Running head: MICRO TEACHING REFLECTION LESSON 2 AFFECTIVE

Micro Teaching Reflection Lesson 2 - Affective

May Smith
Fontbonne University

MICRO TEACHING REFLECTION LESSON 2 AFFECTIVE

Micro Teaching Reflection Lesson 2 - Affective

I want to start my reflection with an observation. Even though we were all so excited to
only have five minutes to present, I dont think that was an adequate amount of time for true
reflection. In retrospect, I can see why we ran through the lesson the way we initially did the first
time, but I also see great value in the run down version we did this time. It seems like a
combination of the two might have the greatest benefit.
Im having a hard time giving answers that are truly introspective because I didnt have a
full enough experience to be able to apply true introspection to our second lesson run through.
Though our lessons are just snapshots of time to give us experiences in leading a class, they are
truly valuable for that experience. I think having the full 12-15 minutes is a value that shouldnt
be shortened in the future, no matter how ornery we may be on the days we are presenting.
Comfort with Teaching
My comfort level prior to this experience was pretty neutral. This was my second time
presenting to my group, so I knew ahead of time who the actors of the class would be and who
would give me grief. My only real worry was going over on time and being that student that
keeps everyone over the class time. I started the lesson a lot more comfortable than I had my last
one, but when I realized that the rules of the activity were harder to explain without an easily
visible PowerPoint, I did lose some of my confidence. Our five minute presentations didnt
really give us time to get into a flow with the class, so the whole lesson felt like I was rushing
through material as quickly as possible, causing it to be confusing. Overall, except for the
activity part, there wasnt really a time to feel comfortable or uncomfortable. I felt more neutral
this time since I was just listing off what the lesson would entail instead of actually presenting it

MICRO TEACHING REFLECTION LESSON 2 AFFECTIVE

as a lesson to a classroom. Afterwards the feedback was pretty encouraging, so it made me feel
more confident about the lesson Im building for the external teaching. I did find myself
disappointed in not being able to present more of my material. I felt a great deal of pride about
my lesson plan and knowing that I worked so hard on something, but not being able to show it
off threw me for a small loop at the beginning of the class.
Knowledge of Subject Matter
Even though Ive had plenty of prior experiences with the six dimensions of health, it
can be difficult to translate the ideas of individual wellness from one persons perspective to
another person. This lesson plan covers all six dimensions of wellness and tries to define their
basic meaning to the student by relating each dimension to real life experiences. I adapted my
material from two main sources; A Balanced Life The Wellness Wheel published by
Northwest Missouri State University in 2012 and Dimensions of Wellness published by
Lansing Community College (n.d.). Both were excellent sources of information, but some of the
questions were too mature for a senior high school class. When developing the activity lessons, I
needed to reflect on what the students would actually be able to relate to personally and not react
to immaturely. Questions regarding satisfaction with careers or large purchase financial choices
didnt makes sense to ask high school students. Also, questions based on sexual activity or drug
use could have been more distracting than productive. These questions were removed so that the
students could benefit from the lesson plan from their life perspective, not mine. Now that Ive
been able to run through my activity once, I can see that even the wording needs to be altered so
that its more relatable to a younger audience. Some of the questions seem simple and direct to
me, but while reading them out loud I realized that even if drawing was funthe questions

MICRO TEACHING REFLECTION LESSON 2 AFFECTIVE

would simply bore some students to tears. The six dimensions of wellness can be a fascinating
subject, but as a practitioner we need to lead students to that same conclusion.
Whats Next
In this lesson plan I tried to move away from forcing students to participate on an
individual level. Instead of asking students to answers questions in front of a class, I created an
activity where they could answer those questions for themselves inwardly. I still wanted to keep
their hands moving so they would be at least partially physically engaged while reflecting on
their inner thoughts, but I received mixed feedback about this tactic. Some of the group
participants didnt like that they had to do any work on the project other than draw. Even though
I had filled out most of their Wellness Wheel, they didnt like the fact they needed to draw lines
in each section for their questions. On the other hand, Jaime advised that I should have made
them create the whole wheel, potentially to give them pride in creating it themselves and also to
not cause undue burden on the teacher to create so many class props. This is similar to the
mixed feedback I received last time about the brain tossing to encourage students to talk. Some
students liked how the brain forced everyone to answer and participate instead of just the
talkers filling the air. Others hated having to answer questions if they didnt want to. I think
the lesson I get from both of these experiences is that I cant make everyone happy all the time
and I think Im doing awesome so far. Im excited to see what the feedback will be after my
third lesson which incorporates a little bit of both strategies from my first two lessons, using a
prop to encourage class participation while having students create something of their own.