Special Watch's microteaching

Miss Tok's class.

Level: Sec 1 NA
Topic: Vulcanism
Strategy: Powerpoint, workheet to jolt preconceived memory of volcano through sketching, simulated lava flow (styrofoam as volcano and tapioca flour as lava with different viscosity) which students can time, with worksheet to describe activity.

"The bar has now been raised" (geognut, 2005) I cun concur more! =) Miss Tok really impressed me! I think all the experience really paid off! Solid teacher she is! She gives the impression that she is a no-nonsense teacher, but yet eludes this caring persona.

A good strategy is to get the students to clear everything on their tables except what is needed, or else she will confiscate it. She gave out worksheets which were different-coloured. This allows students to differentiate between them easily. Another plus point. And if Tutor K had not pointed out that her powerpoint slides were so zai... I would never have noticed it! Miss Tok tested our surface knowledge first by allowing us to draw an impression of a volcano, then she displayed a childish sketch... followed by 'slicing' the childish sketch into a proper volcano, etc. It was very gradual, which is perfect for weaker students.

Miss Tok throws her voice very well and is very firm in class management... always one step ahead of our 'pranks'. I think it was amazing how she quietly walked over to YZ and took away her history textbook, even before YZ could start reading it. I tried walking around the class like some students do when they are bored, but the moment I took my second step, she called upon me and asked me what I was up to. (She never gave me the chance to pull a successful prank! Haha!) But she is also very fair, cos she didn't label anyone of us as a trouble-maker and when we did ask questions, she would patiently listen to us and address them.

Even when YZ started crying (she does it quite well!) cos superlambanana had bullied her, she swiftly broke up the fight and comforted YZ. It is here that we realised that the most Jenny can come up with is, "I don't wanna friend you." Hahaha! Also, when wes threw a piece of paper across the class while she was attending to someone else, she calmly continued to give her attention to the student and ignored Wes, hence also giving him another chance. But when he did try his trick again, she reprimanded him and threatened to inform his parents.

The ultimate, which deserves an encore, was the simulated lava flow. It's such a innovative, powerfully visual strategy! It captures the essence of the different viscosity of lava and gets students to deduce the difference between the cones formed. (Well, they can see the effect!) Can I steal the idea? Is it copyrighted?

Yep. Impressed I am. Awed I am.