Monday 26 March 2012

Unit-3 Micro teaching

                                        Unit- III  -   MICROTEACHING


What is Teaching?
Teaching is not merely imparting knowledge to students, nor merely giving advice.
           The best approach to understanding the nature of teaching is establishing       a harmonious relationship between teacher, student and subject.
Teaching is the activity of facilitating learning.
Effectiveness in teaching does not relate to teacher’s age, sex, and teaching experience.
One can become an effective teacher irrespective of his/her age, sex and experience.
Defects in Teaching:
     More Teacher’s talk: Most of the time in the classroom, is devoted to teacher’s talk, and students get very little opportunity to express themselves.
     Only memory level: During classroom interaction, teacher tends to     promote mostly learning requiring memory level thinking.
More information & less explanation: Most of the teachers spend more time in giving information and less on clarifying  ideas and still less time for giving explanations.
Less chance of encouragement: A very low percentage of teacher’s time in the classroom is used for making encouraging remarks.
No planning: Most of the teachers are not systematic in planning and carrying out instruction.
What is learning?
“Change in behavior brought about by  activity, training or experiences”.
*Learning never ends.
*Anyone who stops learning is old ,  whether at twenty or eighty.
* Anyone who keeps learning stays young .
*Effective learning is based on what  the learner already knows


How learning happens?  ….:
Learning – Knowledge acquired by study.
Learning happens and knowledge is generated in an environment where interaction between teachers, students and content takes place in interactive ways.
There is a famous saying:         
     I hear… I forget;                     
     I see …  I remember;
     I do  …  I understand.

Research around the world also suggest: 
       We remember ..
20% of what we hear;
30% of what we see;
50% of what we see and hear;
90% of what we see, hear & do.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Changes in Teacher Role
A shift from:
1. Knowledge transmitter, primary source of information, content expert, and source of all
   answers.
2. Teacher controls and directs all aspects of learning
Changes in Student Role
A shift from:
1. Passive recipient of information.
2. Reproducing knowledge.
3. Learning as a solitary activity

Microteaching
 Dr. Allen and his group evolved Microteaching in 1963 in America.

What is Microteaching?
Meaning: 
   The teaching of a small unit of content to the small group of students (6-10 number) in  a small amount of time (5-7 min.) means Micro Teaching.
*It is a skill training technique.
*It is a short session teaching.
*To train inexperience student-teachers for acquiring teaching skills.
*To improve the skills of experience teachers.
Microteaching Cycle(Procedure)
Step- I    :  Micro Lesson Plan      ( may take 2 hours / a day)     
Step-II    :  Teach                                             5 Min.
Step-III   :  Feedback Session              5 Min.
Step-IV   :  Re-plan                            10 Min.
Step-V    :  Re-teach Another group   5 Min.
Step-VI   :  Re-feedback                     5 Min.
                                                        ---------------
                                                 Total   30 Min. (Appr.)


Characteristics of Microteaching
The duration of teaching as well as number of students are less.
The content is divided into smaller units which makes the teaching easier.
Only one teaching skill is considered at a time.
There is a provision of immediate feedback.
In micro teaching cycle, there is facility of re-planning, re-teaching and re-evaluation.
It puts the teacher under the microscope
All the faults of the teacher are observed.  The problem of discipline can also be controlled.

Comparison Between Micro Teaching and Traditional Teaching

Traditional Teaching
Class consists of 40 to 60 students.
The teacher practices several skills at a time.
The duration is 40 to 45 minutes.
Immediate feed-back is not available.

Comparison Between Micro Teaching and Traditional Teaching

Traditional Teaching
There is no control over situation.
Teaching becomes complex.
The role of the supervisor is vague ( not clear).
Pattern of classroom interaction cannot be studied.
Components of Micro teaching Techniques
Student Teacher- The student who gets the training of a teacher is said to be student-teacher. Various capacities are developed in them during training such as – capacity of class management, capacity of maintaining discipline and capacity of organizing various programmes of the school / college etc.
Feedback Devices- Providing feedback is essential to make changes in the behavior of the pupils. This feedback can be provided through video-tape, audio-tape and feedback questionnaires.

Components of Micro teaching Techniques
Skill: As we know, skill means ability to do something well or expertness.
Teaching Skills- Teaching skill is a set of teacher behaviors which are specially effective in bringing  about the desired changes in pupils.
      For example:
      a) lecturing skill,
                b) skill of black-board writing,
                 c) skill of asking questions,
                d) skill of class management etc.

Skills of  Micro Teaching

Introduction Skill
Skill of Probing Questions
Skill of Explanation
Skill of Stimulus Variation
Skill of Black-board Writing
Skill of Achieving Closure

Skills  of Micro teaching Techniques
                                            Introduction Skill:
                     The skill of introducing a lesson involves establishing rapports with the learners, promoting their attentions, and exposing them to essential contents.
                              Components of this skill-  
Preliminary Attention Gaining:
              Normally, at the beginning of a lesson, students are found not to be attentive and mentally prepared for learning. They may be thinking something else too. In such situation, the primary duty of a teacher is to create desire for learning among the students.
       Teacher can do it by telling a story, with the help of demonstration, recitation, etc.
Use of previous knowledge: Previous knowledge refers to the learner’s level of achievements before instruction begins. Use of previous knowledge is a must, because it helps to establish an integration between the pre-existing knowledge of the learner and the new knowledge that the teacher wants to impart him.
Use of Appropriate Device: In order to motivate the learner, the teacher should make use of appropriate devices or techniques while introducing a lesson.
       For example- dramatization, models, audio-visual aids etc.
Link with new topic: After preliminary questions and introduction, teachers should establish a link of previous knowledge with present topic.
Examples on Introduction Skill
Instructions:
1. Use only one word of seven letters for first blank.
2. Split the same word into two different words and filled in reaming two blanks.
3. Don’t change sequence of letters.

Complete the following sentence:
The - - - - - - - surgeon was - - - -   - - - to perform operation  because he had - -   - - - - - .
Complete sentence:
The Notable surgeon was not   able to perform operation  because he had no table .

Answer the following:
1. Golden jubilee + Today's date – Silver jubilee =  …..
Answer the following:
2. Children day ÷ Valentine day + independence day = …..

Answer the following:
3. Heads of Ravan X Palms of human body - Republic day =
                                                                                       
Answer the following:
4. Eyes + Nose – Ears + Teeth – Hands ÷ Tongue =……

                          2Skill of Probing Question:
   Probing questions are those which help the pupils to think in depth about the various aspects of the problem. By asking such questions again, the teacher makes the pupils more thoughtful. He enable the pupils to understand the subject deeply.
             Components of this skill
Prompting:- When a pupil expresses his inability to answer some question in  the class or his answer  is incomplete, the teacher can ask such questions which prompt the pupils in solving the already asked questions.
         For example- Do you know names  of Vice Chancellors of Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University since 1983?
Seeking Further Information: When the pupils answer correctly in the class but the teacher wants more information and further clarification from the learner by putting ‘how’ and ‘why’ of correct part the response.
Refocussing : When the teacher ask the same question from other pupil for comparison . This is known as Refocussing.
Redirecting Questions:   Questions which are directed to more than one learner to answer, are called redirected questions. 

                                         3. Skill of Explanation:
                  To present the subject-matter in the simplified form before the pupils and making it acquirable is known as Explanation Skill. It involves a ability of the teacher to describe logically ‘How’, ‘Why’ and ‘What’ of concept, event etc.
        Components of this skill are:
Clear beginning statement: Before starting any explanation, the teacher should make the pupils aware of what he is to teach on that day through a clear beginning statement.
Lack of Irrelevant Statement:   While presenting the subject matter, only the concerned statements should be used.
Fluency in Language: The teacher should use such fluent language that the pupils may listen and understand the thoughts of the teachers.
Connecting Links: This technique is used primarily to explain the links in statements with ‘so’, ‘therefore’, ‘because’, ‘due to’, ‘as a result of’, ‘in order to’ etc.
Use of Proper Words: The teacher should use proper words for enplaning an object or an event otherwise he would be in a state of confusion.
Precautions for skill of Explaining:
It should be in simple language.
It should not be given the shape of an advice.
The thoughts included in it should be in a sequence.
Irrelevant things should not be included in it.
It should be according to the age, experience and mental level of the pupils.

                                 4. Skill of Stimulus Variation

 Stimulus variation is described as deliberate change in the behaviors of the teacher in order to sustain the attention of his learners throughout the lesson. Stimulus variation  determines teacher liveliness in the classroom.
               Components of this skill
Body Movement: The physical movements of the teacher in the class is to attract the attention of the learners. Sudden body movement and suddenly stopping the same helps in gaining learner’s attention at high level. The teacher without these activities is like a stone-idol. Excess  movement is undesirable.
Gestures:  Gesture involves the movements of the head, hand, and facial gestures (laughing, raising eyebrows, emotions, etc) signals. This technique helps the teacher to be more expressive and dynamic in presenting his lesson in the class.
Change in Voice: Teacher should bring fluctuations in his voice. The pupils feel boredom with the speech at the same pitch, and pupils get deviated from the lesson.
 Focussing: Focussing implies drawing the attention of the learners towards a particular point which the teacher wishes to emphasize. Such technique involves verbal focusing, gestural focusing, or verbal-gestural focusing.
Eye-contact and eye-movement: Both the eye-contact and eye-movement play very important role in conveying emotions and controlling interaction between the teacher and taught. In a classroom situation, this technique implies that the teacher should maintain eye-contact with the learners in order to sustain the attention of the latter.
Pausing: Pausing refers to short and  deliberate intervals of silence used while delivering ideas, explaining, lecturing, etc. Deliberate use of short pauses help the teacher to attract and sustain the attention of his learners. But too long pauses may be irritating.

                                     5. Skill of Black-board Writing

 Blackboards, being the visual aids, are widely used in all aspects of education and training, and are most suitable for giving a holistic picture of the lesson. A good blackboard work brings clearness in perception and the concepts being taught, and adds variety to the lesson.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
                    Components of the skill of blackboard writing
Legibility ( Easy to read )
Size and alignment ( In a straight line )
Highlighting main points
Utilization of the space
Blackboard summary
Correctness
Position of the teacher   and    Contact with the pupils.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
Legibility ( Easy to read ): A legible handwriting on the blackboard draws the attention of the learners and encourages them to improve upon their handwritings.  In order to make handwritings more legible, the teacher should see that a clear distinction is ensured between every letter, adequate space is maintained between individual letters and words.
Size and Alignment: The size of the letters written by the teacher on the board should be uniform and large enough to be read from the last row. The size of the capital letters should be larger than that of the small letters and the handwritings should be as vertical as possible without being diverged from a line.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
Highlighting Main Points:  The main points or words written on the board should only be highlighted by underlying them. Colored chalks should be used suitably for the purpose of drawing the learners attention to those main points that need to be highlighted too.
Utilization of the Space: For the proper utilization of the space important words or statements should be written on the board. Overwriting on the letters should be avoided as it makes the blackboard work untidy. Only essential materials should be retained on the blackboard and unnecessary words should be rubbed off.

Blackboard Summary: In order to make teaching meaningful to the learners the teacher should develop blackboard summary at the end of the lesson. This should be so brief that the learners can recollect the whole lesson at a glance.
Correctness: While constructing sentences on the board, the teacher should be careful about correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc.
Position of the Teacher: The position of teacher should not be in between the learners and the blackboard.
 Contact with Pupils: The teacher, at the time of writing on the board, should maintain eye-contact with his learners. This is necessary for controlling interactions, maintaining disciplines, sustaining attentions of the learners, etc.

                                       6. Skill of Achieving Closure

   When a student- teacher delivers lecture and sums up properly and in an attractive way, the skill is termed as “Closure Skill”.
       The lesson/period remains ineffective in the  absence of proper closure.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
Feedback in Micro teaching
        Feedback is the information supplied to the individual.
        The success of micro teaching depends on feedback.  Which can also be used within the process of teaching as well as after the lesson taught.
        It is used in  various forms in case of micro teaching by the supervisor, video-tape, films, T.V., which are various sources of feedback.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
Advantages of Microteaching
It focuses on sharpening and developing specific teaching skills and eliminating errors.
It enables understanding of behaviours important in class-room teaching.
It increases the confidence of the learner teacher.
It is a vehicle of continuous training for both beginners and for senior teachers.
It provides experts supervision  and constructive feedback.
It has skilled supervision
It gives constructive feed back
It has the component skills approach
§ here the activity of teaching as a whole is broken down for the learning purpose into its individual components (skills).

SUMMARY
Microteaching involves presentation of micro lesson
Audience….small group of peers.
Feedback given by peers role playing as students
Participants learn about strengths & weakness in themselves as teachers
Plan strategies for improvement in performance

Why teaching profession is good?
Remember!!!
Even the best teacher can learn a great deal from his or her students

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