In August I had an opportunity to be a trainer on a CTS-Primary course in Ankara. It was the second time I had participated in this programme, but it was the first time I had been there on my own. I spent two weeks exchanging ideas and sharing experience with a wonderful group of eleven teachers.
Microteaching
Microteaching represented the practical part of the course. It was a series of mini-lessons focused on presenting vocabulary, grammar and skills which gave everybody a chance to teach a 10-minute lesson. The trainees were divided into several groups and each group was assigned a topic which they had to prepare. This system helped a lot with the theoretical input on presenting and practicing because it illustrated the need to exploit a task very clearly. As if by magic, pre-task and post-task activities, which were a bit of a mystery at the beginning of the course, had to become real.
Since some of the trainees worked with 1st and 2nd graders and some with 6th graders, they could see and compare a variety approaches and task types according to the age group of their students.
But microteaching was not only about teaching. There was also space for peer observations, and above all, we needed students to be taught. So suddenly, the trainees found themselves in completely different roles – they became 6-year-olds and teenagers again.
What challenges did we come across?
Not everything was easy. The first thing that had to be done before every lesson was also one of the most dreaded one – writing a lesson plan with aims and anticipated problems. It helped a little when I showed my group my 6-page detailed lesson plan I had compiled for an observed lesson at a summer school and assured them they didn´t have to write anything 'that long'.
Another issue, this time a practical one, was classroom management. Although the students were in fact teachers who knew how various activities should work, we could still see how important it was to formulate clear instructions and check them. The mini-lessons also helped to discover why every student needed to be involved in a task. The trainees who were observing could see what happened if the teacher chose one or two students to work in front of the board but left the rest without anything to do. Those participating as students had first-hand experience with that situation.
Memorable moments
I think if the trainees in my group decided not to be teachers they could easily become famous as actresses. They emulated their real students´ behaviour and favourite lines perfectly (“Teacher, teacher, she pinched me!” “But she took my sunglasses!” “Teacherrrr, fiiiniiished!”) so we had a lot of fun. They could also pursue successful careers as artists because their resources and prompts for games were just beautiful.
However, what made the deepest impression, was the spirit of cooperation. Everyone tried to help the others as much as they could and contributed with useful tips.
What did we learn?
Throughout the microteaching and feedback sessions the trainees were encouraged to reflect on their work. They put a lot of effort into their preparation to make the following lessons better and smoother. The different roles which they played in the microteaching helped them see their lessons from more perspectives, especially through their students´ eyes. They realised their students needed good scaffolding to carry out a task well and this became more and more visible in the later in the course.
But not only the trainees learned. For me it was a great experience to work with people who love their work and who are so open to try out new ideas.
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