What is Micro teaching?
It is said that when one teaches, two learn! Teaching is not an easy profession. The effect that teachers have on students can never be sidelined. Teaching is a complex process and teachers need a wide set of skills to be effective and efficient in the classroom. You cannot become a teacher overnight. You have to take up the right courses and training to become a teacher. Teacher education plays a pivotal part in enhancing teaching skills and making teachers ready for classroom management. Let us understand the meaning of micro teaching, what it stands for and more in this article.
Today we will be talking about micro-teaching and how it helps teachers to conduct classes in a more effective manner.
Microteaching is an innovative method of training wherein the teacher trainee or a student-teacher conducts a class for a small group of students for a small time. This is intended to enhance the skills of teachers. By focusing on a specific skill at one time, this approach has proved to be beneficial. It is important to have micro teaching skills.
The basics of micro-teaching revolve around the six ideas given below. Let us take a thorough look at the process of micro teaching.
Plan
By asking the teachers to conduct a class for a small group of students, it gives teachers the bandwidth to plan appropriately. They plan the lesson and what they want to do in the class. Much like lesson planning but it won’t be a full-fledged class. That is the first step in the micro-teaching cycle. The planning is done according to the instructions given by the trainer.
Teach
The next step is to teach. The trainee teaches the class according to the plan and conveys what they had prepared for. This will be supervised by the trainer. You learn by doing and teaching a class will give a lot of insights into what works and what doesn’t.
Observe
The trainer observes the class that is conducted by the trainee teacher and comments and feedback are provided based on the observations made.
Re-plan
Based on the feedback provided by the trainer and reflection upon one’s own performance, the teacher trainee re-plans their strategies and approach. This can be the presentation style, communication, or any necessary teaching skill. Creating a microteaching lesson plan is not an easy task. One should be mindful of all aspects.
Re-teach
The same steps are repeated and the trainee teaches the class again. Microteaching is essentially a cyclic process and it heavily depends on the trial and error method.
Re-observe
Again, the teaching is observed and feedback is provided.
It is important to understand that the meaning of micro teaching is mostly to help teachers learn
the art of teaching. As a result it can be stated as a system through which it becomes possible
for teachers to be provided with a small demo of how a teaching method needs to be
implemented in a live classroom. It is true that micro teaching meaning essentially refers to a
development process for the Teachers that allows them to sharpen their skills and eliminate
errors, but at the same time it also plays an important role in making the teachers confident in
their art.
This is because if teachers do not feel comfortable with the teaching process it will be difficult for
them to make the students feel comfortable and as a result collectively they will fail to import
good education to the students. The teachers will be able to understand what kind of challenges
they might face in a classroom and provide them with the ability to make quick decisions and
become confident when it comes to implementing those decisions. It will also contribute towards
helping the teachers understand the level of responsibility that they have when it comes to
managing the students and imparting good education to them.
On closer inspection it is evident that there are a lot of advantages associated with micro teaching methods when compared to the traditional teaching methods. One of the first advantages that can be highlighted in this case is that it allows the instructors to improve the planning process and their organizational steps. It is important to understand that planning plays a very important role in the curriculum of a teacher as it allows them to outline what kind of topics they want to teach to the students in a single class. Through this process it becomes possible for the Teachers to ensure that they are not only helping increase the knowledge of the students but also ensuring that the class stays on top of the curriculum.
Another important advantage that is associated with micro teaching is that it allows the teachers to be able to focus on specific skills and strategies based on the needs of the class and the students. In this way it becomes easier for the Teachers to be able to ensure that students are provided with the maximum support then they are learning something new in the class. Micro-teaching is also considered to be beneficial because it provides an opportunity for students to be provided with the immediate feedback and adjust the learning process accordingly.
It is the reason why the concept of micro teaching has become popular when it comes to online
education and online teaching. Through the use of this method it becomes possible for teachers
to focus on specific skills and strategies. This leads to better student development and health.
The teacher understands the areas that the students are lacking in so that proper support can
be provided to them.
At the same time micro teaching in online education also provides the opportunity for the
students to give them immediate feedback and adjustment. This means that students are
provided with immediate understanding of that strength and weaknesses allowing them to
prepare themselves and mitigate their mistakes easily. It is important to understand that when
students are provided with property back from the teachers or mentors it is considered to be
invaluable, as it allows them time for rectification. At the same time it also provides support to
the teacher and develops a good relationship with the students.
As mentioned above, micro-teaching is a cyclic process. The trainees repeat and learn and hone their teaching skills so that they are prepared to face a class full of students with confidence.
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