How to pass the Level 3 Award in Education and Training Microteach session (AET)

Today we are going to discuss the microteach session that’s needed to pass the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET). The microteach session is the main focus of the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) and the theory portfolio and session plan leads to this assessment and then after the session you will discuss how it went.

Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) Syllabus

The syllabus for any Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET), regardless of the awarding body is that you must complete a microteach session therefore you need to plan it to ensure that you meet the learning requirements from your session. Normally, your session is 15 minutes long. 15 minutes is really not a long time particularly as you need to introduce your session, teach, assess and to give a conclusion.

The key phase to the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) is inclusive. Devise an inclusive session. This means that you need to get everyone involved in your session. The simplest ways to get everyone involved in your microteach is to ask each person a question and to get everyone involved in your session. This is easier said then done as you will naturally have learners who are shy or quiet so you need to involve them delicately without picking on them.

Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) Microteach Aims

The Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) asks you to plan realistic aims and objectives. Remember, you only have 15 minutes, so you are not expected to cover a full unit but rather one or two achievable aims. My advice when it comes to planning your session is that less is generally more. The more content you cram in, the more you spend time reading and the less time learners get involved in your activities. You have 15 minutes so use these 15 minutes wisely.

Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) Microteach Subject

What subject should you teach for your microteach? No awarding body has stipulated the requirements for the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) so I do advise that you teach a subject or hobby that you are familiar with. I do not recommend trying something new here, try something that’s familiar to you whether that what you do for work, what you studied at university or simply your favourite hobby. I have observed sessions from first aid, mental health, dancing, tea making, cocktail making, you name it. Stick to something you know.

Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) Microteach teaching activities

The biggest point is to understand is the teaching and learning activities. You don’t know if your learners have learned anything if you don’t have an assessment. The objective of the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) is to ensure that learners plan appropriate sessions to create opportunities for learning. If you simply read straight from a PowerPoint for 15 minutes, your learners won’t get a chance to practice or learn anything and they will be quite board. Overall, you should spend less time teaching then the learners do practice. To cater for different individuals, lets say learning styles, create a mixture of activities to hit each learning style, lets have some videos, lets have some discussions, lets have role play and finish off with a quiz.

Create additional resources that accompany your session. Are your resources or handouts suitable for reading and writing preferences, auditory learners, visuals learners or kinaesthetic? Again, plan several resources to meet the needs of different learners which helps with the inclusivity requirement for the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET).

Your activities should be short, around 3-4 minutes per activity. With 15 minutes, you need a couple of minutes for an introduction to the topic, a few minutes to teach your learners something and then a few minutes for your learners to complete an activity. You may then develop your learners by introducing a new concept and then create another task for your learners. Before you know it, you’ve only got a few minutes left to conclude your session, ask questions and wrap up. For timings, try to keep within 10% of 15 minutes, its not the end of the world if you are too short or too long. You may want to introduce and icebreaker activity, introduce ground rules, etc, this will depend on whether you know your learners and what expectations you need but generally speaking, we don’t include these activities within the time allowance.

Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) Microteach self-reflection

Lastly within the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) you need to justify why you selected your teaching and learning approaches, resources and assessment methods listed on your session plan. You should explain how these approaches will meet the individual needs of learners you will be teaching. This just gives some thought to your thinking to whether you understand the theory work you’ve completed in the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) by applying the concepts to your session.