Micro teaching is a teacher training technique in which a trainee teacher practises a specific teaching skill with a small group of students (5–10) for a short duration (5–10 minutes), receives feedback, and then re-teaches the same lesson or skill with improvements. It was developed by Dwight W. Allen and his colleagues at Stanford University, USA, in 1963. Micro teaching breaks down complex teaching into smaller, manageable skills that can be practised and improved individually.
Micro teaching: training technique with 5–10 min lesson, 5–10 students, one skill at a time
Origin: Stanford University, 1963 — developed by Dwight W. Allen
Micro teaching cycle: Plan → Teach → Feedback → Re-plan → Re-teach → Re-feedback
Key skills: Set induction, questioning, reinforcement, closure, stimulus variation
Purpose: Develop specific teaching skills before facing a full class
Feedback sources: supervisor, peers, video recording
Micro teaching is a scaled-down, simulated teaching encounter in which a student teacher practises one specific teaching skill at a time with a small group of students for a brief period, then receives immediate feedback to improve performance.
Key characteristics:
Origin: Stanford University, 1963 — developed by Dwight W. Allen, Robert Bush, and others.
The micro teaching cycle has the following steps:
This cycle may be repeated multiple times until the skill is mastered.
Common micro teaching skills (Allen's list includes 14):
Set Induction (Introduction skill): Creating interest and preparing students for learning at the start of a lesson.
Stimulus Variation: Varying voice, gesture, body position, and teaching aids to maintain student attention.
Questioning: Asking probing, divergent, or convergent questions; redirecting and rephrasing questions.
Explaining: Clear, structured explanation with examples and illustrations.
Reinforcement (Skill of Reinforcement): Using verbal praise ('Good!', 'Correct!') and non-verbal cues (nodding, smiling) to encourage students.
Illustration with Examples: Using examples, analogies, and real-world applications.
Blackboard Writing: Organising content clearly on the board.
Closure: Summarising the lesson and connecting it to future learning at the end.
Probing Questions: Following up answers with deeper questions.
Silence and Non-Verbal Cues: Using pauses and body language effectively.
Limitation: Artificial setting — small group, short time — may not fully replicate real classroom complexity.
Micro teaching is a teacher training technique in which a trainee teacher practises one specific teaching skill with a small group (5–10 students) for a short time (5–10 minutes), then receives feedback and re-teaches with improvements. It was developed at Stanford University in 1963 by Dwight W. Allen.
The micro teaching cycle has 6 steps: (1) Planning — prepare a brief lesson plan focusing on one skill, (2) Teaching — teach the micro lesson for 5–10 minutes, (3) Feedback — receive immediate feedback from supervisor/peers/video, (4) Re-planning — revise based on feedback, (5) Re-teaching — teach the improved lesson again, (6) Re-feedback — receive another round of feedback.
Micro teaching was developed by Dwight W. Allen and his colleagues at Stanford University, USA, in 1963. It was introduced as a scaled-down, focused teacher training method.
Key micro teaching skills include: Set induction (introduction), stimulus variation, questioning, explaining, reinforcement (verbal praise), illustration with examples, blackboard writing, closure (summary), probing questions, and use of silence and non-verbal cues.
Set induction is the teaching skill of creating interest, curiosity, and readiness in students at the beginning of a lesson. A teacher with good set induction connects the new lesson to students' prior knowledge, uses a thought-provoking question or activity, and motivates students to engage.
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