How to prepare for a micro teach

How to prepare for a micro teach

It’s common practice when applying for a teaching role to be asked to perform a micro-teach. A micro-teach is a short teaching session that is designed to showcase your skills, knowledge and understanding. Here are a few things to remember when preparing for a micro-teach.

Research the school/college you are dealing with 

It’s important to research the school/college you are going to do the micro teach for. Check to see if there are details about their teaching ethos which you could use in your session.

Make sure you’re clued up on the subject area 

In some instances, the school or college may be very prescriptive in what they want you to teach, giving you a specific topic within a subject. On other occasions they may give you more freedom. If you are given more freedom, it’s worth preparing a couple of lesson plans that you’d be happy to teach. It shows that you’re keen to do well and you’ve thought about the task.

If you feel you need more information about the task or who you will be teaching, it is worth getting back in touch. Again, it just shows that you’re enthusiastic about the task and will help to ensure that you do the best you can in the task.

Make the most of the free resources available to you 

There is a plethora of free online resources that you can use when planning your lesson. There are also many blogs and articles written by people who have had to do a similar lesson plans. So, it’s definitely worth surfing the internet to get inspiration for your micro teach, before you start your planning. 

Prepare for the group you’re going to teach 

Tailor your session to the group you are going to be teaching. Make sure you know the age of the group you’re teaching, what their level is and how many will be in your session. All of this information will help you put together a suitable session.

Practice

It’s important that your lesson can be delivered within the allotted time. Make sure you know how long you have and then practice delivering it within that time. Usually a micro-teach lasts 15- 30 minutes but the school/college will have an asset time slot that they’ll want you to keep to.