Teaching
is one of the more difficult sections of the HB test. Fundamentally, here
is why:
Teaching
and asking questions are not the same thing! Teaching must involve some
imparting of information from teacher to student.
Common
example: Candidate is doing a lesson on symptoms of colic. Candidate stands
up, asks “what are some symptoms of colic?” Kids call out answers,
candidate writes them down. They then play a game involving these symptoms
of colic. Has this candidate taught the kids anything? All of the info
provided came from the kids. They may be learning from each other, but they
are not learning from you. You have imparted no information to them.
This
is not to say that lecturing at D1s is the only way to teach. On the contrary,
if you lecture D1s they will generally stare at your blankly. Questions and
discussion (the “Socratic method”) is a very effective way to teach, as
long as the teacher is guiding the discussion.
Example:
Candidate:
“When horses have a bellyache, that is called colic”. You guys all have had
bellyaches, right?
Kids:
“of course”
Candidate:
When your stomach hurts, do you feel like eating?
Kids:
“no”
Candidate:
so that is our first symptom of colic in horses—just like us, they don’t
want to eat. (Writes “not eating” on
her symptom list). And what when you eat something you shouldn’t, maybe
something rotten, and then you feel nauseous with your bellyache? What
happens then?
Kids:
“you throw up!”
Candidate:
“Horses, unlike us, can’t throw up.” This is because… (explanation here
suitable to age of kids). So while you can throw up and then feel better,
your horse can’t. What do you think this means you for a horse who eats
rotten food?”
Etc—you
get the idea. The point is, it’s great to involve the kids by asking
questions in such a way as to lead them to the correct answer—just make
sure you are not simply asking them to parrot back things they already
know!
The
2nd part of the lesson should be some activity to confirm knowledge of what
you have taught them. Be creative here. Make it an activity that can
interest a D who has just sat through 4 10 minute lessons...
Continuing
our colic example: I saw a candidate doing a colic lesson who concluded
with a game of charades. She had cards saying things like “pawing at
ground” or “violently rolling” and then ones with “eating grass”, had the
kids act them out, then had the other kids say if the action being acted
out was a colic symptom of not. Everyone enjoyed it, and it was a great way
to confirm her lesson.
Other
random tips for the HB teaching section:
-beware
the common topic. If you are the 6th person to teach a particular group of
kids and they have already had two lessons on colic, they are going to be
pretty bored during yours!
-beware
the clock. Most examiners will cut you off after 10 min, whether you are
done or not. Aim to finish in about
8 minutes (and practice, making sure you can!) to leave yourself 2
extra minutes in case things go wrong. Be aware if you are the sort of
person who talks very fast under stress (thus turning your 10 min lesson
into a 5 minute one!) or the sort of person who slows down under pressure,
and plan accordingly!
-As
a side note to “beware the clock”, beware anything involving life horses.
Anything with horses tends to take longer than 10 min. I have seen
candidates use life horses successfully, but I have also seen candidates
get into deep trouble when half of their 10 minute lesson involves trying
to get the demo horse to stand still. It’s simpler and safer to do a lesson
that does not involve a horse.
-Put
effort into your visual aids, game props, etc, and make them high quality.
It is very clear to an examiner when a candidate has scribbled some
pictures on a sheet of notebook paper on the way to the exam versus one who
has clearly thought about her lesson and prepared thoroughly in advance.
