Micro teaching reflection.( Factoring trinomials)

Planning: We ( Me and Karmdeep) decided to micro-teach factoring polynomials from Foundation Math 10 and Precalculus. I looked into Foundation Math 10 textbook and found that Factoring polynomial is quite a big unit so decided to teach only factoring trinomials by using the visual method. In addition to this, we tried to think from a student's perspective and reflected on how can the student relate polynomials in real life. Therefore, we used PHET simulations to demonstrate the trajectory of parabola( trinomial). Moreover, we used virtual algebraic tiles to show the factoring of the trinomials on the projector. I should add that Karm deep did a very good job of making the algebraic tiles with colorful card paper which we used for our activity.

What worked well: I feel that our microteaching went okay and the learning objectives of the lesson were met. I am glad that all our students during the microteaching lesson were very engaged. They really liked the idea of using real-life examples of polynomials and exploring the mathematical representation of their path. The PHET simulation further enhanced the understanding of the trinomials. When it came to teaching, I suddenly got passionate, energized and felt as if I am actually teaching a grade 10 students. The activity at the end was very hand-on and we helped our students wherever they needed help and addressed their inquiries.

Areas of improvement: The major area of improvement for me is timing and pacing. In the last microteaching lesson, I finished a bit early but this time we had to drop the example demonstrating the use of zero pairs in making the factors using algebraic tiles. Some of the students were able to identify the use of zero pairs in the activity and took it as a challenging question but some of the students wanted the concept to be discussed before which I think we should have. The reason behind this is that I made the introduction longer, therefore less time was left for the rest of the lesson. The key take away is that I should be mindful of the time and teach accordingly and focus on the learning objectives for the particular lesson. My tendency is to give whatever knowledge I have about that topic to my students to make the explanation more meaningful but I should understand that they will learn the concepts gradually and eventually with time.