Micro Teaching Skills- Set Induction

MICRO TEACHING SKILLS

Definition

"A system of controlled practice that makes it possible to concentrate on specific teaching

 behavior and to practice teaching under controlled condition".  Allen and Eve (1968).

Characteristics of Micro-teaching :

1. Micro element :  Micro-teaching reduces the complexity of the teaching situation in terms of.
   1. Number of students to be taught.
   2. Duration of lesson.
   3. Subject matter to be taught to enable the trainee to concentrate on a particular teaching skill at a time.  One should master the components of the task of teaching before he attempts to perform effectively the complicated task of teaching at macro-level.
   4. The number of instructional objectives and the content is kept low
   5. It reduces the teaching skill and size of the topic, it is focused on micro events.
   6. It is highly individualized training device to prepare effective teachers and provides feedback for trainees' performances.
   7. Micro analysis of the teaching process consist of analyzing the minute details of teaching.
2. Teaching skills and teaching strategies :

a.    Pre-instructional skills.

• These include writing of instructional objectives.
• Sequencing and organizing knowledge to be presented in order to achieve specific objectives.
• Appropriate content.
• Proper organization.
• Selection of proper audio-visual aids.

b.      Instructional skills :

• Skills of introducing a lesson.
• Skills of explaining and illustrating.
• Reinforcement
• Probing questions.
• Reinforcing pupil participation.
• Probing questions.
• Reinforcing pupil participation.
• Diagnosing pupils' difficulties

c. Post-instructional skills :

• Skills of writing test items
• Interpreting pupil's performance in a test.
• Planning remedial measures.

d. Feedback

1. Safe Practice ground
2. The Teaching Models

Basic Principles of micro-teaching

1. Enforcement.
2. Practice and drill.
3. Continuity.
4. Microscopic supervision.

Phases of Micro-Teaching

1. Knowledge Acquisition Phase.
2. Skill Acquisition Phase.
3. Transfer Phase.

Steps of Micro-Teaching

1. Defining a Specific skill
2. Demonstration of the skill
3. Micro-Lesson Plans
4. Teaching a small group
5. Feedback
6. Re-planning, Re-teaching and Re-evaluation

Five 'R's of Micro-Teaching

• Recording
• Reviewing
• Responding
• Refining
• Re-doing

Merits of Micro-Teaching

• Helps student teachers to acquire hard-to-attain teaching skills by providing a real situation for practicing skills.
• Since micro-teaching focuses on a particular skill at a time, student teachers can attain proficiency in teaching skills in a phased manner.
• Provision of immediate feedback makes micro-teaching more interesting and reliable.
• Since main role is played by the student teacher, it is regarded as a student centered method.

Demerits of Micro-Teaching

• Time consuming
• Produces homogenized standard robots with set smiles and procedures
• It is said to be (wrongly) a form of play acting in unnatural surroundings and it is feared that the acquired skills may not be internalized.