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Microteaching

Disco

Darren Caskey
Hi guys,

So I was hoping for some advice. I have to do a "microteach" lesson for a job interview.

It's basically a 10 minute interactive lesson on any topic, such things as 'how to tie various tie knots' and origami have been done before according to the brief but I am totally stumped on what to do.

It's got to be fun, interactive and not too complicated I guess.

Any suggestions would be welcome. COYS
 
Yup, something you have a passion for. Your passion will shine through and your enthusiasm will help to sell your talk.
 
something generally considered mundane might work, making a cup of tea for example (although I expect that has been done to death)
 
Some kind of food one could be interesting, maybe a bit hard to pull off but could be fun
 
You'd struggle to pad it out for ten minutes but have you seen the cunning t-shirt fold trick. Alternatively I'd direct you to a blog that shows 10 or 20 food hacks. Some of them are actually quite clever and very simple to recreate quickly. The content would certainly get their attention. Props required.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/readcommentbackwards/42-clever-food-hacks-that-will-change-your-life-dmjk Quite American but many are not US product specific.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/things-that-will-change-the-way-you-eat-food

Prob deserves its own thread ;)
 
Just my opinion, others might be better informed or have better ideas so take it for what it's worth...

-I don't think picking something that you're passionate about is that important. If you can't be enthusiastic about a topic of your choosing for 10 minutes in a job interview without it being something you're passionate about you have bigger problems in this job interview than this.

-Obviously pick a topic you're knowledgeable about, if they ask follow up questions you should be able to have an answer.

-Pick a topic that fits the time. You don't want to go on for too long (11 minutes is too long), and you don't want to have to cram stuff in there or hurry past important steps because your topic is better suited to a 15 minute presentation. Time yourself, then time yourself again. You can wear a watch and time yourself at key parts of your presentation to make sure you stick to your time during your actual interview as nerves and pressure can mess with your timing. I would try out a few different topics for time (if you have the time for it) and try it out on friends or family to see what they think.

-Try to make your presentation as natural and fluid as possible, if you're confident enough you can improvise some stuff as you go along if they react in a way or another, but have your basic script to fall back on in case you get nervous. It might seem rehearsed, but it's a teaching presentation, not a date. Rehearsed is good.

-Be pedagogical about it. Tell them what you're going to teach them, teach them, then tell them what you taught them. I think this is a lot more important than enthusiasm/passion. If I come in with a wonderful and enthusiastic presentation on how to slice a mango I think most interviewers would realize that my passion is mango cutting and that this doesn't necessarily translate into job enthusiasm. Again, some level of enthusiasm is necessary, but you should be able to muster that. If they're making this a part of the interview I suppose teaching or training is some part of the job or a potential part? If so showing that you can structure and complete a small lesson in a way that facilitates learning is the important bit. I would pick a topic with this in mind, a topic that lets you show that you have these skills.

-Unless asked to I wouldn't put together a power point presentation (if asked to please make sure you can put together a non-gag-inducing presentation, it's not hard, but many people fail). But nothing wrong with a few illustrations or something like that on a few printed pieces of paper if you feel it helps you explain whatever it is you explain. The focus has to be the value to the explanation, not somehow working an illustration or a prop into your little lesson.

-Explain why you say what you say, or how you know what you know. If you hated teachers that would say "because I say so" you weren't alone and a large part of being pedagogical is just that explanation. If you make a claim, support it. This is the best way to make tea? Why is this the best way to make tea? Don't make them ask, give the information. Your personal opinion is not what they will be looking for. If it was me I would probably look to present some kind of scientific documentation or something like that, although perhaps not for the tea.

-A little bit of humour is good, but make sure it's not lame and doesn't become the most important part.

-If it's a skill, you should probably have them try. If you master a skill that you know is quite easy once you master it and not that hard to learn, but that a lot of people think is hard then that might be a decent idea.
 
The hands of time. 10 minutes.

A bit literal but this got me thinking about time, why it isn't decimal, all the divisions of time from Eon to second and what they tell us about humanity.

And then there are decimals and how they humanities focus on that/system is derived from counting numbers, from our fingers.

It just goes to show that we are a product of nature and nurture, albeit inconsistent, and by communicating the ideas of a few geniuses can move everyone forward.

Did you know in the middle ages it was commonplace to consider time as cyclical as the pace of change was so slow. Events were repeated.

Alternatively, did anyone mention ****ing?
 
Cheers for the replies guys. I think I'm going to go with the ****ing. If they can't take that as a joke they won't be the sort of people I want to work for anyway.
 
Cheers for the replies guys. I think I'm going to go with the ****ing. If they can't take that as a joke they won't be the sort of people I want to work for anyway.

Good man.

Now you've got to work out how to squeeze it all in, I mean you could probably do 10 mins on stroke length. That's before you even consider speed, tightness of grip, left/right hand, etc.

Are you planning a demo? If so you may want to leave lubes/toys for another session.
 
Cheers for the replies guys. I think I'm going to go with the ****ing. If they can't take that as a joke they won't be the sort of people I want to work for anyway.

Just keep it interesting, and you'll have them in the palm of your hand.
 
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