MICROTEACHING

GUIDED BY, PRESENTED BY,

Dr U. GANAPATHY SANKAR PhD., ARAVINDASAMY D
DEAN MOT 3RD SEM
SRMCOT SRMCOT
Introduction
• A training procedure aimed at simplifying the complexities of the
regular teaching process. The trainee is engaged in a scaled-down
teaching situation.
• Scaled down in terms of class size (small group 4-6 pupils), length of
class time (5-10 minutes), teaching tasks (practicing and mastering of
a specific teaching skill, e.g., lecturing, questioning or leading a
discussion) and strategy, flexibility, instructional decision-making,
alternative use of specific curriculum, instructional materials and
classroom management.
Definitions:
• Micro-teaching is a scaled-down sample of teaching. The complex act
of teaching is broken down into simple components.
• Only one particular skill is attempted and developed during Micro-
teaching session.
• The teaching act is scaled downs in terms of the content of the lesson,
duration of the lesson and size of the class.
• A student-teacher gives a short lesson of 5-8 minutes to a small group
of pupils (5-8).
• The lesson is self-contained, as it focuses on a single concept.
• At the end of the lesson, the pupils in the class leave, and the teacher
trainee discusses the lesson with the supervisor.
• The teacher-trainee is given time to think about the discussion and
modify his lesson and plan accordingly.
• The process can be repeated till desirable skill is developed.
Meaning:
• The short lesson is recorded on an audio or videotape recorder and the
trainee gets to hear and see himself immediately after the lesson. The
pupils who attend the lesson are asked to fill in rating questionnaires
evaluating specific aspects of the lesson.
• The trainee's self analyzes of the lesson based on the authentic
feedback from the tape, together with the pupils reaction and a
supervisor's analyze and give suggestions assists the trainee in
restructuring the lesson which he/she then immediately re-teaches to a
new group of pupils added by improvement when he teaches again.
• The micro-teaching sequence is practiced usually in a micro-teaching
laboratory in a teacher-training institution or an in-service training
program in regular schools.
Need of Micro-teaching

• To ensure the desired skills are actually acquired by the teacher-

trainee. Supervised teaching and learning practice are more useful
after the student teacher goes through the microteaching cycle.
Teaching is a complex task involving a number of teaching activities
(overt teaching behavior) and covert teaching activities come into play.
• Overt behavior-observable, measurable and recordable behavior.
• Covert behavior-they bring about a change in opinions and beliefs.
• Often covert behavior leads to overt behavior.
• Desirable micro-teaching behaviors which constitute teaching skills,
e.g., standing still, thinking, framing a question, facing the students,
listening, looking around for a response.
• Recalling the names of students, calling the students by name, pausing
to think.
• Different teaching skills are not exclusive to each other. It is better to
identify some observable skills and then desire means to quantify
them. Micro-teaching is all about demonstrating, quantifying and
improving such teaching skills.
characteristics
Micro-element: Micro-teaching reduces the complexity of the teaching
situation in terms of:
• Number of students to be taught
• Duration of lesson
• Subject matter to be taught to enable the trainee to concentrate on a
particular teaching skill at a time.
One should master the components of the task of teaching before
he/she attempts to perform effectively the complicated task of teaching
at macro-level.
• The number of instructional objectives and the content is kept low.
• It reduces the teaching skill and size of the topic, it is focused on
micro events.
• It is highly individualized training device to prepare effective teachers
and provides feedback for trainees performance.
• Microanalysis of the teaching process consists of analyzing the minute
details of teaching.
Teaching skills and teaching strategies:
• Pre-instructional skills
• Writing of instructional objectives
Sequencing and organizing knowledge to be presented to achieve
specific objectives
• Appropriate content
Proper organization
• Selection of proper audio-visual aids
Instructional skills:
• Skills of introducing a lesson
• Skills of explaining and illustrating
• Reinforcement
• Probing questions
• Reinforcing pupil participation.
• Diagnosing pupils' difficulties
Post-instructional skills
• Skills of writing test items
• Interpreting pupils performance in a test
• Planning remedial measures.
• It enables the trainees to develop these skills and perfect them in such
a way as to master the teaching strategies.
• Feedback: Several reliable and authentic sources are used to provide
feedback: oral feedback by the supervisor, observation schedules filled
in by the peer group participating in the micro-lesson, audio and
video-tape recording.
• Safe practice ground: Teaching is performed under simulated
conditions with a small group, the trainee is on a safe practice ground.
• The teaching models: The trainee gets many opportities to study the
desired pattern of behavior through demonstration given by the
supervisor or a tape guides, the trainee can develop his own style.
The research laboratory: According to Allen and Rayan, the following areas of
research seem to make the most effective use of the micro-teaching settings:
• To optimize the procedures and sequences in the micro-teaching situation.
• Research in modelling and supervising techniques
• Task analysis of teaching act
• Investigation of the relationship between teaching behavior and students
performances
• Aptitude treatment interaction studies, to provide optimal training procedures
for teachers with different abilities, interests and backgrounds.
Principles:
• Enforcement: Feedback, re-teaching makes teaching perfect.
• Practice and drill: Teaching is a complex skill which needs constant
drill and practice. It affords practice in each small task or skill and
thereby the pupil-teacher gain mastery.
• Continuity: Micro-teaching is a continuous process: teaching-
feedback-re-teaching-feedback till perfection is attained.
• Microscopic supervision: Supervisor has an observation schedule
which he/she fills up while supervising and makes assessment at a
rating scale. The supervisor sees through the lesson all important
points, paying full attention to one point at a time.
STRATEGY OF MICRO-TEACHING

• Supervisor has to conduct orientation training for teacher trainees on

each teaching skill by model presentation followed with discussion
about the presentation.
• Supervisor has to prepare time-schedule of micro lesson for each
teacher trainee.
• Delivery of lesson under controlled conditions by the pupil-teacher
• Supervision of the lesson by the supervisor
• Video tapes of the lesson to be televised at closed circuit television.
• Discussion about the presentation/feedback from pupil supervisor and
supervisor in-charge.
• Preparation of the lesson after the feedback
• Re-teaching of the same lesson to another small group of the students
by the pupil teacher.
• Again discussion with the supervisor and feedback.
• Five 'R's of Micro-teaching: Recording, reviewing, responding,
refining and re-doing.
Passi et al Listed Teaching Skills

• Writing instructional objectives • Stimulus variation

• Introducing a lesson • Silence and non- verbal cues
• Fluency • Reinforcement student participation
• Using blackboard
• Questioning
• Achieving closure
• Probing questions • Recognising attending behavior
• Explaining
• Illustrative with example
Procedures Adopted in Micro-teaching

• Micro-teaching is integrated with the student teaching program.

• Lecture method,
• Demonstration lesson,
• Diagnostic lessons and
• Micro-lessons for practice.
Objectives in Micro-teaching

• To enable the teacher-trainees to learn and assimilate new teaching

skills under controlled conditions.
• To enable the teacher-trainee to gain confidence in teaching and
mastering several teaching skills on a small group of pupils.
• To utilize the academic potential of the teacher-trainee for providing
much-needed feedback.
• To give the teacher-trainees training in the component skills of
teaching at the pre-service level.
• To gain maximum advantage with little time, money and material.
Steps in Micro-teaching

• Defining the skill: A particular skill is defined to student teachers in

terms of specific teaching behaviors, and the objectives such behaviors
aim at achieving.
• Demonstrating the lesson: The teacher educator can give a
demonstration lesson using the particular skill.
• Planning the lesson: The student teacher prepares a lesson plan based
on the predecided model on a suitable topic relating to the particular
skill which he proposes to practice.
• Teaching the micro-lesson.
• Discussion on the lesson delivered: The lesson delivered by the trainee
is followed by discussion to provide him feedback. Peers who
participated in the lesson as learners, peer observers or the supervisor
can provide the necessary feedback. Feedback can also be provided by
audiotape or video tape recorder. The student teacher observes and
analyzes the lesson with the help of the supervisor.
• Replanning the lesson: In the light of the feedback and supervisor's
comments, the student teacher replans the same lesson or a different
lesson in order to use the skill more effectively.
• Reteaching the lesson: The revised lesson is retaught to a different but
comparable group of pupils.
• Rediscussion or re-feedback: The lesson is again observed or audio-
taped or video-taped. Observations are noted. Feedback is again
provided on the re-taught lesson.
• Repeating the cycle: The teach-reteach cycle is repeated till the desired
level of skill is achieved. The supervisor is to enable the teacher
trainee to perfect his performance in the particular teaching skill.
Phases of Micro-teaching

Knowledge acquisition phase:

• Observation of analysis
• Discussion of the demonstrated skill
Skill acquisition phase:
• Preparation of the micro lesson involving the skill
• Practicing the skill while teaching
Transfer phase:
• Evaluating performance leading to feedback
• Replan, reteach and transfer of skill to actual class teaching in macro-
sessions.
Role of Supervisor in Micro-teaching

• Supervisor will help the teacher trainee to develop component skills of

teaching to both the theory underlying skills and the practical
conditions of the classroom.
• Provides continuous consultation and helps the teacher trainee skills
learnt in microteaching setting to the actual classroom.
• Demonstrates the teaching skill which has to be developed in the
teacher trainee.
• Prepares a special schedule of micro-teaching lessons in the practicing
schools.
• Supervises the lesson and discusses with the pupil teacher in a group
of other pupil teacher.
• Evaluates the trainees' class and fills the rating questionnaire schedule
and gives feedback.
• Supervisor should act as a role model for teacher trainees.
Advantages of Micro-teaching

• Real teaching: The teacher and pupils work together in a practice

situation.
• Expansion of the normal knowledge of results or feedback dimension
in teaching
• Effective in modifying teaching behavior:
• Provides safe practice ground
• Provides many opportunities to trainee to study the desired patterns of
behavior.
• Facilitates the combination of a number of devices.
• Facilitates the development of teaching skills, e.g., reinforcement and
probing questions.
• The student teacher can easily focus his/her attention on clearly
defined aspects of the behavior.
• The micro-teaching sequence proves most effective when one or two
teaching skills are selected for emphasis.
• Senior teachers can guide the junior teachers in a practical manner
where improvement of skills can occur by identifying their strengths
and weaknesses.
Limitations of Micro-teaching

• It is only a simulated technique with less number of persons over a

short period of time
• It is expensive to procure and to maintain video recording equipment
just for microteaching
• Limited to lecturing
• Time consuming
• Scope is narrow
• Requires more skill
• Real life situations are quite different
• It does not apply to skills like decision making, preparation of audio
visual resources, maintaining student records, etc
• Textbook of Nursing Education-2nd edition
• B.T. Basavanthappa Nursing Education-2nd edition