MICRO TEACHING

Micro-teaching

Introduction:

Micro-teaching is one of the most recent innovations in teacher education or training programme which aims at modifying teacher’s behavior according to the specific objectives. It is a process of subjecting samples of human behavior to 5 R’s of video tape- ‘recording’, ‘reviewing’, ‘responding’, ‘refining’, and ‘redoing’. Micro-teaching is a controlled practice that makes it possible to concentrate on teaching behavior in the student-teacher training programme.

Definitions of Micro-teaching

Micro-teaching has been defined in a number of ways. Some selected definitions are given below:

Allen,D.W (1966): Micro-teaching is a scaled down teaching encounter in class size and class time.

Allen,D.W. and Eve,A.W. (1968): Micro-teaching is defined as a system of controlled practice that makes it possible to concentrate on specified teaching behavior and to practices teaching under controlled conditions.

Bush,R.N (1968): Micro-teaching is a teacher education technique which allows teachers to apply clearly defined teaching skills to carefully prepared lessons in a planned series of 5-10 minutes encounter with a small group of real students, often with an opportunity to observe the result on video-tape.

Singh,L.C.(1977): Micro-teaching is a scaled down teaching encounter in which a teacher teaches a small unit to a group of five pupils for a small period of 5-20 minutes. Such a situation offers a helpful setting for an experienced or inexperienced teacher to acquire new teaching skills and to refine old ones.

Concept of Micro-teaching:

Micro-teaching is a training concept that can be applied at the pre-service and in-service stages in the professional development of teachers. Micro-teaching provides teacher with a practice setting for instruction in which the normal complexities of class- room are reduced and in which the teacher receives a great deal of feedback on his performance. To minimize the complexities of the normal teaching encounter, several dimensions are limited. The length of the lesson is reduced. The scope of the lesson is narrowed, and the teacher teaches only a few students.

Basically in micro-teaching, the trainee is engaged in a scaled-down teaching situation. It is scaled down in terms of class size, since the trainee is teaching a small group of 5-10 pupils. The lesson is scaled down in length of class-time and is reduced to 5-10 minutes. It is also scaled down in terms of teaching tasks. These tasks may include the practicing and mastering of a specific teaching skill such as lecturing or teaching explanation, questioning or leading a discussion; mastering of specific teaching strategies; flexibility, instructional decision making, alternative uses of specific curricula, instructional materials and class- room management. Only one skill or task is taken up at a time. If possible micro-lesson is video-taped or tape-recorded. The student-teacher immediately views his lesson, evaluates it, amends his approach, reteaches the lesson to another group of pupils, reviews and evaluates.

Features of Micro-teaching

1.    Micro-teaching is relatively a new innovation in the field of teacher education

2.    Real teaching: Micro-teaching is real teaching but focuses on developing teaching skills.

3.    Scaled down teaching: Micro-teaching is a scaled down teaching:

(i)                To reduce the class size to 5-10 pupils.

(ii)              To reduce the duration of period to 5-10 minutes.

(iii)            To reduce the size of the lesson.

(iv)            To reduce the teaching skill.

4.     Individualised device: Micro-teaching is a highly individualized training device.

5.    Providing feed back: It provides the adequate feedback for trainee’s performance.

6.    Device for preparing teachers: Micro-teaching ia a device to prepare effective teachers.

7.    Selection of one skill: It provides opportunity to select one skill at a time and practice it through scaled down encounter and then take others in a similar way.

8.    Use of videotape and closed circuit television makes observation very effective.

9.    Micro-teaching is an analytic approach to training.

Main Assumptions of Micro-teaching

In the words of Allen and Ryan, micro-teaching is an idea at the core of which lie five essential assumptions:

1.    Real teaching: Micro-teaching is real teaching. Although the teaching situation is a constructed one in the sense that teacher and students work together in a practice situation, nevertheless, bonafide teaching does take place.

2.    Reducing complexities: Micro-teaching lessens the complexities of normal class-room teaching. Class size, scope of content, and time are all reduced.

3.    Focus on training: Micro-teaching focuses on training for the accomplishment of specific tasks. These tasks may be the practice of techniques of teaching, the mastery of certain curricular materials, or the demonstration of teaching methods.

4.    Increased control of practice: Micro-teaching allows for the increased control of practice. In the practice setting of microteaching, the rituals of time, students, methods of feed back and supervision, and many other factors can be manipulated. As a result, a high degree of control can be built into the training programme.

5.    Expanding knowledge of results: Micro-teaching greatly expands the normal knowledge of results or feedback dimensions in teaching. Immediately after teaching a brief micro-lesson, the trainee engages in a critique of his performance. To give him a maximum insight into his performance, several sources of feedback at his disposal.

Procedure in Micro-teaching:

1.    Defining the skill: A particular skill is defined to trainees in terms of teaching behaviours to provide the knowledge and awareness of teaching skills.

2.    Demonstrating the skills: The specific skill is demonstrated by the experts or shown through video-tape or film to the teacher trainee.

3.    Planning the lesson: The student teacher plans a short (micro) lesson with the help of his supervisor, in which he can practice a particular skill.

4.    Teaching the lesson: The pupil-teacher teaches the lesson to a small group of pupils (5-10). The lesson is observed by supervisor or peers or video-taped or audio-taped or televised at close circuit television (CCTV).

5.    Discussion: The teaching is followed by discussion to provide the feedback to the trainee. The video-tape or audio-tape may be displayed to observe his own teaching activities by the trainee. The awareness of his own teaching performance provides the reinforcement to the pupil-teacher.

6.    Replanning: In the light of the discussion and suggestions the pupil-teacher replans the lesson in order to practice the small skill effectively.

7.    Reteaching: The revised lesson is retaught to another small group of students of same class for the same class duration to practice the small skill.

8.    Rediscussion: The reteaching is again followed by discussion, suggestions and encouraging the teaching performance. Thus the feedback is again provided to the trainee.

9.    Repeating the cycle: The ‘teach-reteach’ cycle is repeated till desired level of skill is achieved.

Thus we find that in micro-teaching the pupil-teacher tries to complete the 5 R’s viz, Recording, Reviewing, Responding, Refining and Redoing.

Phases of Micro-teaching:

According to J.C. Clift and others, micro-teaching procedure has three phases:

(i)                Knowledge acquisition phase

(ii)              Skill acquisition phase

(iii)            Transfer phase

		Observe	Analyze and
	1. Knowledge Acquisition Phase	Demonstration	Discuss
	(pre-active phase)	Skill	Demonstration
	2. Skill Acquisition Phase	Prepare	Practice	Evaluate
	(inter-action phase)	Micro Lesson	Skill	Performance
		Re-teach
	3. Transfer Phase	Transfer of Skill to actual
	(post-active phase)	Teaching Situation
Phases of Micro Teaching

1.    Knowledge acquisition phase: In this phase, the student teacher attempt to acquire knowledge about the skill- its rational, it role in class room and its component behaviours. For this he reads relevant literature. He also observes demonstration lesson-mode of presentation of the skill. The student teacher gets theoretical as well as practical knowledge of the skill.

2.    Skill acquisition phase: On the basis of the model presented to the student-teacher, he prepares a micro-lesson and practices the skill and carries out the micro-teaching cycle. There are two components of this phase:

(a)  feedback

(b)  micro-teaching settings.

Micro-teaching settings includes conditions like the size of the micro-class, duration of the micro-lesson, supervisor, types of students etc.

3.    Transfer phase: Here the student-teacher integrates the different skills. In place of artificial situation, he teaches in the real classroom and tries to integrate all the skills.

Micro Teaching Cycle

The above diagram gives us an out look about Micro teaching process. The cycle continues up to the extend when a trainee will able to master a specific skill.

Comparison between Micro Teaching and Traditional Teaching

1	Objectives are specified in behavioural terms	Objectives are general and not specified in behavioural terms.
2	Class consists of small group of 5-10 students.	Class consists of 40-6- students.
3	The teacher takes up one skill at a time	The teacher practices several skills at a time.
4	Duration time for teaching is 5-10 minutes.	The duration is 40-50 minutes.
5	There is immediate feed-back.	Immediate feed-back is not available
6	Teaching is carried on under controlled situation.	There is no control over situation.
7	Teaching is relatively simple.	Teaching become complex.
8	The role of supervisor is specific and well defined to improve teaching.	The role of the supervisor is vague.
9	Patterns of class room interaction can be studied objectively.	Patterns of classroom interactions cannot be studied objectively.