Micro Teaching Assignment – Gathering Reflections

Thursday evening was Johns blocking class and I really enjoyed it.  The use of technology was good in this class I do sometimes think that people use technology just cause its there and not cause it benefits anyone in particular but I think that in this case it really helped the class. Short of actually getting into a rehearsal and learning it that way I dont think that there was much that could have made the class better. The content ofthe class was good it was really easy to follow and I think that if you didnt know how to block it would have been a good way to learn and i am sure that I would have remembered and understood everything that was taught which doesnt happen that often. I also picked up some blocking tips that I never knew about like using post it notes.

I discovered that I am a kinesthetic learner as I find it easier to learn and remember things if I have had a shot of it. Its a shame that all classes are not taught like this as I thought that it was really good however I can only imagine the amount of time it must have taken to do the  video and animations.

One Response to “Blocking Class”

johnwilkie Says:
February 28, 2009 at 9:51 pm

Hi Catherine

Thank you for lending me some of your time on Thursday and for the time spent reflecting. It’s true that the class did take a while to ‘assemble’ but to be honest it’s what I have been wanting to do for a while, this assignment gave me that opportunity. I already had the animations on file….

It’s great that you identified your ‘learning style’. I to am kinesthetic, so my tendency is to have my classes as workshops rather than lots of chatting and reading. It also helps to keep the content dynamic and interesting as a lot of Stage Management can be somewhat ‘dry’.

Anyway, thanks again. You’ll find the final part of your involvement (the feedback questions) at:

http://moodle.rsamd.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=109

There’s also an optional quiz there.

Thursday 26th February

February 27, 2009 by martinsm

This evening I attended John’s PG Teaching class on blocking, which is what this blog is about. I will blog about the rest of my day soon…

I really enjoyed this class. John explained to us all that the material covered were things we should already knew, so I was expecting to go into his class and be a “tool” for his assessment, but I felt that I did take a lot away with me. It made me consider small things I can do in my allocation in Stage Management, or in other specialisms to make my life and the lives of other people easier. I would now try to block onto post-it notes, or number it in the script to allow me to move blocking around easier. I would also make sure I do create a key at the front of my book, since it is very easy to let it slip because I know what I mean! Finally it made me think much more about technology in the classroom, in education and in the work-place.

The use of technology in the lesson was seamless (well almost, I arrived while John was setting it up and it didn’t look quite so seamless then!). I find there is nothing worse than when a PowerPoint, or something else, takes away from the points being made, or technology disrupts the class as different windows open and close, the computer reboots itself and the projector won’t get in focus. The technology all had it’s purpose in the room, and it was not there to show off what can be achieved with a MacBook. Often technology can provide an equally suitable alternative, and I am normally not quite so happy to jump on-board, but I felt that the use of technology in John’s lesson offered an alternative which was better and more beneficial than what could be achieved on paper. Perhaps the only exception to this were the IPhones which had no direct purpose in our class, but were used as a demonstration, mainly to the examiner.

The structure flowed quite well, but it felt like there were bits cut out (which there might have been, since I know John was working to a time limit). We did seem to move back-and-fore a lot, and because of the way it was structured I found it off-putting rather than engaging.

The content in John’s lesson was simple, clear and to-the-point. I feel it would be really interesting to see this type of lesson made into a podcast available to students before they start their classes in a subject. This would allow everyone to get a basic understanding at their own pace. These podcasts would need to be available a few weeks before the class to allow time for questions or further support and to allow the information to sink in. If this is not possible, it would still be fantastic to see this type of lesson in the curriculum.

I discovered my learning style is kinesthetic (actually… I think I could have guessed that) and I discovered this in quite a depressing way. Since John’s class put the information across in so many ways (auditory, visual and reading) and also since the class was aimed at a level we already covered, I felt I picked up the information quickly through all these sources and began thinking “I will work the rest out when I do it.”, “I can gauge the difficulty of this after I give it a shot.” or “I will discover it for myself once I have tried it.” I think this proves I am most certainly a kinesthetic learner. Having said I wanted to give it a try sooner, I felt the explanation was just the correct length and it was just my impatience.

Like I have said, it thoroughly enjoyed the class, but worry that classes will never be like this since I dread to think of the many, many hours John spent creating all the different media, videos, animations and ideas which made the class so engaging. With a curriculum which changes as often as that at the RSAMD, can a busy lecturer justify spending weeks preparing a one -hour lesson, knowing they might not get a chance to use it again next year? I also felt this was so engaging because it was new. If every class followed the same structure as John’s, and every class used podcasts, I can see people getting bored very quickly. (So in other words John, keep it a secret, don’t tell the other lectures what you are doing, it’s great!)

Microteach Thing

It was a very interesting the class. I liked the idea that you incorporated lots of different media, it made the class more interesting and enjoyable. I didn’t feel like I was about to fall asleep which can happen it you just get bored or if someone is droning on and on.  I don’t feel I need to comment on the actual content of lesson since we had a weeks intensive class that covered it in more detail. It was a good idea to label the mini stage. I kept forgetting what was SR and SL for some reason. It came in handy when doing the blocking! The only fault was that you were nervous. Yay! Well done!

Blocking Notation PG Cert

•February 26, 2009 • 3 Comments

This evening i attended John Wilkies PG-Cert Class for blocking notation.

There was a very clean, organised and relaxed atmosphere in the room and everything was prepared perfectly,

We were taken through a varied range of learning styles, Visual, Auditory and kinesthetically. We were shown a very detailed and impressive presentation with easy to understand animations, and simplified imformation. there was a very effective transition between each exercise, We moved on from the keynote presentation and very well made short film, to some practical excercises where we would fill out our own blocking from what happened on the ‘’stage” in front of us, very similar to the SM class previously,

John was very positive in his feedback towards us and aimed us in the right direction very swiftly, always a good indication of teaching where you can tell you are meeting expectations and progressing as planned.

after a couple more exercises we were given ipod touches (not to keep) crammed with all the information we learned into the palms of our hands,

i feel this is the future of teaching- something which seems to have it’s rules set in stone- contrary to the learning your own note taking. everything is digital this day and age and in order to engage a new generation you need to match their standards, as im not a teacher myself i dont know if digital education is contraversial, but it’s something new to me despite how far into the digital generation we are…so id assume it’s not encouraged by many old fasioned teachers and moderators.

The reaction from Johns moderator justified this method of teaching, she seemed amazed by it all.

in conclusion to keep this brief:

my favourite learning style isnt really narrowed down to one, for me, the mix of all the different styles helped embed alot more knowledge than a single style. it kept the brain going, and kept it fresh and new and exciting… (think thats a bit too keen) but it works, the downside is the enormous amount of preparation required from your lecturer, which if he/she is willing to do, you are guaranteed to learn  alot.