Micro-teaching in education

Micro-teaching in Education

Micro-teaching

Teaching is the key aspect of teacher education programme. In ICT age researches have done a fair achievement in teaching-learning process in changing the student and teacher's behaviour with a view to fulfilling the desired goal of the teaching-learning process. Traditional teaching procedure has no feedback as to the performance of teacher and students in developing skills and competencies. Hence, constant innovative effective techniques or approach has been introduced for developing various teaching skills among the teachers. In this context educational technology have taken pioneering steps coming as a remedy to the present defects detected in the teaching-learning process.

• Teaching skill
• Micro-teaching

A set of related teaching activities/behaviour is carried out with a view to facilitating learning by fulfiling/satisfying specific teaching objectives is known as teaching skills. It covers different types of skills like lecturing, discussing, mastering, communicating, explaining, questioning and organising skill which makes practice teaching more interesting and affecting. All such skills need to be properly coordinated and interpreted. Micro-teaching is one recent innovation in the field of educational technology. It concentrates on teaching behaviour in the student-teacher training programme. In this respect, micro-teaching as the name denotes in micro in nature. However, in this context teaching techniques, teaching activities are carried out a reduced number of pupils in a reduced period of time on a narrow as specific content area, by certain specific teaching skills.

Meaning of Micro-teaching

Micro-teaching was firstly innovated by D.W.Allen in 1963 at Stanford University. Teaching skills in term of teaching behaviours/activities which are given much importance in micro-teaching. Developing teaching skills among the pupil-teachers in the main aim of micro-teaching. It is a training procedure which aims at simplifying the difficulties detected in regular teaching process. In a  micro-teaching process, the trainee is engaged in a scaled-down teaching situation in term of class size because of trainee is teaching a small group of four to six pupils. The lesson is scaled down in length of class time and is reduced to five to ten minutes depending on teaching tasks. Micro-teaching is a process of subjecting samples of human behaviour to 5R's videotape recording, reviewing, responding, refining and redoing. Micro-teaching can be applied at various preservice and in-service stage in the professional development of teachers. It helps teachers to improve both content and methods of teaching and develop specific teaching skill. Micro-teaching is a highly individualised training device. Each trainee has to practice the different skills one by one will gain mastery over all the skills and then use the integrated skill in a normal classroom. It is a training technique but not a teaching technique.

Definitions of Micro-teaching

Allen (1968): "A system of controlled practice that makes it possible to concentrate on specific teaching behaviour and to practice teaching under controlled conditions."

Singh (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 to 20 minutes."

B.K. Passi (1976): "Micro-teaching is a training technique which requires students teachers to teach a single concept using specified teaching skills to a small number of pupils in a short duration of time."

Characteristics of Micro-teaching

• Micro-teaching is scaled-down teaching.
• Micro-teaching is real teaching.
• Micro-teaching emphasizes normal classroom teaching, size of the class, scope, context and time in a reduced form.
• Micro-teaching focuses on training, methods of feedback curricular, material and effective supervision.
• It gives stress on the development of specific teaching skills of the teachers and the development of pupils' ability.
• It develops different teaching techniques/skills/lesson/plans for micro-teaching.
• It is individualized training techniques.
• Preparing effective techniques.
• Micro-teaching aims at preparing teaching skills in training and research in the training.

Principles of Micro-teaching

• Principles of practice:  "Practice makes a man perfect" is a quoted proverb. If activity is repeated, again and again, it is learnt effectively. Micro-teaching provides practice in each small task of skill for the pupils-teacher gains mastery.

• Principles of reinforcement: In micro-teaching lessons reinforcement encouragement is given to the pupil-teacher from time to time for his better performance with the feedback, as well as the attains satisfaction and his performance is improved. Reinforcement and feedback stimulate him for better learning and better teaching.

• Principles of experimentation: Micro-teaching was born in an experiment. The pupil-teacher and the supervisor conduct experiment on teaching skill under controlled conditions.

• Principle of evaluation: A proper evaluation of pupil teacher's work many become an affective motivation for better learning. The supervisor evaluates each micro-lesson. In micro-teaching, self-evaluation is also allowed.

• Principles of precise supervision: The supervision accompanying micro-teaching is highly specific and precise. The supervisor pays full attention to one point at a time.

• Principles of continuity: Micro-teaching requires continuity. The teacher learns and relearns skill teaching. Its unique features are discussing, planning, teaching, feedback, replanning and reteaching until mastery attained.

Steps in Micro-teaching

(1) Defining the skill: to provide the knowledge and awareness of teaching a particular skill is defined to trainees in terms of teaching behaviour.

(2) Demonstrating the skills: the specific skill is demonstrated by the experts or shown through video-tape od film to the teachers' trainee.

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

(4) Teaching the lesson: the pupil-teacher gives the lesson to a small group of pupils (i.e., 5 to 10 pupils). The teaching is observed by the supervisors or peers. Video-tape or audio-tape are televised at close circuit television (CCTV).

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

(6) Re-planning: the pupils-teachers, re-plan the lesson in order to practice the small skill effectively in the light of the discussion and suggestion.

(7) Re-teaching: this re-planned lesson is re-taught to another small group of students of the same class for the same duration to practice the same skill.

(8) Re-discussion: the teaching is now followed by a discussion of suggestion and encouragement to the teaching performance. The feed-back is again provided to the trainee.

(9) Repeating the cycle: the cycle is repeated until the desired level of skill is achieved.

Precautions in Micro-teaching Approach

• Attention should be paid on the clarity of objectives.
• One skill at a time should be prepared.
• Delivering model lesson plan is essential.
• Substantial suggestions should be accepted without criticism.
• Attention should be paid now to improve their teaching skill.

Advantages of  Micro-teaching

• Teaching is easier due to the division of content into small units.
• In the micro-teaching facility of re-planning, re-teaching, re-evaluation are available.
• Problems related to teaching is easily solved.
• Supervision is well managed.
• Immediate feedback of teaching is available.
• It gives emphasis on skill at a time.
• It is economical in nature.
• It creates interaction between teacher and students.
• Modification of teacher behaviour.
• Developing teaching efficiency.
• Individual training.
• Continuous reinforcement.

Disadvantages of Micro-teaching

• This technique is not complete in itself.
• This technique needs sufficient training.
• Sometimes in small institutions, the micro-teaching laboratory is expensive.
• Micro-teaching requires competent and suitably trained teachers.
• It is a time-consuming process.
• It is not suitable in the actual teaching practices.
• Teacher fails to keep up his interest in small number of students during teaching.

Duration of Micro-teaching in India

• Teaching                 6 minutes
• Feedback                6 minutes
• Re-planning          12 minutes
• Re-teaching            6 minutes
• Re- feedback          6 minutes

• TOTAL of            36 MINUTES

Comparision BetweenTraditional teaching and Micro-teaching

Objective:

In traditional teaching:- Objectives are general and not specified in behavioural terms.

In Micro-teaching:- Objectives are specified in behavioural terms.

The number of students:

In traditional teaching:- Class consists of 40 to 50 students.

In Micro-teaching:- Small group consisting of 5 to 10 students in a class.

Skills:

In traditional teaching:- Several skills are taken.

In Micro-teaching:- Teachers uses one skill at a time.

Teaching duration:

In traditional teaching:- Duration of teaching is 40 to 50 minutes.

In Micro-teaching:- Duration of teaching is 5 to 10 minutes.

Feedback:

In traditional teaching:- Not immediate feedback.

In Micro-teaching:- Immediate feedback.

Control:

In traditional teaching:- There is no control over the situation.

In Micro-teaching:- Teaching is carried on under a controlled situation.

Teaching:

In traditional teaching:- Complex teaching

In Micro-teaching:- Simple teaching.

Role of supervisor:

In traditional teaching:- Role of the supervisor is vague.

In Micro-teaching:- Role of the supervisor is specific and well defined.

Classroom:

In traditional teaching:- Pattern of classroom interaction is not studied objective.

In Micro-teaching:- Patterns of classroom interaction is studied objectively.

CONCLUSION

Finally, it can be said that micro-teaching is a powerful tool in the training pupil-teachers in training colleges, which should be utilized for constructing good teachers. The teachers working in training collages will have to obtain a correct knowledge of its theory and practice, only then it will prove to be still more useful.

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I NEVER SEE WHAT HAS BEEN DONE;

I ONLY SEE WHAT REMAINS TO BE DONE.

Buddha