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Reactions to the Second Round of Implementation
With the insights and information collected from the second round of student
reflections and instructor interviews, both groups expressed that more specific
feedback had been provided, making the experience more impactful on students’
overall growth and performance. One student shared, “I think having that extra
feedback and practice really taught me a lot when conducting lesson plans and
that the microteaches provided opportunities to get new ideas and suggestions to
implement with elementary students.” Another student echoed the value of peer
feedback by saying that the microteach experience “...was really valuable for me
because [my peers] are all very smart and thought of new ideas I hadn’t considered.”
A third student said, “I was able to adjust my lesson according to the feedback I
received while teaching it on campus to my peers,” indicating the positive impact
the microteach feedback had on lessons he or she had implemented during the
field experience. Students’ responses collectively displayed the value that verbal
persuasion had on their confidence and understanding of effective instructional
practices.
Instructors shared that recruiting additional faculty to help facilitate microteaches,
along with the use of language frames, may have contributed to students receiving
more individualized feedback during microteaches in the second round of
implementation. One instructor commented, “I think by us being intentional and
providing those language frames to students ahead of time for each microteach,
students provided more explicit, meaningful, descriptive feedback for their peers
and engaged in that reflective conversation this semester.” Both students’ and
instructors’ responses suggested that the adjustments made positively contributed to
students’ opportunities to receive meaningful feedback.
Students also expressed the value they found in participating in the added
professional learning sessions. One student explained that “...the most beneficial
parts of professional development days on campus were all of the strategies I learned,
the different resources I learned about, and multiple different ways to utilize these
resources in the classroom.” Another discussed how the professional learning days
served as a reflective opportunity. The student shared, “My other favorite part of the
professional development days was getting to reflect on our teaching experience.
We were learning new information (such as classroom management) and getting to
reflect on this knowledge and how we’ve seen and/or applied it.”
Students also found value in the networking opportunities provided through
professional learning sessions with teacher leaders from surrounding area schools.
One student said, “I loved how we were able to meet with them and get to know
them.” Both instructors and students appreciated the diverse perspectives and
approaches the teacher leaders brought to the professional learning sessions. One
student commented that she “...liked how it was people that were not our professors
because they provided a different point of view.” These vicarious experiences
afforded students opportunities to observe and connect with educational leaders and
build knowledge and capacity through reflection and discussion.
Another benefit instructors discussed was that the modifications made to the
balance of microteaches and professional learning days were more manageable for
instructors and students. One of the instructors explained,
I liked the idea of having the microteaches near the beginning of the field
experience so that our preservice teachers had more practice opportunities
with support before teaching more of their lessons in the classroom. Some

30 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators