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 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 teachng and how it helps teachers to conduct classes more effectively.
The meaning of micro teaching is that it 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 teachng skills.
Many people get confused about what is micro teaching and how micro teaching helps teachers and students. Micro teaching is the method of learning for future teachers who want to master their work. The key elements of micro teaching include a brief lesson, a small group of students (or even just one student), and a supportive and constructive feedback session. So the next time a person asks what is micro teaching we must give the above given answer.
What is micro teaching in terms of advantages and how does it help teachers:
- Skill Development: It allows teachers to focus on specific teaching skills or aspects of instruction, such as questioning techniques, classroom management, or the use of visual aids.
- Safe Environment: Since micro-teaching takes place in a controlled setting with a small audience, what is micro teaching has to do with a safe environment, it provides a safe environment for teachers to experiment with new teaching methods without the pressure of a full classroom.
- Feedback and Reflection: The feedback session is a crucial component that helps teachers identify strengths and areas for improvement. What is micro teaching feedback to the students is very important.
- Continuous Improvement: Micro-teaching promotes an iterative process of planning, teaching, receiving feedback, and revising.
The basics of the meaning 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 teachng 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 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 the meaning of micro teaching 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 teachng methods when compared to 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 organisational 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 microteaching 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 when they are learning something new in the class. micro teachng is also considered to be beneficial because it provides an opportunity for students to be provided with 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 so that proper support can be provided to them.
At the same time, 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 an immediate understanding of their strengths 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.
Skills of micro teachng
Some of the skills which are required to carry out the process of micro teachng are listed below:
- Lesson planning Lesson planning includes planning how to teach a lesson to the students in a systematic manner. Micro teaching enables teachers to plan everything and execute it in a systematic and planned manner.
- Presentation and explanation skills Micro teaching helps teachers to develop their presentation and explanation skills for a better understanding of the students. A detailed and effective presentation can make a difficult lesson easy to learn.
- Management skills Micro teaching helps teachers in developing various skills. Classroom management skills are essential for the teachers as their job includes managing large no. of students.
- Teaching using technology Teaching the students using technology i.e. using visual video aids etc can help the students understand better. Micro teaching enables teachers to learn new technology and use it in their teaching process as well.
As mentioned above, micro teachng 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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