Micro. Teaching #B.Ed.....

★MICRO TEACHING

●"Micro teaching is a scaled down teaching encounter in adown teaching encounter in a class size and class time".class size and class time". 

● The number of students is from 5-10, and the duration of period ranges from 5-20 minutes. ALLEN (1996)

● Micro teaching is a deviceMicro teaching is a device which provides the novicewhich provides the novice and experienced teacherand experienced teacher alike new opportunities toalike new opportunities to improve teaching.improve teaching. ● It is a real teaching with a scaled down time and size of the class.

 HISTORY

● The idea of micro teaching originated for the first time in STANFORD UNIVERSITY,STANFORD UNIVERSITY, USA.USA.

● The term "MICRO TEACHING" was coined in 1963.

 ASSUMPTIONS 

● Is based on Skinner's operant conditioning.

 ● Teaching is a complex process but it can be analyzed into simple skills.

 ● Teacing skills can be practised one by one up to the mastery level under specific and simplified situations.

 ● Appropriate feedback, if systematically given proves very significant for obtaining a mastery level in each skill.

● When all skills have been mastered, taken one by one, then they can be integrated for real class room teaching.

● Skill training can be conveniently transferred from a simulated teaching situation to the actual classroom teaching situation.

● Teaching skill is a set of behaviours or acts of the teacher that facilitate student's learning.

 ● Teaching is observable, definable, measurable and demonstratable and can be developed through training.

● Micro teaching is a teacher training technique that plays a significant role in developing teaching skills in the student teachers.

THE CONCEPT

● A single skill for practice. ● One concept of content for teaching. ● A class of 5-10 students. ● 5-10 min of practice time.

. STEPS OF MICRO TEACHING 

●STEPS

. PLAN

● This involves selection of a topic and related content.

 ● The topic is analysed into different activities of the teacher and the students.

. ● The activities are planned in logical sequence.

TEACH

● This involves the attempts of the teacher trainee to use the components of the skill in suitable situations in the process of teaching – learning as per the role or the planning activities.

 ● If the situation is not different and not as visualized in the planning of the activities, the teacher should modify his or her behaviour as per the demand of the situation of the class.

 ● The teacher should have the courage and confidence to handle the situations arising in the class effectively.

FEEDBACK 

● Refers to the giving information to the teacher trainee about his performance.

. ● This helps the teacher trainee to improve his or her performance in the desired direction.

RE-PLAN

 ● The teacher trainee replans his lesson incorporating the points of strngth and removing the points not skilfully handled during teaching in the previous attempt either on the same tiopic or on another topic suiting the teacher trainee for improvement.

 RE-TEACH

● This involves the teaching the same group of student if the topic is changed or a different group of students if the topic is same.

 ● This is done to remove boredom or monotony in the students.

● The teacher trainee teaches the class with renewed courage and confidence to perform better than the previous attempt.

RE-FEEDBACK

● This is the most important component of micro teaching for behaviour modification of the teacher trainee in the desired direction in each and every skill practice.

. PHASES OF MICRO TEACHING 

● KNOWLEDGE AQUISITION PHASE.

 ● SKILL AQUISITION PHASE.

● TRANSFER PHASE.

. KNOWLEDGE AUISITION PHASE

● The trainee teacher learns about the skills and its components through discussion, illustrations and demonstration of the skill given by the expert.

● The trainee teacher's analysis of the skill into components leads to various types of behaviours to be practised.

● The trainee teacher tries to gain the skill from the demonstration activity given by the expert.

. ● He discusses and clarifies each and every aspect of skill.

 SKILL AQUISITION PHASE

 ● On the basis of the demonstration presented by the expert, the teacher trainee plans a micro – leson plan for practicing.

● He practices the teaching skill through the micro teaching cycle and continues his efforts till he attains the mastry levels.

● The feedback components of micro teaching contributes significantly towards the mastry level aqcusition of the skill.

● These skills are called the "core skills"

● These skills are called core skills because of their extensive use in classroom teaching.

★ ADVANTAGES

 ● Visual feedback (watching a recorded session) has been found to provide one of the most effective means of evaluating teaching strengths.

 ● Micro teaching enables both intrnsic (self assessment) and extrinsic (peer assessment) review.

 ● Micro teaching provides opportunity for practicing part of lecture activity, practicing a guest lecture, before delivering a course, demonstration in lab for first time, practicing a job talk, practice public speaking skills before you address students for the first time, polishing your skills if you are an experirnced person.

.★CHALLENGES

 ● Time consuminng.

● Trainee teacher may get a feeling of saturation or get bored with repeated teaching sessions. ● Trainee teacher may lose self confidence if she or he is asked to repeat the classes several time.

Characteristics of micro teaching
1. It is a teacher training technique and not a teaching method.2. It is a real teaching, though the teaching SITUATION IS SIMULATED.3. In micro teaching teacher trainee practices one a specific teaching skill at a time, till he/she attains mastery over the skill.
4. It is a scale down teaching encounter in class size, content, class time.
5. It operates on a predefined model. Plan, teach, feedback, re- plan, re- teach, re-feedback, etc.
6. It allows for increased control of practice by providing feedback to the teacher trainee.
7. It is not a substitute but a supplement to the teacher training programme.
8. It is a cyclic process. The pre decided model is repeated till the trainee achieves the expected level of mastery.
9. It is a highly individualized training device.

Uses of Micro Teaching
• Helps in reducing the complexities of the normal class room teaching.
• Helps the teacher trainee gain more confidence in real teaching,
• It creates among the teacher trainees an awareness of various skills of which teaching is composed of.
• It simulates the class room scene and gives the teacher trainee an experience of real teaching.
• It helps in systematic and objective analysis of the pattern of class room communication through specific observation schedule.
• It is more effective in modifying teacher behaviour.
• It is an effective technique for transfer of teaching competencies to the class room.
• It helps in getting acquainted with class room manners to a certain extent.
• Feedback enables the teacher trainee to consciously concentrate on specific behavioural modification.
• It helps the teacher trainees in better understanding of the meaning and concept of the term teaching.

Demerits
• Micro teaching is skill oriented and not content oriented.
• It covers only a few specific skills.
• Lack of material resources like video recording facility and trained supervisors.
• The question of integrating the skill is quite challenging.
• Teaching is not just a summation of teaching skills.
• Sufficient literature on micro teaching is not yet available.