unit - 4 Micro-Teaching skills

TEACHING SKILLS

 

Micro teaching

Origin

The quality of education that is provided to our children depends upon the quality of our teachers. The quality of teachers, in turn, definitely depends on the way in which they had received training through teacher’s training institutions. If our teachers are going to shape the destiny of our country, teacher education has to assume a great responsibility and has to take recourse to some innovative and effective technique of training teachers.

Major drawbacks in teacher training

The conventional classroom teaching seemed to be exactly like that of exposing a bride, newly wed to a strange audience, who neither has the familiarity of place nor the competence. So is neither the case of these pupil teachers, who, when exposed to the classroom of 70 or 75, neither are capable of showing competency over the content matter nor good effective methodology of teaching. The result is disastrous indeed. The pupil teacher either entirely withdraws or remains frustrated for a long time to come. Inadequacy of the orientation programme is the other problem. Here whatever the trainee has learnt about the theory and principles of teaching, the trainees do not know how exactly they should translate them in their classroom teaching and this itself is a great dilemma to them. The trainees are required in actual practice to face full of 70 to 75 pupils, who very well know that these pupil teachers are not real teachers. The condition of the teacher trainee always miserable. The trainee enters the class directly with trembling legs and palpitation in the heart. He/she is not at all confident whether class control is possible, whether effective communication is possible. On account of all such tranmatic experiences the trainees develop so deep a negative attitude towards teaching that they do not want to face class. Hence it becomes completely impossible for the trainees to acquire the desired level of teaching.

            To overcome these drawbacks of the practice teaching programme and thereby to encourage the practice teaching programme, a new way emerged and that is, Micro-teaching, Micro teaching acts as a platform for the new entry level teachers. Thus, the need to find out a proper solution for removing the defaults in the existing practice programme was fulfilled and micro teaching arrived on the scene with a view to solve the varied problems.

Need of Micro teaching.

Ryburn says, “Teaching is a relationship which helps the child to develop his powers”. There are different methods or techniques to develop the powers of the child to modify teacher’s behaviour viz., micro teaching, simulated teaching, interaction analysis and programmed instruction. Of all these methods, micro teaching provides training of teaching skills to the student teacher under the controlled conditions. Simulated teaching is a role play technique, which includes micro teaching technique in artificial situation instead of real situations. Interaction analysis is an observation, which takes place between the teacher and the pupils to identify the complete behaviour of the teacher in his entire teaching process instead of observation of one skill. Programmed instruction is a self-study package, which does not observe the teaching skills. But micro teaching is a technique which develops the particular required skills in real situations to facilitate perfection in teaching.

Micro teaching- Definitions

Micro teaching has been defined in different ways:

“Micro teaching is a scaled down teaching encounter in class size and time”.- D.W.Allen.

“Micro teaching is a teacher education technique which allows teachers to apply clearly defined teaching skills to carefully prepared lessons in a planned series of five to ten minutes encounter with a small group of real students, often with an opportunity to observe the result on video tape”.- Buch.R.N.

“ 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”.-Lalitah.M.S.

From the above definitions a more comprehensive definition of micro teaching can be stated as follows. Micro teaching is a teacher training technique where the complexities of the normal classroom teaching are reduced by:

† Practicing one teaching skill at a time.

† Limiting the content to a single concept.

† Reducing the class size to 5 to 7 (real or peer) and

† Reducing the duration of the lesson 5 to 7 minutes.

Objectives of micro teaching.

Micro teaching enables a trainee

a) to assimilate and learn new teaching skills under controlled conditions among the pupil teachers.

b) to utilize the available material, money and time to maximum.

c) to provide required feedback.

d) to develop confidence in teaching.

e) to acquire mastery in a number of teaching skills.

f) to simplify the teaching process.

g) to attain perfection teaching.

h) to modify the teaching behaviours in the required manner.

i) to reduce complexity of teaching.

j) to acquire new teaching skills and to refine old ones.

Characteristics of micro teaching

† Micro teaching is a teacher training technique not a teaching method.

† Micro teaching is real teaching, through the teaching situation is stimulated.

† In micro teaching the teacher trainee practices one specific teaching skill at a time, till he/she attains the        

  mastery over the skill.

† Micro teaching is a scaled down teaching encounter in class size (5-7 students), content (one concept) and class time (5-7 minutes).

† Micro teaching operates on a predicted model: Plan, Teach, Feedback, Re-plan, Re-teach, Re-feedback etc.

† Micro teaching allows for increased control for practice by providing feedback to the teacher- trainees.

† Micro teaching not a substitute, but a supplement to the teacher-training programme.

† Micro teaching is cyclic process. The predecided model (Plan, Teach, Feedback, Re-plan, Re-teach, Re-feedback) is repeated till the trainee achieves the expected level of mastery.

Principles of micro teaching technique

Micro teaching technique is based on the following assumptions and principles:

ü  Micro teaching is based on the premise that teaching can be analyzed into various component behaviours called teaching skills.

ü  The teaching skills can be defined, practiced, observed, controlled, measured and evaluated.

ü  This technique seems to be based on Skinner’s operant conditioning ie, reinforcing an operant response increases the possibility of its recurrence and non-reinforcement decreases the possibility of recurrence of a response. This principle is fundamental to the feedback session.

ü  Skinner’s theory of ‘shaping’ or ‘successive approximation’ in acquiring new patterns of behaviour seems to have been applied to ‘teach-feedback-reteach’ pattern in micro teaching.

ü   

Micro teaching procedure

Micro teaching as training technique involves three phases. In view of these phases a standard procedure of micro teaching conducted in a teacher training course may involve the following steps.

1. Orientation

 In the beginning, the student, teachers should be given necessary theoretical background about micro teaching by having a free and fair discussion of aspects like those given below:

(i)   Concept of micro teaching.

(ii)  Significance or rationale of using micro teaching.

(iii) Procedure of micro teaching.

(iv) Requirements and sitting for adopting micro teaching technique.

Phases of micro teaching

2. Discussion of teaching skills

Under this step the knowledge and understanding about the following aspects is to be developed.

(i) Analysis of teaching into component teaching skills.

(ii) The discussion of the rationale and role of these teaching skills in teaching.

(iii) Discussion about the component teaching behaviours comprising various teaching skills.

3. Selection of a particular skill:

 The teaching skill to be practiced by taking them one at a time. Therefore, the student, teachers are persuaded to select a particular skill for practice. They are also provided with necessary orientation and processing material for the practice of that skill. The student, teachers may be given a necessary background for the observation of a model or demonstration lesson on the selected particular teaching.

4. Presentation of a model demonstration lesson:

 Here a demonstration or model lesson for the use of selected teaching skill is presented before the trainees, this is termed as ‘modelling’ ie demonstration of the desired behaviours relating to a skill for imitation by the observers. Depending upon the availability of the resources and type of skill involved, demonstration or model lesson can be given in a number of ways given below:

(i)   By providing written material such as hand books, guides, illustrations, video tape.

(ii)  By exhibiting a film or a video tape.

(iii) By making the trainees listen an audio tape.

(iv) By arranging a demonstration from a live model ie., a teacher educator or an expert demonstrating the use of the skill.

5. Observation of the model lesson & criticism:

What is read, viewed, listened and observed through a modeling source is carefully analysed by the trainees.     In a demonstration given by an expert or teacher educator, student-teachers are expected to note down their observations. An observation schedule especially designed for the observation of the specific skill is distributed among the trainees and they are also trained in its use before hand. Such observation of the model lesson and its relevant criticism provides desirable feed-back to the person giving the model lesson plan.

6. Preparation of micro lesson plan:

Under this step, student teachers are required to prepare micro lesson plans by selecting proper concept for the practice of demonstrated skill. For preparing these lessons, help may be taken from the teacher educators and from the books on the subject of micro teaching.

7. Creation of micro teaching setting:

 Under this step, consideration is made for creating proper conditions and providing appropriate facilities for the practice of a teaching skill. The standard setting for a micro class is given below:

(a)    Number of pupils : 5-10

(b)   Type of pupils      : Real pupils or preferably peers

(c)     Type of supervisor : Teacher educators and peers

(d)   Time duration of a micro lesson : 6 minutes

(e)  Time duration of a micro teaching cycle : 36 minutes

      This duration is divided as under :

      Teaching session               : 6 mts

      Feed-back session            : 6 mts

      Re-plan session                 : 12 mts

      Re-teach session                : 6 mts

     Re feed back session         : 6 mts

      Total                                  :36 mts

8. Practice of the skill (Teach session)

   Under this step, the student teacher teaches his prepared micro lesson for 6 minutes (prepared time        schedule for teach session) in a micro class consisting of 5-10 real pupils or peers (student-teachers). It is supervised by the teacher-educator and peers both with the help of appropriate observation schedule. Where possible the student-teacher may also have his lesson taped on a video or audio tape.

9. Providing feed back:

    The greatest advantage of micro teaching lies in providing immediate feedback to the student teacher on his teaching performance demonstrated in his micro lesson. The feedback is provided in terms of his of the component teaching behaviours emphasizing the skill under practice so that he may be able to modify them in the desired direction. This feedback may be properly provided by the peers and teacher-educators observing the micro lesson.

10. Re-planning:

      In view of feedback received from the different sources, the student-teacher tries to replace his micro lesson. He is provided 12 mts time for this purpose.

11. Re-teaching:

      In this session of 6 mts, the student teacher re teaches his micro lesson on the basis of his reprepared plan and rearranged setting.

12. Providing Re-feedback (Re-feedback session)

      On the basis of his performance in the re taught micro lesson, the student teacher is provided re-feedback in the way outlined earlier.

13. Repetition of micro teaching cycle:

      A micro teaching cycle used to practice a teaching skill consists of planning, teaching, feedback, re- planning, re-teaching and re-feedback.

      The above micro teaching cycle is repeated and the student-teacher is required to re-plan and re-teach his/her lessons till he/she attains mastery over the skills under practice.

14. Integration of teaching skills:

      This helps in bridging a gap between training in isolated teaching skills and the real teaching situation faced by a student teacher. Finally the student teachers should integrate the acquired skills and perform a lesson as link practice.

Uses of micro teaching

Micro teaching technique enhances the effectiveness of the teacher training programmes in the following ways.

Ä Micro teaching helps in reducing the complexities of the normal classroom teaching. This helps the teacher trainees gain more confidence in real teaching/.

Ä Micro teaching creates among teacher trainees an awareness of the various skills of which teaching is composed of.

Ä Micro teaching helps in systematic and objective analysis of the pattern of classroom communication through specific observation schedule.

Micro teaching stimulates the classroom scene and gives the teacher trainee an experience of real teaching.

Ä Feedback enables the teacher trainees to consciously concentrate on specific behaviour modification.

Ä As micro teaching focuses on the modification of the behaviour and improvement of interacation  process involved in teaching learning process, the teacher trainees can handle classes more effectively in real teaching.

Ä Micro teaching provides an effective technique of learning the art of teaching as the teacher trainee concentrates on practicing a specific and well defined teaching skill consisting of a set of teacher behaviours that are observable, controllable and measurable.

Ä In micro teaching the complex task of teaching is looked upon a set of simpler skills comprising specific class room behaviour. This helps the teacher-trainees in better understanding of the meaning and concept of the term teaching.

Ä Micro teaching enables a student teacher to incorporate more easily a behaviourally defined teaching skill in to his teaching than the vague non-behavioural statements like drawing pupil’s attention, developing rapport with pupils etc.

Ä Developing the teaching skills among trainees gives teacher educator a sense of  satisfaction that they have been able to give evidences for the intended change in the trainees.

Teaching skill

Teaching skill is an activity of teaching behaviour of a teacher, used to teach effectively and successfully.

“Teaching skill is a group of teaching acts of behaviours intented to facilitate pupils learning directly or indirectly”-Passi.

Types of teaching skills

            The important skills pertaining to the areas of motivation, presentation, questioning and recapitulation have been chosen and listed below.

¬ Set induction (Skill of motivation)

¬ Explanation

¬ Questioning

¬ Stimulus variation

¬ Reinforcement

¬ Closure

¬ Blackboard work

1. Skill of set induction (Skill of motivation)

            This is a pre- instructional technique. The teacher, before introducing a lesson has to prepare the minds of the students to receive knowledge. For effective learning the teacher has to ensure students willingness to learn. The learning becomes more meaningful when the new knowledge is integrated with the previous knowledge. Hence the teacher should set a stage for enabling the student to recall the previous knowledge and relate it with the new experience. The following behaviours are essential for set induction.

[ Establishing a cognitive and affective rapport with the pupils.

[ Recalling and integrating previous knowledge with new knowledge.

[ Mantaining continuity and logical links.

[ Arousing maintaining the student interest.

The main component of the skill are

-Arrest attention

-Focus attention on the topic

-Introduce an element of interest

-Arouse the curiosity

to apply or to learn different situations.