2017 Microteaching Project Guidelines
Learning Objectives of this Project: This end-of-semester project has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to engage in the process of preparing and delivering a discussion-based class on a topic of your interest.
Short Description: The topic of the class shall be a classroom teaching and learning topic that we have covered in class or a closely related topic that you would like to explore further. You will identify topics, search for relevant educational material, develop a lesson plan (which means define the learning objectives, educational materials, classroom activities, and (optional) mode of assessment) and implement your lesson plan in a 35 minute class. You and your teammate(s) will be the course instructor(s) whereas your classmates (and your course instructor) will be your students.
2016 Teams and Topics:
| Team | Date | Team Members | Short Topic Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team A | 12/08 | - Jhewelle & Corri - | - Expert Blind Spot - |
| Team B | 12/08 | - Elliot & Zoe - | - Stereotype Threat - |
| Team C | 12/08 | - April & Sojin - | - Bias International Domestic - |
| Team D | 12/15 | - Kausik & Elise - | - PPT / Technology in the classroom - |
| Team E | 12/15 | - Maddie & Aaron - | - Universal Design (large enrollment classes) - |
| Team F | 12/15 | - Benito & Kaushiki - | - Backward Design - |
Project Timeline and Deadlines: Below are the three main steps of the project with their own deadlines.
- Step 1 - Topics selection and team formation: Deadline Fri. Nov 17, 10:00 am
- Brainstorm for one or more topics of interest. For ideas, see previous years microteaching projects : 2016, 2015, 2013, 2012, and 2010.
- Do an initial library database search for relevant literature and/or educational material (optional; see below for details);
- Share at least one micro-teaching project idea with your classmates and instructor using the Blog your Micro-teaching ideas page.
- Step 2 - Design a lesson plan for a 35-min. class: Deadlines are as follows: Friday Dec. 1 for micro-teaching presentations of Dec. 08 and Friday Dec. 8 for micro-teaching presentations of Dec. 15.
- This is an iterative process between identifying a learning objective and selecting educational (resource) material. To engage in this process, get familiar with educational databases and other electronic resources; read paper(s), view online materials and decide what would be relevant as pre-class assignment for your students:
- Use the educational Library database. I would recommend "Education Full Text" and "ERIC" databases;
- See also "T&L Journals (SoTL)" page of this site;
- Manage your time so that you search these resources in multiple sessions using different databases and different keywords or descriptors;
- Select the educational material for the pre-class assignment. Try to identify a few (at the most two or three) main messages or BIG IDEA(S) that you believe everybody should take away from your micro-teaching unit. What pre-class assignement educational material will help you (and your students) get there? Please select short and concise pre-class assignment materials because most students will have to prepare for multiple micro teaching sessions the day of your presentation;
- Write a short set of instructions describing what exactly you want your students to do before class;
- Email pre-class assignment materials (pdf, ppt, excel, etc.) and specific instructions (written as a word document) to your instructor so the material can be posted on the course website giving the rest of the class at least 4-5 days to complete the pre-class assignment before class.
- Step 3 - Prepare for the 35-min. classroom interaction with your students: Friday Dec. 08 10:00 am (Teams A, B, and C) and Friday Dec. 15 10:00 am (Teams D, E, and F)
- What will you do in class to reach your pedagogical objectives? What will you do in class to complement the pre-class assignment? Classroom time should be structured in anyway you see fit to maximize effectiveness of your discussion-based teaching. Examples of what you may elect to do include:
- A handout highlighting micro-teaching unit goal(s) and instruction(s) for class activities;
- View or review electronic resources (web-pages, You-Tube videos, etc.) as an introduction to class discussion;
- Plan for individual, pair, small groups or whole-class discussion activities (feel free to review the best practices in facilitating a discussion);
- Invite a panel of guests to provide a "real-life" perspective of the subject of discussion.
- The class will review your pre-class assignement materials and follow your instructions (unless specified otherwise, the default will be the usual blog entries with the usual Thursday 9:00 pm deadline).
Schedule and Materials
| Pd | Date | Modules and Topics | Class Blogs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | F. 12/08 | Microteaching: Team A | Pre A | Post A | |
| Microteaching: Team B | Pre B | Post B | |||
| Microteaching: Team C | Pre C | Post C | |||
| 14 | F. 12/15 | Microteaching: Team D | Pre D | Post D | |
| Microteaching: Team E | Pre E | Post E | |||
| Microteaching: Team F | Pre F | Post F | |||
Wk 13 - 12/08 - Team A | Team B | Team C
Team A Required Reading: Nathan (2001) Expert Bling Spot (Eclipse) | Instructions: Complete the required reading. Post your pre-class blog (see "Pre A" link above) to the following prompt: Provide an example of expert blind spot from personal experience.
Optional readings: Nathan (2005) Expert Blind Spot (Collision)Team B Required Reading: Purdie-Vaughan (2014) Best Practices to Reduce Stereotype Threat and Empirically Validated Strategies to Reduce Stereotype Threat | Instructions: Complete the required reading and - as usual - post your blog entry using the "Pre B" link (see above). If needed please refresh your memory of stereotype threat with the paper of Steele that we read earlier in the semester.
Optional reading:Team C Required Readings: Lee (2007) Neo racism toward international students and Sun (2013) Learning for transformation | Instructions: Please post one- blog entry for both reading.
Optional reading:Wk 14 - 12/15 - Team D | Team E | Team F
Resource material Team D : Horvath (2014) Neuroscience of Powerpoint | Instructions: Complete the required reading and comment on something you found interesting in your pre-class blog using the "Pre D" link (see above). In addition, post one feature you WANT to see in a PowerPoint slide and one feature you definitely DON’T WANT to see.
Optional: Mail an example of a particularly GOOD or BAD PowerPoint slide used in one of your current or previous courses to Kausik (sskausik08@gmail.com) and Elise (gilcher@wisc.edu).Resource material Team E: Scott (2003) Universal Design and Disability | Instructions: Read Scott et al., 2003 pages 43-46 (section "The Principles of Universal Design for Instruction") and - as usual - post your blog entry using the "Pre E" link (see above).
Optional reading: Lynch (2017) Making A Large Enrollment Class Feel Small | Recommended reading is the section "A Model for Facilitating a "Small Class Feel" in a Large Class."Resource material Team F: Principles of Backward Design Instructions: . Complete the required reading and - as usual - post your blog entry using the "Pre F" link
Optional viewing: A You Tube Video on Backward Design. What do you want your students to know and be able to do at the end of the course?