Description
I am currently teaching a sports leadership course in my first year at Faversham College in Bradford. I am in my 4th week and nearing the end of the course module for the first set of year 11 students. I started to work with the class teacher in planning lessons and delivering parts of the lesson but not all. The teacher called in to advise she would not be in today’s lessons and there would be cover however she was fine with me taking the lesson as I had already sat with her previously and planned the lesson. This would be my first time taking the class as the lead teacher. The topic today was around the fitness, specifically looking at factors that affect people from taking part in physical activity and the benefits of keeping fit. I was excited and nervous at the prospect of teaching the lesson on my own, knowing the class and supporting the teacher over the past few weeks I felt slightly more confident in speaking to the group. Once the class had sat down and the register was done I started talking nervously and fast, I knew what I needed to say but it was coming out all wrong and I felt the presence of 30 young adults looking at me all confused.
Feelings
At the time I felt overwhelmed with the responsibility of taking on the class, however I couldn’t understand why, as I have coached for so many years. Was it the classroom setting and the fact there was no qualified teacher mounted pressure on me to make sure there was learning and understanding taking place. I felt slightly embarrassed as I looked over at the cover supervisor sat there waiting for me to articulate my words and speak clearly in front of the class. I was glad to know feeling nervous was not abnormal, in fact Public speaking is third most common fear for women. Winter, K (2013)
Evaluation
At the time I manage to take a step back and gathered myself, it was either that or spend the next hour lost. I took a deep breath, looked at my lesson plan and started again. I spoke a lot clearer , with more enthusiasm and naturally. After the lesson I spoke to the cover supervisor and she said it’s normal to be nervous however you pulled it back which shows your confidence and character to control situations and not allow a bad moment to ruin the lesson. She said I could have used her presence more in the class and got her involved in the activities. As the class were young adults they seem to respond well and did not play up to my nervousness. I agree with Parbold statement that most trainee teachers have moments of being “tongue-tied” and “losing their way with the lesson” (Parbold, 1998, p. 223). This sure was the case with me at the start.
Analyses
Looking back at the lesson, I felt I should have started with a recap on last weeks. This would have given me the time to build in the main activity of the lesson and broke the tension and nervousness I was feeling. I wanted to the class to accept me as an authority both formally and personally. Petty (2009, p.98) states “rapport takes time to establish, usually passing through two phases”.
Conclusion
After reviewing the lesson I would have done a few things differently. I would have started with an ice breaker to recap on the last lesson and checked for prior learning. Reece and walker (2009) suggest an ice breaker is a technique which allows the student to feel part of the learning process. This would have helped me as it meant there would be more of an open discussion with the group rather than me throwing myself into the deep in by doing all the talking. I could also have involved the cover supervisor into the lesson more than I did and she could have played an active role in supporting me deliver the lesson.
Action Plan
In future, I will learn to take my time when working with a class and allow them to lead their own learning with prompts and facilitation from me. I will add in recap and ice breaker activities to ease my nerves however I am sure this will ease in time. I have spoken to my mentor who will be supporting me with delivering some more courses to adult learners. This will help me, as I will gain more confidence and control my rate of speaking. I will aim to involve any assistance I have in the classroom and make them feel a part of the lesson too. Having taught a lesson as the lead teacher made me realise I can do the job however require some tuning in certain areas which I believe the actions I set myself will help me achieve my desired outcome.
References:
Parbold, L. (1998). Feedback from newly-qualified adult education teachers. Journal of Teacher Training, 12(3), pp.23-38.
Petty,G (2009) (4th ed) Teaching today: A practical guide. China. Cheltenham
Reece, I and Walker, S. (2007) Teaching, training and learning: A practical guide. Sunderland. Business Education
Winter, K (2013) Is making a speech a fate worse than death? [online] https://www.google.co.uk/#q=speaking+in+public+jones+2000&spell=1 [30th January 2013]
halimakhan21 