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The skill of explaining is one of the most important aspects of effective micro-teaching. It’s simply the expertise of a teacher that enables them to engage in effective communication with their students. This ensures that students comprehend the subject being taught without any difficulty.
Micro-teaching constitutes several skills, and the skill of explaining is a prerequisite for being an effective teacher. Before delving into the topic of the skill of explaining, let’s look at what micro-teaching entails.
Micro-teaching is an innovative teaching methodology where teachers conduct classes for a very small group of students. These classes can later be analyzed to evaluate the teachers’ performance and determine the effectiveness of such classes in general. If micro-teaching is done properly, it can be very rewarding. It’s a systematic teaching technique that helps boost the confidence of both students and teachers.
To ensure maximum productivity, here are the 10 major components of the micro-teaching skill of explaining:
1. Clarity In Communication
Right from the beginning, you should make the utmost effort to maintain clarity while communicating with students regarding a topic. This would mean explaining a topic and associated ideas clearly through the proper choice of vocabulary. Clarity in communication helps students actively participate in a class, giving way to immersive learning and better interaction among students and teachers. Micro-teaching skills of explanation require teachers to use short sentences for students to help them comprehend statements more clearly.
2. Consistent And Coordinated Statements
You must make sure that all the statements made from the very beginning to the end are consistent and coordinated for students to grasp their meanings without any issue. Ambiguity leads to confusion.
3. Incisiveness
In the process of micro-teaching, the ideas communicated should be expressed lucidly so that it’s easy for students to remember. Complex content should be broken down into simpler points for a more accurate understanding of the subject. Transition words like ‘therefore’, ‘furthermore’, ‘so’, should be incorporated in statements. Transition words consolidate statements into a coherent sequence for more precise understanding by students.
4. Fluency In Communication
You should delineate every point with fluency so that students don’t confuse or misinterpret the topic. A teacher must be fluent in the language in which the presentation is communicated to the students. The diction should be clear, and the voice should be audible. Another important point in fluency is to pause at the right moments and places. This allows students to process what they’ve heard and helps teachers emphasize the important points for students to remember.
5. Use Of Examples, Illustrations, Inducts And Deducts
One of the most important features of explanation skills is the ability to provide examples, illustrations, inducts and deducts for the statements made. When you provide examples, it creates a mental image, which, in turn, helps students retain the information better. Analogies and metaphors are some great techniques to help students get familiar with the topic at hand.
Another important thing is to incorporate inductive and deductive reasoning that cultivates creative thinking and builds confidence in students. Inductive reasoning is an approach where we make generalizations from specific examples. Deductive reasoning, on the other hand, starts with a general statement. Through analysis and research, we come to a logical conclusion. Incorporating these elements to present an idea or topic to a student encourages them to develop sharp analytical and research skills.
6. Relevance
You must ensure that every statement made is relevant to the topic to avoid any confusion. Irrelevant statements hinder the flow of learning and can lead to doubts. As a teacher, it’s your responsibility to provide connected statements to avoid obscurity.
7. Continuity
Continuity is essential to maintain the smooth flow of the micro-teaching skill of explaining when covering a topic. Continuity is the consistent sequence of the topic being communicated. If there’s a clear, consistent order of statements presented, it ensures effective communication. The systematic sequence helps in mitigating any confusion about a statement mentioned earlier and its relation to a new statement.
8. Building Interest
You should present a topic in a way that appeals to students. Using PowerPoint presentations, writing down points on the board and keeping room for discussion are important skills of explaining a topic to students. Verbal cues are a great way to bolster the skill of explanation as well.
9. Use Of Simple Language
While explaining anything, you should use simple language that’s easy to understand for students. Complex words and jargon-filled sentences are difficult to comprehend for anyone. Using simple words would result in communicating the nuances of a topic better. It’ll also enable students to gain confidence regarding a topic and understand the subject matter better.
10. Clear, Concluding Statements
At the end of a presentation, you should make clear, concluding statements that align with the topic taught. Concluding statements generally act as a summary of the main points of the topic. It presents an overview of the concept and helps combine all the points mentioned to arrive at a logical explanation of the idea.
For example, ‘Let us look at the process of photosynthesis’ can be a beginning statement that gives clarity to a student on what the topic is going to be. Ending a lesson with the statement ‘so these are the steps of photosynthesis’ can be a great way to summarize the topic. It lends the tone of finality that conveys to the student that the chapter is complete and all points have been covered.
Conclusion
The above-mentioned 10 most important components of the skill of explaining in micro-teaching can help increase the efficiency level of the learning process. Incorporating these while micro-teaching will help establish a better connection with students and enhance their learning experience. They eliminate any chance of ambivalence and break the barriers that come with the traditional teaching process. Evolving is the only way forward. And Harappas’s Inspiring Faculty Program nurtures communication skills to suit the ever-changing demands of the education sector.
