Practice Teaching Round 1

Yesterday we had our first practice teaching session.  After a couple full days of training, we are eased into the classroom, first with two days of group practice teaching (3 volunteers for a 40 minute class), and then we will have 2 days of solo teaching (we will each teach 2 45 minute classes each day).  We all get to observe each other which is both nerve-wracking and really fun.

My group led a class of about 20 students on "places to go".  By the end of the class I was sweating profusely, partly because the classroom was so hot, and partly because of nerves.  Overall, I would consider the class a success.  Since the teacher to student ratio was so high, we were able to divide and conquer and give each student personalized attention.  Unfortunately that will not be a reality for my future classes of 70, but it was still extremely helpful to practice leading a class and interacting with students.  Tomorrow we having another practice teaching session with the same students we taught yesterday- I'm excited to see them again.  My goal for tomorrow is to practice giving clear instructions.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday...