14. Micro-teaching:

Purpose: To allow participants to practice classroom behavior, receive feedback and modify their behavior or perfect their techniques while still in training.

Description: Teachers can practice a particular skill (e.g. introducing lessons, using a particular game, activity, or structured experience), a new behavior (e.g. using open questioning, facilitating a discussion - as opposed to leading a discussion, assisting students in generating objectives, or integrating curriculum), or improvement on his/her teaching style in a simulated classroom. The advantage in micro-teaching is that participants have the opportunity to receive feedback and then restructure their delivery and reteach. For many teachers, this will be the first time that they have an opportunity for peer-evaluation. For this reason, microteaching can be a very effective and useful training technique. (See Collaboration Skills for a detailed discussion of feedback/critiquing and Supervision for more information on observation techniques and the clinical supervision model).

Process:

a. The trainer prepares the training environment to serve as a simulated classroom (identifying real students or preparing fellow participants to play the role of particular types of students, adjusting the training sight to approximate a local classroom, etc.)

b. Participants are asked to present an outline or lesson plan for the micro-teaching session.

c. A time limit is given for the length of the actual presentation.

d. An actual lesson is taught or skill or behavior practiced by each participant while a few individuals or the rest of the group evaluates the performance.

e. The trainer can specify particular behaviors to be evaluated or they can be requested beforehand by the participant.

f. Feedback is then given and each participant by his/her peers and the trainer. Peer evaluation can be oral and/or written.

g. When available and appropriate, videotape or cassette recorders can be used to allow participants to actually witness their own performance. Personal evaluation and feedback can then precede peer and trainer feedback. Participants allowed to view or hear their own presentation may be better able to identify weak points and/or accept constructive criticism from others.

h. Upon receiving evaluations, participants restructure their presentations and do a second micro-teaching presentation with altered behavior to improve performance.

i. Re-evaluation is carried out as described in steps f and g.

j. Participant gives a presentation on what they have learned and how it will help them. Feedback by all is encouraged.