it wasnt perfect, but the students liked it and during a formative assessment they rated their confidence level regarding the material on average at an 8 (scale of 1-10, 10 = very confident)
• I was able to learn every student's name and call on them by their name which I feel is very important

As a side note, I really like the CTE school setting with the block schedule. Forty-two minutes just isn't enough time!

(Pictures posted with permission)

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Lil' Wilburt (or Craig)

The animal barn. Pigs, goats, and rabbits