CHAPTER: 13 MICRO - TEACHING

 

 

CHAPTER: 13

MICRO - TEACHING

This Chapter Deals with

Introduction

Meaning of Micro Teaching

Definition of Micro Teaching

Characteristic of Micro Teaching

Components of Micro Teaching

Phases in Micro Teaching Procedure

Steps in Micro Teaching Procedure

Micro-Teaching Cycle

Principles underlying Micro Teaching

Skills used in Micro Teaching

Suggestion in Micro Teaching

Objectives of Micro Teaching

Role of Supervisor in Micro Teaching

Advantages of Micro Teaching

Limitations in Micro Teaching

Conclusion

Micro Teaching

Introduction: The activity of teaching is not as simple as it seems to be. In fact the task of teaching is a complex phenomenon. It is a challenging activity for those who want to be in the profession of teaching. The process of teaching involves a number of skills. All these skills cannot be attained or learnt overnight. Continuous practice is necessary to improve upon these teaching skills. The teachers are not born only but they can be made. Micro teaching is a technique which is used to develop teaching skills in prospective teachers and in-service teachers. It is a training techniques used for practice of teaching skill. The method developed to prepare effective teachers in order to modify teacher’s behavior is micro teaching. The main aim of micro teaching is to provide training of teaching skills to the pupil teachers and in-service teachers.

                        Micro teaching is originated in Stanford University in 1963 by Keith Acheson. But in India it was first introduced in 1967 by D. D. Tiwari, Government Central Pedagogical Institute, Allhabad. In 1974, Dr. N.L. Dosajh used micro teaching as a teaching device in Teacher training Institute, Chandigarh. He also wrote a book entitled “Modification of Teacher Behavior through Micro Teaching”. Micro teaching is a new innovation which is used exclusively for giving training to the teachers.

 

Meaning of Micro Teaching: Micro teaching is a laboratory technique of teacher training in which the complexities of normal classroom teaching are simplified. This is an effective techniques used for the development of the teaching skills in teachers. In micro teaching the trainer is engaged in a scaled down teaching situation. It is a scaled down in terms of class size, time, content and skill.

 Definition of Micro Teaching

·         According to B.M Shore, “Micro teaching is a real teaching reduces in time, number of students, and range of activities”.

·         According to R. N. Bush (1968), “Micro teaching is a teaching technique which allows teachers to apply clearly defined teaching skills to carefully prepared lessons in a planned series of five to ten minutes encounters with a small group of real students often with an opportunity to observe the result on video tape”.

·         According to Encyclopedia of Education, “Micro teaching is a real, constructive, scaled down teaching encounter which is used for teacher training, curriculum, development and research”.

·         According to Must (1968), “Micro teaching is a teaching and education technique which allows applying well defined teaching skill to a carefully prepared lesson in a planned series of five minutes, encounters with a small group of real classroom students, often with a opportunity to observe the performance on video tape”.

·         According to Mc Aleese and Urwin (1970), The term “Micro teaching is most often applied to the use of closed circuit television (CCTV) to give immediate feedback of  trainee teacher’s performance in a simplified environment”.

·         Clift and Others (1976)- “Micro teaching is the procedure which reduces the teaching situation to simpler and more controlled encounter achieved by limiting the practice teaching to specific skill and reducing teaching time and class size.”

·         According to David B.Young, “Micro teaching is a device which provides the trainee and experienced teacher alike, new opportunities to improve teaching.” According to him micro teaching is a real teaching scaled down in time and size so that the duration of the time ranges from 5 to 20 minutes and the number of students is limited from 5 to 10.

·         According to Mc Collum, “Micro teaching provides opportunities to the teacher trainees to achieve teaching skill before the actual teaching.”

 

Characteristic of Micro Teaching: The above discussion and definitions point to the following characteristics of micro Teaching –:

v  It focuses on developing teaching skills.

v  It is a scaled down teaching encounter in class size and time.

v  It provides immediate feedback for trainee’s performance.

v  It is highly individualized training device..

v  It is a simple technique.

v  Integration of theory and practice.

v  Observation by fellow pupil teachers.

v  It is a real teaching.

v  The complexities of real classroom can be reduced by micro teaching.

v  Focus on training.

v  It is an analytical approach of training.

v  This is a high degree of control in practacising skill when this technique is used.

v  The use of videotape and closed circuit television (CCTV) makes the observation very objective.

Components of Micro Teaching: The components of micro teaching consist -:

v  Micro-Teaching situation

v  Teaching skill

v  A teacher

v  The pupils (5-10)

v  A brief lesson

v  Feedback device

v  Objectives

v  Supervisor

v  Micro teaching lab

Phases in Micro Teaching Procedure: There are three phases of micro teaching procedure according to Clift and Others which are discussed below-:

v  Knowledge Acquisition Phase

v  Skill Acquisition Phase

v  Transfer Phase

1: Knowledge Acquisition Phase: In this stage the pupil teacher tries to get the knowledge of the skills to be practacised. He reads relevant literature concerning that skill. The observer should be expert of the subject and skill by which the teacher trainee gets theoretical as well as practical knowledge of that skill. It involves two major activities-:

                        (i) To observe demonstration skill and

                        (ii) To analysis and discuss demonstration.

2: Skill Acquisition Phase: A pupil teacher acquires the skills in hand through a lot of practice. In this stage there are three major activities which a pupil teacher performed. In this the evaluation activity provides the basis to re-plan the lesson for re-teaching the same topic to practice the same skill.       (i) To prepare a micro lesson

                                                   (ii) To practice teaching skills.

                                                   (iii) To evaluate performance

3: Transfer Phase: After acquiring mastery over knowledge and skills the trainee are given an opportunity to use the skills in normal classroom teaching situation. Teach re-teach cycle is continued till the desired level of skill is achieved.

Steps in Micro Teaching Procedure: There are various steps in Micro-Teaching Procedure which are given below-:

STEP-I: Defining the skill: To provide knowledge and awareness of teaching a particular skill is defined to trainees in terms of teaching behavior. It also includes fixing up those objectives along with the skill which are to be achieved through that skill.

STEP-II: Demonstration of the skill: The skills are demonstrated through the micro-teaching lesson. The demonstration is done either by an expert or through video tape or video film of that skill is screened.

STEP-III: Planning the Lesson: In this stage the pupil teacher prepares micro lesson plans concerning some specific skill’s training or by using that skill. For preparing a mocro lesson plan, the pupil teacher may take help from his supervisor. These lesson plans are for the duration of 5-20 minutes.

STEP-IV: Teaching the lesson: The pupil teacher teaches the lesson to a small group of students that (i.e 5 to 10 pupils). The teaching performance of the pupil teacher is observed by the supervisors or by peers. As the teaching task of the pupil teacher is over, only then his lesson is criticized. In this stage the teaching task of the pupil teacher is videotaped.

 STEP-V: Discussion and Feedback: In this step teaching is followed by discussion to provide the feedback (suggested improvements) to the trainee. The video tape or the audio tape may be displayed to the trainee to observe his own teaching activities. This feedback is also an essential part of Micro-Teaching. In the absence of the feedback, the evaluation of this method has no meaning at all.

STEP: VI: Re-planning: The pupil teacher re-plan the lesson in order to practice the small skill effectively in the light of the discussion and suggestion. For re-planning the time duration is 12 minutes.

STEP: VII: Re-Teaching: This Re-plan lesson is Re-taught to another small group of students of same class for the same duration to practice the same skill. 

STEP: VIII: Re-discussion/ Re-feedback: The teaching performance of the trainee is now followed by discussion of suggestions and encouragement. The feedback is again provided to the trainee.

STEP: IX: Repeating the cycle: The cycle of Re-Planning, Re-teaching, and Re-discussion goes on till the desired level of skill is achieved.

Micro-Teaching undergoes through the following cycle-:

Principles underlying Micro Teaching

        i. Principles of Practice: “Practice makes a man perfect” is a quoted proverb. The effectiveness in any activity is possible only through practice. Micro teaching gives an opportunity to the teacher trainee to gains mastery over knowledge and skills through continuous practice.

      ii.Principles of Reinforcement: In the process of teaching learning the value of reinforcement has been acknowledged since long time. In the process of micro teaching, reinforcement and encouragement is given to the teacher trainee from time to time for his better performance with the feedback. Reinforcement and feedback stimulate the teacher trainee for better teaching and learning.

    iii.Principles of Experimentation: Since the very beginning the micro teaching has been used as means of research. It was born in an experiment. Experiment consists of objective observation of action performed under controlled conditions. The teacher trainee and the supervisor conduct experiment on various teaching skills under controlled conditions. Variables such as content, time, students and teaching techniques may be manipulated or controlled.

    iv.Principles of Evaluation: The improvement in any action or activity can be only made on the basis of evaluation. It also occupies a vital role in the process of teaching learning. A proper evaluation of teacher trainee’s performance may become an effective motivation for better learning and teaching. In the process of micro teaching, there is also an opportunity of self-evaluation with the help of video tape recorder. It is proved maximum improvement can be realized through self-evaluation.

      v.Principles of Precise Supervision: Micro teaching is highly precise and specific. The supervisor pays full attention to the point at a time. Both the supervisor and the teacher trainee are clear about the aims of micro lesson. The supervisor posses an observation schedule which he fills up while supervising. He marks an assessment on a rating scale. Rating is a method in which the expression or opinion concerning a particular trait is systematized.

    vi.Principles of Continuity: Micro teaching requires continuity. The teacher trainee learns and relearns the skills of teaching. Its unique features are -: Planning---Teaching---Feedback---Re-planning---Re-teaching---Re-feedback till mastery is attained. 

Skills used in Micro Teaching: The teaching is a challenging activity. A teaching skill is defined as a set of teacher behaviors which are especially effective in bringing about desired changes in teacher trainee. A teaching skill is an immediate means and incidental for achieving a particular teaching objective. It is an activity or action which is repeated a number of times during the course of teaching. There are various teaching skills which are developed for the purpose of making effective teaching. In keeping with the Indian circumstances Dr. Bal Krishna Passi (1975) given the following 13 teaching skills -:

1.      Writing instructional objectives.

2.      Fluency in questioning.

3.      Probing question.

4.      Explaining.

5.      Illustration.

6.      Stimulus variation.

7.      Silence and nonverbal cues.

8.      Reinforcement.

9.      Increasing student’s participation.

10.  Use of black board.

11.  Attending behavior of the pupils.

12.  Achieving closure.

13.  Introductory skill.

Suggestion in Micro Teaching: The following are some of the suggestions which are to be taken into consideration for making the micro teaching more effective and interesting.

v  Clarity of objectives ar

v  e necessary.

v  Developing model lesson is necessary.

v  Micro lesson plan should be for one skill only at a time.

v  It should prepare beforehand.

v  There should not be criticism only but substantial suggestions should also accompany in order to improve the teaching skill of the teacher trainee.

Objectives of Micro Teaching: The followings are the desired objectives of micro teaching-:

v       To give practice teaching to the teacher under training.

v  To identify the drawbacks of the teacher and to give immediate feedback for modifying their behavior.

v      To develop experimental teacher education programmer.

v      To encourage research for identifying new teaching skills.

v      To improve teaching skills.

Role of Supervisor in Micro Teaching: Micro-teaching supervisor is essentially a teacher. His role is to increase and refine performance of the skills that serve as the objectives. The responsibilities of the supervisor in micro-teaching are of the following -

                       i.            The supervisor should help the trainee for developing ability to perform a skill.

                     ii.            He should help the trainee to understand as to when the skill should be applied.

                   iii.            He should have interest to work with a group.

                   iv.            All the aids and apparatuses should be used in an effective way by the supervisor.

                     v.             The supervisor has the ability to arrange micro teaching situation.

                   vi.            The supervisor should note immediately the improvements made by the teacher trainee in the presentation of the lesson.

                 vii.            He should evaluate the lesson and give feedback to the teacher trainee.

               viii.            The performance of the teacher trainee could be praised or rewarded immediately by the supervisor.

 Advantages of Micro Teaching: The technique of micro teaching is a new experiment in the field of education. It has the following uses and advantages -:

                       i.            Modification of teacher behavior.

                     ii.            Knowledge of teaching skills.

                   iii.            Developing teaching skills.

                   iv.            Developing teaching efficiency.

                     v.            Improving teaching practice.

                   vi.            It is an individualized training programme.

                 vii.            Regulating teaching practice.

               viii.            Reducing complexities of normal class room.

                   ix.            It is a real teaching.

                     x.            It focuses attention on teaching behavior to modify and improvement in the desired direction.

                   xi.            Opportunity for self-evaluation.

                 xii.            Continuous reinforcement and immediate feedback.

               xiii.            Systematic training of teaching skills.

               xiv.            Objectives are defined in behavioural terms.

                 xv.            Time saving.

               xvi.            It helps in developing confidence of the teacher trainee.

             xvii.            All activities micro teaching set up can be recorded.

           xviii.            Teaching is simple and nonthreatening.

               xix.            Facilities for re-planning, re-teaching and re-feedback.

                 xx.            There are occasions of comparing two or more teaching behaviours of the teacher trainee.

               xxi.            The problem of indiscipline can be controlled.

             xxii.            The content is divided into smaller units making the teaching easier.

           xxiii.            Analysis and evaluating teaching programme.

           xxiv.            The interaction and communication between the trainee and the students are effective.

Limitations in Micro Teaching

·         The arrangement of micro teaching laboratory is very expensive.

·         It needs much time for training.

·         This technique is not complete in itself.

·         The scope of micro teaching is narrow.

·         It disturbs existing time table.

·         Part presentation of the content.

·         Difficulty in actual practice.

·         Limited time, class size and content.

·         Techniques also need training of this method which they lack.

·         It is not possible for all the teachers training colleges to arrange for audio visual tape.

 

Conclusion: Teacher training institutions prepare the teachers for the schools. It is not an easy task for preparing an effective teacher having all the knowledge and skills. No doubt, micro teaching practice is one of the attempts, techniques and method for preparing a skilled teacher. It is one of the most important innovative programme for bringing out improvements in the quality of teacher education programme.