What is Micro-Teaching? – Its Meaning, Characteristics, Advantages

What is Micro-Teaching? Why is it so important for a Teacher Trainee? In this article, we will discuss the meaning of micro-teaching, its definitions, characteristics, steps, phases, advantages, and disadvantages of micro-teaching and the importance of micro-teaching.

What is Micro-Teaching?

Microteaching is a significant development in the teacher education program. The basic objective of microteaching is to make teacher education programs scientific, effective, and meaningful. Microteaching was developed by professors Dwight Allen and Robert Bush at Stanford University in 1963.

Micro-teaching is a process in which teaching is given to a certain number of students in a certain situation within a certain period, focusing on the student’s learning skills and providing them accordingly. Teaching strategies are a special teaching methodology given to teacher trainees to master their teaching strategies in the educational training program to transform the behavior of teacher trainees.

Here, teacher trainees practice learning techniques one by one. To avoid the rigor of teaching, trainees are given teaching exercises based on a single topic and a single general concept for a short period with a small number of students. According to this system, teacher trainees acquire teaching techniques in the classroom through advanced training.

Therefore, micro-teaching can be described as a specific sound training program that assists teacher trainees.

Meaning of Micro Teaching

Micro-teaching is a scaled-down version of real teaching and has several factors. It is scaled down in terms of class, size, and time to minimize the complexities of normal teaching. Micro-teaching is a training technique in which a teacher trainee practices with a small group of 5 to 10 pupils for a short duration of 5 to 10 minutes on a selected content/ concept in a single skill.

Micro-teaching is a stimulated social teaching process to provide feedback to teacher trainees for the modification of the behavior of teacher trainees. Micro-teaching provides teachers with a practice setting or instruction in which the normal complexities of the classroom are reduced, and the teacher gets feedback on their performance

The student teachers are required to teach a single concept using specified teaching skills to a small number of students in a short duration of time.

Definitions of Micro-Teaching

Various definitions provided by multiple educationists are given below –

DW Allen (1966) defined, “Microteaching as a scale down teaching encounter in class size and period.”

Clift (1976) defined“Microteaching as a teacher training procedure, which reduces the teaching situation to simpler and more controlled encounter achieved by limiting the practice to a specific skill and reducing teaching time and class size.”

“Microteaching is a training technique, which requires student teachers to teach a single concept using specified teaching skill to a smaller number of pupils in a short duration of time.”

Allen and Eve (1968) defined“Microteaching as a system of controlled practice that makes it possible to concentrate on specified teaching behavior and to practice teaching under controlled conditions.”

Mc. Knight (1971) defined, “Microteaching is a scaled-down teaching encounter designed to develop new skills and refine old ones.”

Flanders, Ned. A. (1970) defined, “Microteaching program is organized to expose the trainees to an organized curriculum of miniature teaching encounters, moving from the less complex to the more complex.”

Characteristics of Micro-Teaching

Various characteristics of micro-teaching are discussed below –

1. Training is a teacher-training technique, that helps develop teacher skills.

2. The number of students in the class is very small in the training process. A class of only 5-10 people is formed.

3. The class duration is also short. Its teaching time is limited to between 5-10 minutes.

4. Only a subtle part of the lesson is practiced in the limited time of training.

5. Since there is only one teaching technique or subject to be learned in training, there is only one purpose.

6. It provides immediate assessment or feedback to teachers and trainees.

7. The use of audio-visual, tape recorders, and closed-circuit TV (CCTV) makes learning more realistic.

8. Training is an individual-centered training system.

9. Microteaching is scaled-down teaching:

• It reduces the category scrutinization to five to ten pupils.
• It reduces the period of amount five to ten minutes.
• It reduces the dimensions of the subject.
• It reduces the teaching talent.

Objective of Micro-Teaching

Objectives of micro-teaching are given below –

• To find out and assimilate new teaching skills underneath controlled conditions. 
• To realize confidence in teaching and mastering a variety of teaching skills on a small size of pupils. 
• To utilize the obtainable material and time to the most. 
• To modify the teaching method to achieve perfection in teaching. 
• To amass mastery during a range of teaching skills.
• To switch the teaching behaviors in the needed manner.
• To scale back the complexities of teaching.
• To amass new teaching skills and refine previous ones. To produce needed feedback.

Another objective of micro-teaching is that Micro-teaching aims at providing part skills of the teacher to the teacher trainees at the pre-service level. 

Also Read: What is Lesson Planning? – Its definitions, objectives, and types.

Phases of Micro-Teaching

There are three faces of Micro-Teaching. Three phases of the microteaching area unit are as follows – •

• Phase I: Information Acquisition part (Pre-active phase). 
• Phase II: Talent acquisition part (Interactive phase). 
• Phase III: Talent transfer part (Post-active phase). 

Phase I: Information Acquisition Part:

In this part, the coed teacher tries to amass information regarding the talent, its role in the room, and its part behavior. He reads relevant literature. He also observes the demonstration lesson and the mode of presentation of the talent. Phase I of Micro-Teaching includes 3 vital activities: 

• To produce information and awareness of specific teaching talent. 
• To look at the demonstration of the teaching talent. 
• To analyze and discuss the demonstration of teaching activities of the talent. 

Phase II: Talent Acquisition Part:

In Phase II of Micro-Teaching, the coed teacher prepares a small lesson, practices the talent, and carries out the microteaching cycle. Three activities the area unit undertook during this phase: 

• To organize a small lesson for teaching talent. 
• To apply the teaching talent in a real room scenario. 
• To judge the performance. 

Analysis activity provides the idea to re-plan a similar lesson for reteaching. 

Phase III: Talent Transfer Part:

After exploiting mastery of the teaching talent, the teacher-trainees area unit was allowed to use the talent within the traditional room scenario rather than a synthetic classroom scenario. 

Steps of Microteaching 

In microteaching, the trainer should follow the following steps systematically to achieve the required skills among the trainees. 

#1 Orientation program with the student-teacher:

The teacher education program should provide and enlighten about micro-teaching and its importance in the teaching-learning process to develop teaching efficiency. 

#2 Discussing teaching skills:

The teacher educator should discuss the definition of the skill and identify different skills, which affect the teacher’s behavior. 

#3 Selection of a particular skill: 

Among the different skills, the teacher educator should select a suitable and particular skill, which is required for the topic in the concerned subject. 

#4 Presenting a model demonstration lesson on a particular skill:

The teacher educator should demonstrate in a micro lesson a particular skill, which is selected for demonstration. 

#5 Observation of the model skill by student teachers and recording their observations on the observation schedule: 

The student teachers should observe the model micro lesson performed by the teacher educator. 

#6 Critical appreciation of the model lesson by student teachers: 

The student teachers should discuss the model micro lesson with the teacher educator in detail and achieve the required skill. 

#7 Creation of a microteaching setting:

• The Indian model of micro-teaching developed by NCERT gives the following settings. 
• The number of students is about 5 to 10.
• The duration of the time is about 5 to 10 minutes.
• Number of skills only one.
• Duration of the microteaching cycle: 36 minutes.
• Observers: peers and teacher educators. 

#8 Practicing the skill:

The student teachers should practice a particular skill to the satisfaction of the observers.

#9 Providing feedback:

The performed micro lesson should be followed by the feedback for knowing not only the mistakes but also modifications in that lesson.

#10 Re-planning:

After the feedback on the performed micro lesson, the student-teacher should re-plan the same or different micro lesson by including the suggestions of the observers.

#11 Re-teaching:

Re-planed micro lessons should be taught to the same or other groups of students consisting of five to ten students.

#12 Providing re-feedback:

Feedback is given again in the re-teaching of a micro lesson as feedback. The practice should be continued until the observers are satisfied with the skill achieved.

#13 Integration of teaching skills:

Finally, the student teachers should integrate the acquired skills and perform a lesson as link practice.

Micro-Teaching Cycle:

Based on the above steps it can be concluded that microteaching should follow a cycle. The various steps involved in the Cycle of Micro-Teaching are as follows:

• Plan
• Teach
• Feedback
• Re-Plan
• Reteach
• Re-feedback 

The diagram of the Micro-Teaching Cycle is given below.

Advantages of Micro-Teaching

The Advantages of micro-teaching are given below.

1. It reduces traditional schoolroom teaching by scaled-down teaching.
2. Its objectives square measure well outlined.
3. Micro-teaching helps develop teaching potency in pre-service and in-service teacher education programs.
4. Micro-teaching is a good feedback device for the modification of teacher behavior.
5. The information and application of teaching skills are given by the utilization of microteaching.
6. It provides for self-analysis through the magnetic recorder and videotape.
7. Microteaching could be a coaching device for rising teachers to apply and prepare for effective academics.
8. Micro-teaching is coaching for real teaching.
9. It minimizes the complexities of traditional schoolroom teaching.
10. Micro-teaching facilitates increased confidence step by step.
11. Because it is an associate in nursing personal coaching device, every initiate makes progress at his own rate reckoning on his ability.
12. It’s simply noticeable, measurable, achievable, modifiable, and practicable. 

Disadvantages of Micro-Teaching

The disadvantages of micro-teaching are given below.

1. Microteaching is an incredibly time-intensive technique.
2. Microteaching is ability-orientated instead of content-orientated.
3. The scope of microteaching is slim.
4. Non-convenience of a microteaching laboratory.
5. A sizable amount of trainees can not be given a chance for re-teaching and replanning.
6. Microteaching is carried with success solely during a controlled environmental state of affairs.
7. The fortunate implementation of microteaching needs competent and suitably trained academics.
8. Microteaching doesn’t take into thought the general setting of teaching.
9. It doesn’t offer broad, primarily based behaviors in terms of skills.
10. It wants sufficient time to impart the teaching skills among all the coed teachers.
11. It needs video, a magnetic recorder, and different devices to make the small lesson terribly effective. It becomes tough for coaching schools to create such arrangements.

Major Skills of Micro Teaching Practiced in Teacher Training Institutions

A teacher needs to learn various skills for successful classroom interaction. He/she needs to have sufficient skills to make teaching efficient. So, to develop those skills, various skills are practiced in Micro-Teaching. There are 10 major skills practiced in Micro Teaching. These are as follows:

1. Skill in writing instructional objectives in behavioral terms
2. Skill of Introducing a Lesson
3. Skill of Blackboard Writing
4. Skill of Fluency in Questioning
5. Skill of Probing Questioning
6. The skill of Stimulus Variation
7. Skill of Explaining
8. Skill of demonstration
9. Skill of reinforcement
10. Skill of achieving closure

For more details, we can visit our post explaining the 10 major skills of Micro Teaching.

FAQs on Micro-Teaching