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Micro teaching is a training technique whereby teachers, both seasoned and inexperienced, are given the opportunity to develop and elevate their teaching skills. A micro teaching cycle is a controlled process that comprises a small unit of content (usually a single topic) being taught to a small group of students (usually peers playing the role of students) in a short period of time (usually 5-7 minutes). By employing the concept of micro teaching, a teacher can identify the deficiencies and inadequacies in their teaching and improve upon them. Micro teaching also facilitates the development of new skills by focusing on strengthening one skill at a time. This allows a teacher to fully develop one skill before moving onto the next. In this manner, teaching skills become definable, observable and measurable.
Skills Of Micro Teaching
To explain micro teaching cycle, it’s important to understand the various skills that are developed through the micro teaching cycle with time. There are eight broad skills that can be developed through the micro teaching technique. It’s prudent to note that in a micro teaching cycle, only one skill is developed at a time. Once a certain skill has been mastered to the fullest, only then can the trainee teacher move on to improving other skills.
Let’s take a look at the skills that can be developed through a micro teaching cycle:
1. Introduction Skill
It’s crucial to establish the structure of a lesson at the introduction stage. Giving a brief yet thorough introduction of the topic before getting into the lesson prepares the students for what to expect from the lesson.
2. Skill Of Explanation
The skill of explanation involves answering the ‘how’, ‘why’ and ‘what’ of the concept being taught. This is done in an interactive and engaging manner, preferably with the use of relatable examples. These examples often relate to the lives and surroundings of the students.
3. Skill Of Probing Questions
The skill of probing questions gives a teacher more control over the discipline of the classroom. Students are more attentive, knowing that they may be called upon to answer questions during the lesson. Additionally, probing questions generate curiosity and encourage more in-depth thinking by the students, leading to further research into the topic taught.
4. Skill Of Demonstration
Demonstration is one of the most effective and useful skills for a teacher. This is done with the help of specimens, props or laboratory experiments for a more profound understanding of the lesson.
5. Skill Of Reinforcement
Reinforcing the lesson in the students’ minds through repetition, demonstration or detailed explanation is beneficial to both the student and the teacher because it ensures the lesson taught has been properly understood and can be recalled instantly.
6. Skill Of Stimulus Variation
Introducing variations into the manner of teaching, such as voice modulations, visual cues or teaching gestures, is an effective technique to maintain the students’ attention for prolonged periods of time.
7. Skill Of Blackboard Writing
A blackboard is one of the most effective visual tools. This skill involves the use of a blackboard to draw diagrams, charts and images related to a lesson. If utilized appropriately, the skill of blackboard writing will enable students to understand, remember and recollect a lesson almost instantly.
8. Skill Of Achieving Closure
It’s important to end a lesson systematically and not leave students confused. Once a lesson is complete, students must be given a summary of the lesson taught to reinforce what has been taught. It’s also crucial at this stage to roll out assessments to appropriately gauge the level of acquired knowledge.
Building these skills is essential for the development of an effective pedagogy. Micro teaching, and especially skills associated with micro teaching, builds the ability to foster a strong, result-oriented classroom.
What Is Micro Teaching Cycle?
The method of micro teaching is a cyclical process. In this training technique, teachers are given the opportunity to polish their teaching skills through repeated rounds of teaching and immediate feedback by their peers and supervisors.
To explain micro teaching cycle, we must look at each of the steps involved in detail. Let’s take a look at these steps:
1. Planning
The first step of micro teaching cycle is planning. In the planning stage, you first explain micro teaching cycle to the teacher trainee. They’re given a brief about the micro teaching process, the skill to be practiced as part of the micro teaching session and the strategies and requirements to adopt these techniques. The purpose and components of the skill are also explained, usually with the help of suitable examples. This is usually done through an open discussion. Once the skill to be demonstrated is determined, the trainee teacher prepares a short lesson plan (a micro lesson), outlining specific objectives. The lesson plan must be prepared in a manner that fully and adequately demonstrates the skill to be improved. For example, if the skill of blackboard writing is demonstrated, the trainee must choose a topic that will allow them maximum usage of the blackboard, such as the cycle of photosynthesis or the five senses of the body. The lesson plan is to be designed according to the age and aptitude of the students.
2. Teaching
Upon completion of the first step of micro teaching cycle, a teacher then goes on to deliver the lesson and demonstrate the skill. Using the same example as above, the teacher demonstrating the blackboard skill will proceed to drawing the photosynthesis cycle on the blackboard while explaining it to the classroom, which consists of their peers role-playing as students. This step of micro teaching lasts approximately 5-7 minutes. There are also 1-2 supervisors assigned to each trainee teacher to assess their performance. It’s also possible to have the demonstration recorded so that the trainee teacher themselves may view it at a later stage and identify the areas that need improvement, as well as those that the class was most responsive to.
3. Feedback
The outcome of the micro teaching cycle largely depends on the feedback received from peers and supervisors. Once a lesson has been delivered and the necessary skill adequately displayed, the supervisors give detailed feedback on the trainee teacher’s strengths and weaknesses. In the photosynthesis example, certain feedback could be that the handwriting of the trainee wasn’t clear. Another could be that there was a good amount of eye contact and voice modulations, which kept the students engaged. A recording of the micro teaching session, in this case, would be useful as the trainee can be shown the most effective aspects of their lesson, as well as their deficiencies in the demonstration of the skill.
4. Replan
Upon receiving constructive comments from the class, the trainee can revisit their lesson plan and incorporate the necessary changes based on the comments received. In the replanning stage, the trainee may either edit or add to the existing lesson plan or replace it entirely with a fresh plan.
5. Reteach
Once the changes have been made to the lesson plan, the trainee is assigned a fresh batch of peer students. The teacher will once again demonstrate the same skill to this new group.
6. Re-Feedback
Upon completion of the lesson, the trainee once again receives feedback with the same amount of detail and precision. It’s the responsibility of the supervisor to ensure that the trainee receives adequate and constructive re-feedback. If there are certain aspects that need to be reworked, the micro teaching cycle is restarted from the planning stage.
The micro teaching cycle is repeated multiple times until the trainee achieves mastery of the necessary skill. A micro teaching cycle with time will help the trainee gain expertise on the skill being demonstrated. Once the necessary skill has been mastered, the trainee can move on to developing a different skill.
It’s also important to keep in mind the various principles of micro teaching. Let’s take a look at the micro teaching cycle explanation to ascertain the features of micro teaching.
Micro Teaching Cycle Explanation
To fully answer the question ‘what is micro teaching cycle’, it’s important to take a deeper dive into some of the features of a micro teaching cycle. The principles or characteristics that underlie the concept of micro teaching are as follows:
- Micro teaching involves the development of a particular well-defined skill. The focus is on achieving mastery of one skill rather than juggling multiple skills at a time
- Instant and detailed feedback largely determines the success of a particular micro teaching session. Feedback also helps a trainee identify their strengths and weaknesses
- Micro teaching is done on a smaller scale and in a shorter period of time, giving a trainee better control of the teaching conditions and reducing the logistical and administrative issues that arise in an ordinary classroom setting
- Micro teaching develops and improves skills in a controlled setting. Such a setting also gives a trainee the ability to replan, reteach and re-evaluate their lesson
- Micro teaching involves planning and strategizing to improve the overall performance of a teacher
Conclusion
The cycle of micro teaching involves multiple rounds, with the objective of ensuring that a teacher is well-equipped and fully capable of executing the skills required outside the controlled environment of the micro teaching process. Micro teaching cycle with time also teaches the trainee new skills and helps them develop the confidence required to deliver a particular lesson. It also helps determine whether a trainee teacher is well-groomed and competent enough to take up the challenging responsibility of shaping the country’s future.
However, the cycle of micro teaching must not be restricted only to newcomers in the field. It’s a technique that encourages continuous growth and must be implemented across all levels of experienced teachers.
Harappa’s Inspiring Faculty Program features very effective modules on different micro teaching techniques and approaches. This enables a teacher to apply and practice the skills that are now essential in a modern classroom.
