MICRO TEACHING

Origin and Development of Micro-teaching

The idea of micro-teaching originated for the first time at Stanford University in USA.

 Dr. Allen and his group evolved Microteaching in 1963 in America. They developed a training program aimed to improve verbal and nonverbal aspects of teachers speech and general performance. The Stanford model consisted of a three-step (teach, review and reflect, re-teach) approach using actual students as an authentic audience. The model was first applied to teaching science, but later it was introduced to language teaching.

What is Microteaching?
Meaning:

The teaching of a small unit of content to the small group of students (6-10 number) in a small amount of time (5-7 min.) means Micro Teaching.
*It is a skill training technique. *It is a short session teaching.

*To train inexperience student-teachers for acquiring teaching skills. *To improve the skills of experience teachers.

WHAT IS MICRO-TEACHING
Microteaching is defined as a system of
controlled practice that makes it possible to concentrate on specified teaching behaviour and to practice teaching under controlled conditions. - D.W. Allen & A.W.Eve (1968)

WHAT IS MICRO-TEACHING
Micro-teaching is a scaled down teaching encounter in class size and class time.-D W Allen Micro-teaching is a teacher education technique which allows teachers to apply clear defined teaching skills to carefully prepared lessons in a planned series of five

to ten minutes encounter with a small group of real students, often with an opportunity to observe the result on videotape.- R N Bush

ASSUMPTIONS OF MICRO TEACHING

Micro teaching can reduce the complexities of education. It

simplifies the study of inter-action between the teacher and the students It can develop teaching skills. It provides an opportunity of integration of theory and practice. Specific skills can be developed It is completely an individualized training programme. It is a successful technique for individual training . It facilitates continuity in the training of the teachers It is real teaching. Micro-teaching technique is useful for both pre-service and in-service teachers It can control the practice by feedback. . Self evaluation is possible by tape recorder or video tape Feedback can be provided by various means, such as criticism by a teacher, preparing video film of the lesson, etc. There is provision of immediate and effective feedback Its objectives can be written more clearly and specifically Its use helps in the research work related to class-room teaching

Objectives of Micro-teaching
To enable teacher trainees to learn and assimilate new teaching skills under controlled conditions.
To enable teacher trainees to master a number of teaching skills. To enable teacher trainees to gain confidence in teaching.

Characteristics of Microteaching
Microteaching is a highly individualized training device Microteaching is an experiment in the field of teacher education which has been incorporated in the practice teaching schedule
It is a student teaching skill training technique and not a teaching technique or method

 Microteaching is micro in the sense that it scale down the complexities of real teaching
Practicing one skill at a time Reducing the class size to 5 10 pupil Reducing the duration of lesson to 5 10 minutes

Limiting the content to a single concept

 Immediate feedback helps in improving, fixing and motivating learning

The student are providing immediate feedback in terms of peer group feedback, tape recorded/CCTV Microteaching advocates the choice and practice of one skill at a time

It puts the teacher under the microscope All the faults of the teacher are observed. The problem of discipline can also be controlled.

Comparison Between Micro Teaching and Traditional Teaching

1. 2. 3.

Traditional Teaching
Class consists of 40 to 60 students. The teacher practices several skills at a time. The duration is 40 to 45 minutes. Immediate feed-back is not available.

1. 2. 3.

Micro teaching
Class consists of a small group of 6 to 10 students. The teacher takes up one skill at a time. Duration of time for teaching is 5 to 7 minutes. There is immediate feedback.

4.

4.

Comparison Between Micro Teaching and Traditional Teaching

Cont.

Traditional Teaching

Micro teaching

5. There is no control over situation.

6. 7. Teaching becomes complex. The role of the supervisor is vague ( not clear). Pattern of classroom interaction cannot be studied.

5. Teaching is carried on under controlled situation.

6. 7. Teaching is relatively simple. The role of the supervisor is specific and well defined to improve teaching.

8.

8. Pattern of classroom interaction can be studied objectively.

Components of Micro teaching Techniques

1. Micro-teaching Situations. It consists of size of the class, length of the content and teaching method etc. There are 5 to 10 students in the class and the teaching period ranges from 5 to 20 minutes. The content is presented in a unit. 2. Teaching skill. The development of teaching-skills of the students teachers is provided in the training

programme such as lecturing skill, skill of blackboard writing, skill of asking questions etc.

Components of Micro teaching Techniques

3. Student Teacher .The student who. gets the

training of a teacher is called student- teacher .During training his various capacities are developed in him, such as capacity of class management, capability of maintaining discipline and capacity of organizing various program of the school etc

.4. Feed-back Devices. Providing feedback is essential to bring changes in the behavior of the students. Feedback can be provided through videotape feedback questionnaires
5. Micro Teaching Laboratory. Necessary facilities to

feedback can be gathers in microteaching laboratory.

Phases of Micro Teaching

Phases of Micro Teaching

. Knowledge Acquisition Phase (Pre-Active Phase)

It includes the activities such as; Provide knowledge about teaching skills. Observe the demonstration of teaching skill. Analyze and discuss the demonstration of the teaching skill. 2. Skill Acquisition Phase (Inter-active Phase) It includes the activities such as; Planning and preparation of micro lesson for a skill. Practicing the skill. Evaluation of the practiced skill (Feedback). Re-plan , Re-teach and re-feedback till the desired level of skill is achieved.

3. Transfer Phase (Post Active Phase) Giving opportunity to use the mastered skill in normal class room teaching. Integrate the different skill practiced

Microteaching spiral

Microteaching Spiral

STEPS IN MICRO-TEACHING
Orientation
Discussion of Teaching Skills Selection of a Particular Teaching-Skill

Presentation of Demonstration Lesson

Observation of the Lesson & Criticism Preparation of the Micro-Lesson Plan Creation of Micro-Teaching Setting

STEPS IN MICRO-TEACHING
Practice of Teaching Skill
Feedback Re-planning

Re-Teaching
Re-Feedback Repetition of the Micro-Teaching Cycle Integration of Skills

DURATION OF THE MICROTEACHING IN INDIA

Teaching 6 minutes Feedback 6 minutes Re-planning 12 minutes Re-teaching 6 minutes Re-feedback 6 minutes TOTAL = 36 minutes

Precautions in micro-teaching application

Clarity of objectives is a must. Micro-lesson plan should be prepared for one skill only at a time. Delivering model lessons is essential. Before teaching the student-teacher must prepare his micro-lesson plan. Substantial suggestions should also accompany criticism in order to improve the teaching skill of the student-teachers.

Advantages
It promotes analysis of behavior of the teacher It is an effective way of instilling confidence in the

teacher in planning and implementation of the lesson plan It helps create a conducive ambience in the classroom .It can be used in the college. The pupil teacher needs not to go to any school for the training of teaching skills. It focuses on honing teaching skills through participation and observation The number of students as well as duration of teaching is less. It empowers teachers with diverse teaching methods The content is divided into smaller units which makes the teaching easier.

 The problem of indiscipline can also be controlled. The other

class- mates of pupil teacher can also supervise the task of teaching. There is a provision of immediate feedback. Only one teaching skill is considered at a time. There is a facility of re-planning, re-teaching and re-evaluation. There are occasions of comparing two or more teaching behaviors of the pupil teachers.
A microteaching session is much more comfortable than real

classroom situations, because it eliminates pressure resulting from the length of the lecture, the scope and content of the matter to be conveyed, and the need to face large numbers of students, some of whom may be inattentive or even hostile.

Limitations
Skill Oriented rather than content
Scope of microteaching is narrow Required competent teacher educator Tends to reduce creativity of teacher Time consuming Alone may not be adequate Carried on in a controlled situation only

What is a teaching skill ?

* A teaching skill is that behaviour of the teacher which facilitates pupils learning directly or indirectly. * A teaching skill includes all arts and behaviour of the teacher which maximizes pupils learning. *A teaching skill is that art of the teacher which makes communication between the teacher and pupils sufficiently.

 Allen and Ryan listed the following teaching skills at Stanford University in the U.S.A. 1. Stimulus Variation 2. Set induction 3. Closure 4. Teacher silence and non-verbal cues 5. Reinforcing pupil participation 6. Fluency in questioning 7. Probing questioning 8. Use of higher questions 9. Divergent questions 10. Recognizing and attending behaviour 11. Illustrating and use of examples 12. Lecturing 13. Planned repetition 14. Completeness of communication

 B.K. Passi has given the following list of Teaching

Skills in his book Becoming Better Teacher; Microteaching Approach :

1. Writing instructional objectives 2. Introducing a lesson 3. Fluency in questioning 4. Probing questioning 5. Explaining 6. Illustrating with examples 7. Stimulus variation 8. Silence and non-verbal cues 9. Reinforcement 10. Increasing pupil participation 11. Using black board 12. Achieving Closure 13. Recognizing attending behavior

 NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training)

in its publication Core Teaching Skills (1982) has laid stress on the following teaching skills writing instructional objectives Organizing the content Creating set for introducing the lesson introducing a lesson Structuring classroom questions Question delivery and its distribution Response management explaining illustrating with examples Using teaching aids Stimulus variation Pacing of the lesson Promoting pupil participation Use of blackboard Achieving closure of the lesson Giving assignments Evaluating the pupils progress Diagnosing pupil learning difficulties and taking remedial measures Management of the class

Skills of Micro Teaching

1.

Introduction Skill 4. Skill of Stimulus Variation

2. Skill of Probing Questions

5. Skill of Blackboard Writing 3. Skill of Explanation 6. Skill of Achieving Closure

Cont.
1.

Skills of Micro teaching Techniques

Introduction Skill: The skill of introducing a lesson

involves establishing rapports with the learners, promoting their attentions, and exposing them to essential contents. Components of this skilla) Preliminary Attention Gaining: Normally, at the beginning of a lesson, students are found not to be attentive and mentally prepared for learning. They may be thinking something else too. In such situation, the primary duty of a teacher is to create desire for learning among the students. Teacher can do it by telling a story, with the help of demonstration, recitation, etc.

Cont.
b)

Skills of Micro teaching Techniques

Use of previous knowledge: Previous knowledge refers to the learners level of achievements before instruction begins. Use of previous knowledge is a must, because it helps to establish an integration between the pre-existing knowledge of the learner and the new knowledge that the teacher wants to impart him. c) Use of Appropriate Device: In order to motivate the learner, the teacher should make use of appropriate devices or techniques while introducing a lesson. For example- dramatization, models, audio-visual aids etc. b) Link with new topic: After preliminary questions and introduction, teachers should establish a link of previous knowledge with present topic.

Cont.

Skills of Micro teaching Techniques

2. Skill of Probing Question: Probing questions are those which help the pupils to think in depth about the various aspects of the problem. By asking such questions again, the teacher makes the pupils more thoughtful. He enable the pupils to understand the subject deeply. The components of this skill are: i. Prompting:- When a pupil expresses his inability to answer some question in the class or his answer is incomplete, the teacher can ask such questions which prompt the pupils in solving the already asked questions. For example- Do you know names of Vice Chancellors of Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University since 1983?

Cont.

Skills of Micro teaching Techniques

Skill of Probing Question: ii. Seeking Further Information: When the pupils answer correctly in the class but the teacher wants more information and further clarification from the learner by putting how and why of correct part the response. iii. Refocussing : When the teacher ask the same question from other pupil for comparison . This is known as Refocussing. iv. Redirecting Questions: Questions which are directed to more than one learner to answer, are called redirected questions.

Cont. Skills of Micro teaching Techniques 3. Skill of Explanation: To present the subject-matter in the
simplified form before the pupils and making it acquirable is known as Explanation Skill. It involves a ability of the teacher to describe logically How, Why and What of concept, event etc. Components of this skill are: i. Clear beginning statement: Before starting any explanation, the teacher should make the pupils aware of what he is to teach on that day through a clear beginning statement. ii. Lack of Irrelevant Statement: While presenting the subject matter, only the concerned statements should be used.

Cont.
iii. iv.

Skills of Micro teaching Techniques

Fluency in Language: The teacher should use such fluent language that the pupils may listen and understand the thoughts of the teachers. Connecting Links: This technique is used primarily to explain the links in statements with so, therefore, because, due to, as a result of, in order to etc. Use of Proper Words: The teacher should use proper words for enplaning an object or an event otherwise he would be in a state of confusion. It should be in simple language. It should not be given the shape of an advice. The thoughts included in it should be in a sequence.

v.

Precautions for skill of Explaining:

a) b) c)

d)
e)

Irrelevant things should not be included in it.

It should be according to the age, experience and mental level of the pupils.

Cont.

Skills of Micro teaching Techniques

4. Skill of Stimulus Variation: Stimulus variation is described as

deliberate change in the behaviors of the teacher in order to sustain the attention of his learners throughout the lesson. Stimulus variation determines teacher liveliness in the classroom. The components of this skill are: i. Body Movement: The physical movements of the teacher in the class is to attract the attention of the learners. Sudden body movement and suddenly stopping the same helps in gaining learners attention at high level. The teacher without these activities is like a stone-idol. Excess movement is undesirable. Gestures: Gesture involves the movements of the head, hand, and facial gestures (laughing, raising eyebrows, emotions, etc) signals. This technique helps the teacher to be more expressive and dynamic in presenting his lesson in the class.

ii.

Cont.
iii.

Skills of Micro teaching Techniques

Change in Voice: Teacher should bring fluctuations in his voice. The pupils feel boredom with the speech at the same pitch, and pupils get deviated from the lesson. Focussing: Focussing implies drawing the attention of the learners towards a particular point which the teacher wishes to emphasize. Such technique involves verbal focusing, gestural focusing, or verbal-gestural focusing. Eye-contact and eye-movement: Both the eye-contact and eyemovement play very important role in conveying emotions and controlling interaction between the teacher and taught. In a classroom situation, this technique implies that the teacher should maintain eye-contact with the learners in order to sustain the attention of the latter.

iv.

v.

Cont.
vi.

Skills of Micro teaching Techniques

Pausing: Pausing refers to short and deliberate intervals of silence used while delivering ideas, explaining, lecturing, etc. Deliberate use of short pauses help the teacher to attract and sustain the attention of his learners. But too long pauses may be irritating.

5. Skill of Black-board Writing: Blackboards, being the

visual aids, are widely used in all aspects of education and training, and are most suitable for giving a holistic picture of the lesson. A good blackboard work brings clearness in perception and the concepts being taught, and adds variety to the lesson.

Cont.

Skills of Micro teaching Techniques

The components of the skill of blackboard writing are:

i. Legibility ( Easy to read ) ii. Size and alignment ( In a straight line ) iii. Highlighting main points iv. Utilization of the space v. Blackboard summary vi. Correctness vii. Position of the teacher and viii. Contact with the pupils.

Writing Skill
i. Legibility ( Easy to read ): A legible handwriting on the blackboard draws the attention of the learners and encourages them to improve upon their handwritings. In order to make handwritings more legible, the teacher should see that a clear distinction is ensured between every letter, adequate space is maintained between individual letters and words. ii. Size and Alignment: The size of the letters written by the teacher on the board should be uniform and large enough to be read from the last row. The size of the capital letters should be larger than that of the small letters and the handwritings should be as vertical as possible without being diverged from a line.

Writing Skill
iii. Highlighting Main Points: The main points or words written on the board should only be highlighted by underlying them. Colored chalks should be used suitably for the purpose of drawing the learners attention to those main points that need to be highlighted too. iv. Utilization of the Space: For the proper utilization of the space important words or statements should be written on the board. Overwriting on the letters should be avoided as it makes the blackboard work untidy. Only essential materials should be retained on the blackboard and unnecessary words should be rubbed off.

Writing Skill
v. Blackboard Summary: In order to make teaching meaningful to the learners the teacher should develop blackboard summary at the end of the lesson. This should be so brief that the learners can recollect the whole lesson at a glance. vi. Correctness: While constructing sentences on the board, the teacher should be careful about correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc.

Writing Skill
vii. Position of the Teacher: The position of teacher should not be in between the learners and the blackboard. viii. Contact with Pupils: The teacher, at the time of writing on the board, should maintain eye-contact with his learners. This is necessary for controlling interactions, maintaining disciplines, sustaining attentions of the learners, etc.

Dr G L Gulhane

44

Blackboard Writing Skill

i. Legibility ( Easy to read ): A legible handwritin

Blackboard Writing Skill

Blackboard Writing Skill

Blackboard Writing Skill

Cont.

Skills of Micro teaching Techniques

6. Skill of Achieving Closure: When a student- teacher delivers lecture and sums up
properly and in an attractive way, the skill is termed as Closure Skill. The lesson/period remains ineffective in the absence of proper closure.

Feedback in Micro teaching

Feedback is the information supplied to the individual. The success of micro teaching depends on feedback. Which can also be used within the process of teaching as well as after the lesson taught. It is used in various forms in case of micro teaching by the supervisor, video-tape, films, T.V., which are various sources of feedback.

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