Today, I experienced my first execution of a lesson plan as part of my certification process. We refer to these as "microteaching" lessons as they are abbreviated examples of full lessons that we would potentially utilize in our own classroom. Lessons that may take 40-60 minutes in an actual classroom setting are shortened to 20-25 minutes. Despite its name, "microteaching" is a more challenging task than one might think. It requires gauging our classmates abilities to quickly synthesize the lesson while also providing us age-appropriate feedback.
My biggest challenge in this lesson was my vocabulary. My group chose a grade level that I have limited experience with, but we decided on something middling instead of too young or too old. A snapshot lesson forced me to really consider: what would a fourth grade student know in terms of health vocabulary? What are fourth graders learning in regard to scientific language? Do they understand what a calorie might be, why it is important that we track them? I of course had no idea I would be stumped with the word "nutrient," and worst yet was realizing its most simplistic definition had poofed entirely out of my head.
As I reflected on the activity over the course of the rest of the day, I realize that, that is perhaps one of my biggest weaknesses regarding teaching: what happens when I forget, or I am unprepared for a student's question? I know I stumbled over the "What is a nutrient?" question. It was embarrassing, but it was also the type of embarrassment you learn from. Before I introduce new vocabulary, I should feel confident in it myself. How can I expect my students to become comfortable with a word if I haven't also become comfortable with it? That is something that I will be taking more care in preparing for.
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