Microteaching is a technique used to train teachers that involves teaching a short lesson, typically 5-15 minutes, to a small group of students. The goals are to practice specific teaching skills in a low-risk environment and receive feedback to improve. The key steps are to 1) plan a short lesson focusing on one skill, 2) present the lesson to peers acting as students, and 3) receive feedback on strengths and areas for improvement. Regular practice with feedback through the microteaching cycle helps teachers develop their skills before taking on real classroom teaching.
2. Objectives
By the end of this presentation you should be able to:
– State the need for microteaching
– List the important teaching skills
– Describe the process of a microteaching session
– Draw the microteaching cycle
– Outline the process of giving feedback
3. Medical Teachers have no Special, prior or in-service
training in teaching
Their ability to teach is largely dependent on two
modalities of self training:
– Observation of other teachers
– By a process of trial & error while actually teaching in
a class room situation
4. Complexities of learning to teach in
a class room
Pressure of length of the lecture
Scope and content of matter to be conveyed
Need to teach for a relatively long duration of time
Need to face large number of students
Off which some students have a hostile temperament
5. MICROTEACHING: Its Origin
Originated in 1961 at Stanford University (USA)
Immediate predecessor of microteaching was the
demonstration lesson used at Stanford until 1961
Demonstration lesson involves a student presenting a
lesson to a small group of fellow students while the rest
of the class looks on
Teacher education should focus on not “what” teachers
should teach, but more on “how” they should teach
6. MICROTEACHING: Meaning
Defined as:
"Microteaching is a scaled-down sample of actual
teaching which generally lasts ten to fifteen
minutes and involves four to ten students. A
microteaching session simulates a regular
classroom instructional period in every way except
that both time and number of students are
reduced".
“The lesson is scaled down to reduce some of the
complexities of the teaching act, thus allowing the
teacher to focus on selected aspects of teaching".
7. MICROTEACHING:
Characteristics
Real teaching situation
Reduces the complexity of the real classroom teaching
situation in terms of the number of students, the amount
of time and the amount of learning contents
Emphasizes training for mastery of teaching activities
such as skills, techniques, methods, and curriculum
selection
Offers better control over practicing teaching activities
Feedback dimension is expanded considerably
8. MICROTEACHING: Principles
Reduced situation: Limitation of
Number of students: approximately five
Amount of teaching time: between ten and fifteen
minutes
Number of teaching skills: only one
Amount of learning content: is a logical consequence
especially of the limitation of teaching time
9. MICROTEACHING: Principles
Training and practice situation:
Preparation for a micro-lesson session
– Formulating the aim
– Didactic-pedagogic founding of the teaching skill
– Modelling
– Designing a micro-lesson
The micro-lesson session
– Presenting a micro-lesson
– Feedback and evaluation
– Re-planning, re-presenting and feedback
11. Parameters of Effective Strategy
(OPPEI)
1. Objectives – cognitive, psychomotor, affective
2. Planning – lesson / instructional planning
3. Presentation
• Content
• Mode
• Instructional materials
• Interaction, student participation
• Individual differences
4. Evaluation – not of student but of teacher
5. Improvement – in the light of evaluation and feedback
14. TEN TEACHING SKILLS
PLANNING
SET INDUCTION
PRESENTATION
QUESTIONING
ENCOURAGING STUDENTS TO QUESTION
EXAMLIFICATION
COMMUNICATION
METHODOLOGY
JUDGING THE STUDENTS PROBLEMS
END & SUM UP
16. PLANNING
Objectives vs Contents
Teaching for 40 minutes needs 40 x 5 = 200 minute
planning
Gathering the sources
Outline from A-to-Z
Possible bottle necks
Expected questions
Time budget vs content
Method of attack (Methodology, Procedure of teaching)
Achievements of objectives
Evaluation of success through feedback (what will be the
procedure)
17. SET INDUCTION
How to start
Learning readiness
Motivation
Known to unknown
Easy to difficult
Rapport
Questions
Activities by students / teacher
Incidents, Stories, Events
Experimentation
Localization
19. QUESTIONING
Float the question over the heads of all participants
Give time to think
Give option for answering (Volunteer)
Correct the answer if wrong
Be polite
22. COMMUNICATION
Pitch of the voice
Pauses
Speed
Linkages
Reference to context
Level of students
Fatigue and boredom (Avoid)
Non-verbal Communication
Humour
Pronunciation
24. JUDGING THE STUDENTS
PROBLEMS
Level of Students
IQ of students
Talented, Normal, Slow learners, Distributed students
Knowing individual differences, difficulties & helping
them out
Making the difficult concepts understandable for all
Guidance and counselling in problematic situations
25. END OR SUMMING UP
Summary of two minutes in the form of message of
presentation
Students usually remember it for longer time
This may be in the form of one or two main points
Evaluate your teaching by one or two simple questions
of that lesson
Application should be the focal point of end message
27. PROCEDURE FOR “Micro-
Teaching”
Prepare a 15-minute lesson plan with following five key
elements:
Bridge-In: Explains the value of the lesson to the
learner and provides motivation
Objective: What must the learner do? Under what
conditions? How well?
Pre-test: Identifies any prior knowledge and whether or
not the learner can already accomplish the objective
Participatory Learning: The learner is actively involved
in the learning process as soon as possible
Post-Test: Determines if the learner has indeed
learned
28. PROCEDURE FOR “Micro-
Teaching”
Rehearse the plan. Practice on your own. Get feedback.
Perform the practice teaching session
Regard your audiences as you would a regular class (i.e.
assume that the content you are teaching is new to
them)
Choose content you would enjoy presenting to a group
of your colleagues
Feel free to experiment
Evaluate your performance using feedback and
videotape
Remember, the emphasis is on process rather than
content
29. PROCEDURE FOR “Micro-
Teaching”
Before presentation, objectives placed on blackboard
During presentation, elements considered:
– Setting Atmosphere: more important than an introduction
– Introduction: overview of material, activities, goals and
objectives
– Organisation: instructor’s ability to present in clear & logical
manner
– Stimulus variation: instructor’s movement around classroom,
gestures, voice level
– Visual aids
– Closure: summarizing and integrating the major points,
demonstration or discussion
After presentation, group leader discusses strengths and
areas that need improvement in the presentation
30. Guiding Useful Feedback
Can student explain, demonstrate, or apply the concept
taught?
If teaching aids were used, how effective were they?
What did you like about this presentation?
What would you like to see changed for the next
session?
What other teaching techniques could have been used?
Comment on the quality, clarity and complexity of the
questions asked.
31. MICROTEACHING AND LIVE TEACHING
EXPERIENCE FEEDBACK
Name of Presenter: _______________________
Date: __________________________________
Session Title: ____________________________
Feedback is most effective when:
– It is specific, descriptive and detailed.
– It focuses on observable behaviour.
– It contains both positive feedback and constructive
criticism
32. MICROTEACHING AND LIVE TEACHING
EXPERIENCE FEEDBACK
1. Overall, how do you think the session went? Why?
2. Did the participant communicate the key learning objectives
and key concepts/content effectively?
3. Were the learners engaged throughout the session?
4. Do you have any specific comments on the following:
i. Pace and Voice:
ii. Movement:
iii. Presentation Structure and Content:
iv. Eye Contact:
v. Visual Aids:
5. What worked well in this session?
6. What suggestions for improvement do you have for the
instructor?
35. AM I READY?
Preparation Checklist for
Presentations
1) Is my topic clear, specific and limited?
2) Are the subtopics closely related to the main topic?
3) Are my objectives clear, specific and learner centred?
4) Do I know what my time limit is?
5) Do I have a plan for the management of this time?
36. AM I READY?
Preparation Checklist for
Presentations
6) Have I consulted a variety of resource materials and
people?
7) Are all necessary materials and teaching aids ready?
8) Have I chosen a strategy of presentation, which will
encourage maximum group involvement in the learning
experience?
9) Do I have extra material available as a back up?
10)Is my plan flexible enough to allow time for questions
37. MICROTEACHING:
Advantages
Advantages are:
– does not influence that student's performance
– Fellow students provide more answers, therefore more
demands
– Participation (as "pupils") makes the students more
sensitive to the teaching skills
– opportunity to present his micro-lesson on any grade level
– opportunity to put themselves in the pupil's position
– experience in communication
– Students who act as pupils can provide valuable
challenges to the student who presents the micro-lesson
38. MICROTEACHING:
Disadvantages
Use of real pupils would be ideal - raises problems
Consequently, fellow students are used as "pupils"
Disadvantages are:
• unrealistic situation
• an artificial interaction
• cannot form a very clear image of the real teaching
situation
• "pupils" can easily become bored
• spontaneity with fellow students is not the same
• reluctant to critique fellow students
• cannot reap the full advantage of developing self
confidence
39. Puts the teacher under Microscope
All faults of the teacher are observed
Observer gives a constructive feed back
Used purely for helping the teacher to improve his/her
teaching skills and not as a tool for making a value
judgment of his/her teaching capacity by his/her
superiors
40. Remember that it is NOT AT ALL a
teaching method.
rather than
It is a device for skill practice
41. MINITEACHING
A modified concept of microteaching which was
propunded by Hargie et al in 1976
Here teaching skills are practiced in a controlled low risk
environment
Mini teaching provides a simple form of teaching
situation and aims at gradual integration of skills besides
aiming to fit the mini lesson in the real teaching
programme
Feedback is its essential component
42. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
MICRO & MINI TEACHING
MINITEACHING
• It has re teach session
• It is for 5 to 10 minutes
only
• It involves 3 to 4
students, a supervisor &
a peer if necessary
• Each time only a few
teaching skills are
concentrated upon
MICROTEACHING
• No re teach session
• It extends from 5 to 40
minutes
• It may involve either a
small group or whole
class
• It aims at gradual
integration of teaching
skills & to fit mini lessons
into a real teaching
programme