MICRO-TEACHING

Significance and Meaning

Makes teacher education / training programme more effective and meaningful. More scientific. Micro-teaching is one of the important innovations to develop teaching skills and competencies in students-teachers

It is a controlled practice -possible to concentrate on various aspects of teaching behavior in the student-teacher training programme. It aims at simplifying the complexities of the teaching process.

Definition
Passi, B.K. and Lalita, M.S. (1976): Micro-Teaching is a training technique which requires student teachers to teach a single concept using specified teaching skill to a small number of pupils in a short duration of time.

Definition
Allen, D.W. (1996): Micro-Teaching is a scaled down teaching encounter in class size and class time.

Objectives of Micro-Teaching
To enable the teacher-trainees to learn and assimilated new teaching skills under controlled conditions. To enable the teacher-trainees to gain confidence in teaching by mastering a number of teaching skills on a small group of students.

Objectives of Micro-Teaching
To make use of the academic potential of teacher-trainees for providing much needed feedback.
To derive maximum advantage with the available material, money and time.

Micro-Teaching at Work
Scaling down is a key word in micro teaching Trainee is engaged in a scaled down teaching situation. a) class size, b) class time and c) teaching tasks.

These tasks may include: The practicing and mastering of a specific teaching skill such as - lecturing, - questioning or leading a discussion; Mastering of specific teaching strategies; - flexibility; Instructional decision-making; - alternative uses of specific curricula, - instructional materials and classroom management.

Micro-Teaching Cycle
MICRO-LESSON PLAN TEACH MICRO-LESSON RE-TEACH ANOTHER GROUP

DISCUSS FEED BACK

REPLAN

Micro-Teaching flow chart

Planning for 5 min. teaching Micro-Teaching (I) 5 min. each, 3 Teachers Video Discussion with Video Play-back 3 Teachers Evaluation Sheet

Re-planning Micro-Teaching (2) 5 min.

Self-Confirmation

Main Propositions of Micro Teaching

Micro-teaching is real teaching, although a teaching situation is constructed in which the student-teacher and pupils work together in a practice situation. Bonafide teaching does take place.
Micro-teaching lessens the complexities of normal classroom teaching. Class size, scope of content and time are all reduced.

Main Propositions of Micro Teaching

Micro-teaching focuses on training for the accomplishment of specific tasks. Micro-teaching allows for the increased control of practice Micro-teaching greatly expands the normal knowledge on results or feedback dimensions in teaching.

Advantages
(1) Training in teaching skill, (2) Research in teacher training.

Phases, Activities and Components of Micro-Teaching

According to J.C. Clift and others, micro-teaching procedure has three phases (i) Knowledge acquisition face (ii) Skill acquisition face (iii) Transfer phase.

Phases of Micro-Teaching
Knowledge Acquisition phase (Pre-active Phase) Observe Analyse and Demonstration Discuss Skill Demonstration Prepare Practice Evaluate MicroSkill Performance Lesson Re-Teach

Skill Acquisition Phase (Inter-active Phase)

Transfer Phase (Post-active Phase)

Transfer of Skill To Actual Teaching Situation

Phases, Activities and Components of Micro-teaching.

Micro Teaching Components Modeling Feedback

Steps in Micro Planning

1.Orientation of the student-teachers to the micro-teachers Programme. 2.Discussing teaching skills. 3.Selection of a particular skill.

4.Presenting of a model demonstration lesson on a particular skill.

5. Observation of the model skill by studentteachers and recording their observation on the observation schedule.
6. Critical appreciation of the model lesson by student teachers. 7. Creation of a micro-teaching setting. The Indian Model of Micro-Teaching developed by NCERT gives the following setting:

Number of student teachers 5-10. Type of pupils: real pupils or preferably peers. Type of supervisor: teacher educators and peers. Duration of a micro-lesson: 6 minutes. Duration of a micro-teaching cycle:36 minutes 8.Practicing the skill. 9.Providing feed back.

10. Replanning. 11. Re-teaching. 12. Providing re-feed back.

13. Integration of teaching skills.

Advantages of Micro-teaching.
1. Superior performance of student teachers on micro-teaching system.
2. Training in real teaching. 3. Increased control of practice. 4. Accomplishment of specific skills.

Advantages of Micro-teaching.
5.Availability of immediate feed back. 6.Helpful in solving some of the problems involved in student teaching. 7.Helpful in the transfer of general teaching competence to classroom teaching.

8.Helpful in building up confidence of the pupil-teaching step by step.

Advantages of Micro-teaching
9. Availability of feed back from different sources:
Feed back by the supervising educator Feed back by the peer group Feed back through audio and video-tape recording.

10.Micro lesson preparing the way for macro lesson.

Advantages of Micro-teaching
Teaching under simulated conditions. Provision of many opportunities to the teacher trainees to observe the derived patterns of behaviour. Lessening the complexities of the normal classroom teaching by scaling down teaching. Facilitating the combination of a number of teaching devices.

Limitations of Micro-Teaching

Micro-teaching is skill-oriented at the cost of content-orientation. Broad-based patterns of behaviour are not paid their due attention. Scope of developing micro-teaching skills in limited. Micro-teaching does not take into consideration the overall environment of teaching.

Comparison between Micro Teaching and Traditional Teaching

Micro-Teaching 1. Duration of time for teaching is 5 to 10 minutes. 2. There is immediate feedback Traditional-Teaching 1. The duration is 40 to 50 minutes 2. Immediate feedback is not available.

Comparison between Micro Teaching and Traditional Teaching

3. Teaching is carried on under controlled situation. 4. Teaching is relatively simple. 3. There is no control over situation. 4. Teaching become complex.

Comparison between Micro Teaching and Traditional Teaching

5. The role of the supervisor is specific and well defined to improve teaching. 6. Patterns of class room interaction can be studied objectively. 5. The role of the supervisor is vague.

6. Pattern of classroom interaction cannot be studied objectively.