What makes a good demonstration

I could not get the students to respond to me. My ideas were convoluted and instructions unclear. I remember thinking maybe fifteen minutes had passed when I was only five minutes into the minute demonstration. My cheeks burned red and I had to force myself not to cry. During my next cycle on the job market, I had to give teaching demonstrations on two of my on-campus interviews. Additionally, one of the job talks I gave was also supposed to be part teaching demonstration. I was offered two of those three jobs.

You will most likely have around 30 minutes for your demonstration maybe up to 45, possibly as few as Less really is more. Anticipate that you will be nervous and plan how to keep yourself slowed down.

Resist the temptation to rush through as many things as possible in order to demonstrate just how good you are at this. Also: have a back-up plan. Just because what you present is simple does not mean that your plans must be. Prepare for an activity to fall apart or for students to be unresponsive. One way I planned for this the next time… was to have a pile of index cards at the ready. One of the things that blew up on my face in my first teaching demonstration was that I was trying to be the kind of professor that I imagined the committee wanting me to be, not the kind I actually am.

While a teaching demonstration is the time to show that you will engage students and contribute exciting classes to the life of the department, it is also the time to choose which strengths of yours you are most able to bring their classrooms. This means two things. First, choose a topic that you know inside and out. Sometimes this will be impossible. In fact, you can win or lose a job based on your performance during a demonstration lesson.

It is important to know what you are getting into and how you can effectively prepare for the lesson. On this page education expert Professor MacGregor Kniseley provides tips and resources that will help you ace your teaching demonstration.

A demonstration lesson is a planned lesson taught to an interview committee or a group of students to assess your teaching abilities and skills.

The process can vary depending on the school:. Employers judge qualities related to effective teaching. Below are four important criteria for giving a job-winning demonstration.

For each criterion we provide the indicators that employers are likely to use to evaluate your demonstration lesson, tips for ensuring your teaching demo meets these criteria, and valuable resources to help you plan. What with standardized testing and criteria for teaching to specific standards, teachers face high demands for accountability.

There never seems to be enough time in the school day to cover everything. Search for:. Elements of an Excellent Demonstration Speech You will prepare a 4 to 5 minute speech showing the audience how to do something. Nature of a Demonstration Speech: In a demonstration speech, you inform your audience by showing them… How to make something e.

Walk the Talk Business Presentation Skills. Like this: Like Loading December 7, at pm. Sachin Adhwariar says:. May 15, at pm. Vengat Krishnaraj says:. September 20, at am. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:. Email required Address never made public.

Name required. Follow Following. Walk the Talk Join other followers.