Teaching of Writing: Reflection
It was 8:20 in the morning when my alarm startled me, and I realized I had woken up late. Today was my first class of the semester. I rushed to the bathroom and managed to get into the mini theatre just before the lecturer entered. I felt very sleepy and, as usual, I expected the lecturer to explain assignments and conduct a simple ice-breaking session.
However, the class environment was very different from what I expected. For microteaching, I thought the lecturer would focus on teaching us how to write stories, letters, and other forms of writing. Instead, the session was highly interactive and student-centred. We sat in a circle, which created a more open and less formal environment. This arrangement encouraged communication and participation, aligning with constructivist theory, where learning happens through interaction and shared experiences.
The lecturer asked us to introduce ourselves by sharing our names, where we are from, how many siblings we have, and our favourite authors. I felt slightly shy at first, but this activity helped create a sense of connection among us. Most of my classmates mentioned that they are not interested in reading, even though we are future teachers. This made me reflect on the importance of being a role model. The lecturer politely encouraged us to build reading habits, which relates to social learning theory, where students learn behaviours by observing others, especially teachers.
The first activity focused on voice control, from a soft pitch to a higher pitch. Initially, I felt shy and uncomfortable, but gradually I started to enjoy it. The lecturer also demonstrated effective classroom management by using a simple cue word, “waterfall,” to signal us to respond with “shhh.” This reflects behaviourism theory, where a stimulus (the word) produces a response (silence), helping to manage classroom behaviour effectively.
The second activity involved acting based on a prompt. For example, when given the word “umbrella,” I imagined it as a knife and acted it out while my classmates guessed. This activity made me think quickly and stay alert. It reflects cognitive learning theory, as it required imagination, mental processing, and quick thinking. It also encouraged creativity, which is important in teaching writing.
The third activity was a pair task where Person A shared something important while Person B ignored it. Then, Person B spoke while Person A listened carefully. This made me feel uncomfortable when being ignored, but it helped me realise the importance of focus and active listening. This relates to humanistic theory, which emphasizes feelings, empathy, and meaningful communication in learning.
The fourth activity was a trust exercise in groups of three, where the person in the middle had to fall without hesitation and trust their friends to catch them. At first, I felt nervous, but later I felt safe and supported. This activity helped build trust and cooperation, which are important in creating a positive classroom environment.
Lastly, we did two activities in groups of five. One was acting based on a script, and the other involved narrating a story while acting as different characters, such as a happy frog or a drunk frog. This activity allowed us to fully imagine and experience the character. It connects to experiential learning theory, where students learn through direct experience. It also supports the teaching of descriptive writing, as we were able to feel and express emotions more vividly.
Among all the activities, the one I liked the most was the storytelling and acting activity. I enjoyed it because it allowed me to use my imagination and creativity. At first, I felt shy, but as the activity continued, I became more confident and engaged. This made me realise that understanding a character deeply can help in describing actions and emotions clearly in writing.
As a future teacher, this class changed my expectations. Teaching writing is not only about teaching structure, grammar, or formats, but also about building creativity, confidence, and imagination. I learned that an interactive and supportive environment can help students express their ideas more effectively. In the future, I would like to use similar activities in my classroom to make learning more engaging and meaningful.
From a student perspective, these activities provide many benefits. They improve creativity, critical thinking, communication skills, and confidence. Students also become more active and focused during lessons. Furthermore, such activities help students understand concepts deeply rather than memorising them, which leads to more meaningful learning.
Overall, I truly enjoyed the class. It was a good warm-up for my brain and made me more active and aware throughout the session. This experience showed me that learning can be fun, interactive, and effective when the right teaching approaches are used.
