I enjoyed the microteaching exercise and am happy I chose Texas Hold’em, although it was more challenging than anticipated. I knew it would be a lot to cover, but the appeal of teaching this topic to a larger group was too strong to resist. If I had to choose again, I think I would make the same decision. A key takeaway from this experience is that even when you know a topic well, teaching it can be a different ballgame. This highlighted the importance of being organized and well-prepared.
In terms of how the actual microteaching went, I learned to expect the unexpected. I had planned to check in with the group about their familiarity with playing cards, but I honestly didn’t expect anyone to have never seen a deck of cards before. That turned out to be a fun obstacle to tackle! I did my best to quickly get that group member up to speed, but it took more time than I had allocated for that part of the lesson, which affected my pacing. However, we still managed to play a full hand of Texas Hold’em. While this was an unforeseen challenge, I didn’t mind it; in fact, I enjoy it when things go off-script. It’s a bit of a dopamine hit for me, and it reaffirmed my belief that teaching is an adventure.
The topic was a lot to cover, and perhaps blackjack would have been more suitable for a 10-minute lesson. However, I really liked the choice of poker, and I’m happy with the outcome! Poker has great potential for teaching concepts in mathematics, particularly in areas like statistics, odds, and decision-making under uncertainty. These aspects could make it a valuable tool for exploring probability, logical reasoning, and even strategic thinking, which would make for a fun and engaging classroom discussion.
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