Microteaching
All new UK TAs, regardless of previous teaching experience and assigned role, will participate in Microteaching sessions during the TA Orientation.
What is microteaching?
Microteaching provides you with an opportunity to build your teacherly skills and confidence before you go into your first class session at the University of Kentucky.
Microteaching involves teaching an 8-10 minute mini-lesson during which you will put into practice many of the elements of effective teaching. At registration you will be randomly assigned to a small group of eight to ten other TAs. You will work with this group during portions of the Orientation and will do your mini-lesson with them on the second day. Each group will be led by an experienced college-level teacher.
You will conduct your lesson with your group members serving as students. Your activity (lecture, discussion, demonstration, etc.) will be video-recorded for your own private viewing and self-critique.
How should you prepare for your mini-lesson?
Choose an introductory topic in your discipline, one whose content you know well. You should focus on helping your audience learn foundational knowledge, skills, or processes, rather than sophisticated content. Your “students” (your peers in your microteaching group) will be from a variety of disciplines and may have little knowledge of your subject area. (See the PowerPoint below for further guidelines and for a sample lesson.)
Think about ways you will actively involve students in your mini-lesson. Will you plan an interactive lecture? Do a demonstration? Engage students in a hands-on activity? Create a dialog? Devise a role play?
PowerPoints or other computer technology is allowed when warranted.
On the first day of Orientation your leader and members of your group will help you finalize a topic, determine your lesson's learning goal, choose an appropriate instructional mode, and organize your lesson plan.
Click here for a Mini-Lesson Checklist
Click here for an Instructional Traits Rubric
Click here for a PowerPoint titled "Microteaching: A Micro-Introduction," which includes a sample lesson plan written for the lecture mode. (This PowerPoint is also available as a PDF file.)
(NOTE: Microteaching and the TA Language Screening are two separate and distinct activities. Microteaching focuses on building teaching skills, whereas Language Screening focuses on evaluating English language communication skills. Although the same topic may be used for both activities, the approach, length of presentation, and expectations should be tailored accordingly. For information on Language Screenings, click here.)