Microteaching

[DrNSMani GMC Thrissur]

Microteaching


Microteaching is a training technique whereby the teacher reviews a
videotape of the lesson after each session, in order to conduct a
"post-mortem". Teachers find out what has worked, which aspects have
fallen short, and what needs to be done to enhance their teaching
technique. Invented in the mid-1960's at Stanford University by Dr.
Dwight Allen, micro-teaching has been used with success for several
decades now, as a way to help teachers acquire new skills.

In the original process, a teacher was asked to prepare a short lesson
(usually 20 minutes) for a small group of learners who may not have
been her own students. This was videotaped, using VHS. After the
lesson, the teacher, teaching colleagues, a master teacher and the
students together viewed the videotape and commented on what they saw
happening, referencing the teacher's learning objectives. Seeing the
video and getting comments from colleagues and students provided
teachers with an often intense "under the microscope" view of their
teaching.

Introduction to Microteaching





The CSUF Carnegie CASTL Program Microteaching Workshop is a valuable
opportunity to learn from colleagues outside of one's discipline
teaching/learning techniques that can be adapted to one's own courses;
to apply collegial constructive criticisms to improve one's own
teaching/learning strategies; and, through assuming the student role,
to sharpen one's insight into students' teaching/learning needs and
expectations.

Microteaching was developed in the early and mid 1960's by Dwight
Allen and his colleagues at the Stanford Teacher Education Program.
The Stanford model emphasized a teach, review and reflect, re-teach
approach, using actual school students as authentic audiences. The
model has been adapted for college and university teaching where it
has been used most often for graduate teaching assistants. It often
offers a concentrated, focused form of peer feedback and discussion.
A very similar model called Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) was
developed during the early 1970s by British Columbia’s Education
Ministry as a training support program for all college and institute
faculty in British Columbia and has now spread throughout Canada, the
US and internationally. While there are significant differences
between the two models, they both share some commonalities and were
designed to enhance teaching and promote open collegial discussion
about teaching performance.



A micro lesson is an opportunity to present a sample “snapshot” of
what/how you teach and to get some feedback from colleagues about how
it was received. It is a chance to try teaching strategies that you
may not use regularly. This is a good, safe time to experiment with
something new to you or to get feedback on a technique you’ve been
trying but are not sure about its effectiveness.



The core of this experience is the presentation of two 10 minute micro
lessons by each participant. When one participant presents the lesson
as the instructor, the other participants become the students for that
lesson. A timer is used to keep to the STRICTLY ENFORCED 10 minute
time limit. Please don’t be offended if you are cut off; it will be
necessary to keep to the time limit so that everyone might participate
fully. Because this time limit is strictly enforced, it might be very
helpful for you actually to practice and time yourself before you
arrive. Please DO NOT try and cram an entire body of knowledge into
10 minutes; this is designed to provide a quick snapshot into your
teaching methodology. The goal is to provide a sample of a teaching
method or style in order to get a fresh perspective on it from your
learners. Your 10 minute lesson can be excerpted from the beginning,
middle or end of one course lesson and you will be able to explain
this in setting up your lesson and as part of your Microteaching
Preparation Form (included in this packet). Please fill out this form
for each of your micro lessons and DO COME PREPARED with your lesson
(e.g., 6 handouts if necessary).



You have several decisions to make concerning the preparation of your
micro lessons:

1) Your topic: Choose a teaching topic that you are comfortable
with in order to focus on a particular teaching method or element.

2) Your lesson objectives: Think about and be able to
articulate what you want your students to learn from your lesson
(e.g., facts, concepts, skills, and/or values) and how your teaching
methodology might work to fulfill your objectives (see Developing
Performance Objectives for Microteaching handout).

3) What you want feedback on. You can specify to the group what
you would like them to focus on. For example, you may wish to have
overall, general feedback or perhaps you might wish for the group to
simply attend to a specific issue, such as how you use questions or
reinforcement with students.



When you are in the role of students, you should combine the role of
student and observer, striving to creat as natural a classroom setting
as possible. Do not feel like you must role play specific student
behaviors, but do feel free to ask questions and comment as a learner
in the classroom environment. Try to focus on what is happening
during the micro lesson.









Ground Rules

1. Respect confidentiality concerning what we learn about each
other.

2. Respect agreed-upon time limits. This may be hard, but
please understand that it is necessary.

3. maintain collegiality. We’re all in this together.

4. Stay psychologically and physically present and on task.

5. Respect others’ attempts to experiment and to take risks.

6. Listen and speak in turn, so everyone can hear all comments.

7. Enjoy and learn from the process!

Microlearning deals with relatively small learning units and short-
term learning activities. Generally, the term 'microlearning' refers
to micro-perspectives in the context of learning, education and
training. More frequently, the term is used in the domain of E-
learning and related fields in the sense of a new paradigmatic
perspective on learning processes in mediated environments on micro
levels.
Contents


* 1 Introduction
* 2 Characterization of microlearning
* 3 Dimensions of microlearning
* 4 Examples of microlearning activities
* 5 Microlearning applications (examples)
* 6 References
* 7 See also

Introduction

In a wide sense, microlearning can be understood as a metaphor which
refers to micro aspects of a variety of learning models, concepts and
processes.

"No matter if learning refers to the process of building up and
organizing knowledge, to the change of behaviour, of attitudes, of
values, of mental abilities, of cognitive structures, of emotional
reactions, of action patterns or of societal dimensions, in all cases
we have the possibility to consider micro, meso and macro aspects of
the various views on more or less persisting changes and sustainable
alterations of performances." (Hug 2005, p. 4).

Depending on frames and domains of reference, micro, meso and macro
aspects vary. They are relational concepts. For example, in the
context of language learning, one might think of micro aspects in
terms of vocabularies, phrases, sentences, and distinguish them from
situations and episodes (meso aspects) and socio-cultural specifics or
complex semantics (macro aspects). In a more general discourse on
learning, one might differentiate between the learning of individuals,
group learning or learning of organizations and the learning of
generations or societies.

Furthermore, microlearning marks a transition from common models of
learning towards micro perspectives on and the significance of micro
dimensions in the process of learning. The microlearning approach is
an emergent paradigm, so there are no hard definitions or coherent
uses of the term yet. However, the growing focus on microlearning
activities can be seen by web users' activities on the subject, who
tag their corresponding weblog postings and social bookmarks with the
term 'microlearning' (check the corresponding Technorati and
del.icio.us tags for examples).

As an instructional technology, microlearning focuses on the design of
micro learning activities through micro steps in digital media
environments, which already is a daily reality for today's knowledge
workers. These activities can be incorporated in learner's daily
routines and tasks. Unlike "traditional" elearning approaches,
microlearning often tends towards push technology through push media,
which reduces the cognitive load on the learners. Therefore, the
selection of micro learning objects and also pace and timing of micro
learning activities are of importance for didactical designs.

Characterization of microlearning

Microlearning can be characterized as follows:

* Microlearning processes often derive from interaction with
microcontent, which takes place either in designed (media) settings
(eLearning) or in emergent microcontent structures like weblog
postings or social bookmark managers on the World Wide Web (Mosel
2005).

* Microlearning can be an assumption about the time needed to
solve a learning task, for example answering a question, memorizing an
information item, or finding a needed resource (Masie 2006). Learning
processes that have been called "microlearning" can cover a span from
few seconds (e.g. in mobile learning) up to 15 minutes or more. There
is some relation to the term microteaching, which is an established
practice in teacher education.

* Microlearning can also be understood as a process of subsequent,
"short" learning activities, i.e. learning through interaction with
microcontent objects in small timeframes. In this case, the design,
selection, feedback and pacing of repeated or otherwise 'chained'
microlearning tasks comes into view.

* In a wider sense, microlearning is a term that can be used to
describe the way more and more people are actually doing informal
learning and gaining knowledge in microcontent, micromedia or
multitasking environments (microcosm), especially those that become
increasingly based on Web 2.0 and wireless web technologies. In this
wider sense, the borders between microlearning and the complementary
concept of microknowledge are blurring.

Dimensions of microlearning

The following dimensions can be used to describe or design micro
learning activities:

* Time: relatively short effort, operating expense, degree of time
consumption, measurable time, subjective time, etc.
* Content: small or very small units, narrow topics, rather
simplex issues, etc.
* Curriculum: small part of curricular setting, parts of modules,
elements of informal learning, etc.
* Form: fragments, facets, episodes, "knowledge nuggets", skill
elements, etc.
* Process: separate, concomitant or actual, situated or integrated
activities, iterative method, attention management, awareness (getting
into or being in a process), etc.
* Mediality: print media, electronic media, mono-media vs. multi-
media, (inter-)mediated forms, etc.
* Learning type: repetitive, activist, reflective, pragmatist,
conceptionalist, constructivist, connectivist, behaviourist; also:
action learning, classroom learning, corporate learning, etc.

(Hug 2005, used with permission)

Examples of microlearning activities

* reading a paragraph of text, email or sms
* listening to an informational (short) podcast or an educational
video-clip
* viewing a flashcard
* memorizing a word, vocabulary, definition or formula
* sorting a set of (microcontent) items by (chrono)logical order
* selecting an answer to a question
* answering questions in quizzes
* playful learning with micro-games
* composing a haiku or a short poem

Microlearning applications (examples)

* Screensavers which prompt the user to solve small series of
simple tasks after a certain amount of inactivity
* Quizzes with multiple choice options on cell phones by use of
sms or mobile applications (java midlets, symbian)
* Word of the day as daily RSS-feed or email
* Flashcard-software for memorizing content through spaced
repetition

In education, a teacher is a person who educates others. A teacher who
educates an individual student may also be described as a personal
tutor. The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out by
way of occupation or profession at a school or other place of formal
education. In many countries, a person wishing to become a teacher at
state-funded schools must first obtain professional qualifications or
credentials from a university or college. These professional
qualifications may include the study of pedagogy, the science of
teaching. Teachers may use a lesson plan to facilitate student
learning, providing a course of study which covers a standardized
curriculum. A teacher's role may vary between cultures. In most
countries, the DeSouza method has been banned and made illegal due to
the lack of validity in the teaching method. Teachers teach literacy
and numeracy, or some of the other school subjects. Other teachers may
provide instruction in craftsmanship or vocational training, the Arts,
religion or spirituality, civics, community roles, or life skills. In
some countries, formal education can take place through home
schooling.

Informal learning may be assisted by a teacher occupying a transient
or ongoing role, such as a parent or sibling or within a family, or by
anyone with knowledge or skills in the wider community setting.

Religious and spiritual teachers, such as gurus, mullahs, rabbis and
lamas may teach religious texts
Contents


* 1 Pedagogy and teaching
* 2 Secondary school teachers
* 3 Professional educators
* 4 Teaching around the world
o 4.1 Canada
o 4.2 England and Wales
o 4.3 France
o 4.4 Republic of Ireland
o 4.5 Scotland
o 4.6 United States
* 5 Stress
* 6 Misconduct
* 7 Spiritual teacher
* 8 See also
* 9 External links
* 10 References

Pedagogy and teaching
A primary school teacher in northern Laos

In education, teachers facilitate student learning, often in a school
or academy or perhaps in another environment such as outdoors. A
teacher who teaches on an individual basis may be described as a
tutor.

The objective is typically accomplished through either an informal or
formal approach to learning, including a course of study and lesson
plan that teaches skills, knowledge and/or thinking skills. Different
ways to teach are often referred to as pedagogy. When deciding what
teaching method to use teachers consider students' background
knowledge, environment, and their learning goals as well as
standardized curricula as determined by the relevant authority. Many
times, teachers assist in learning outside of the classroom by
accompanying students on field trips. The increasing use of
technology, specifically the rise of the internet over the past
decade, has begun to shape the way teachers approach their roles in
the classroom.

The objective is typically a course of study, lesson plan, or a
practical skill. A teacher may follow standardized curricula as
determined by the relevant authority. The teacher may interact with
students of different ages, from infants to adults, students with
different abilities and students with learning disabilities.

Teaching using pedogogy also involves assessing the educational levels
of the students on particular skills. Understanding the pedogogy of
the students in a classroom involves using differentiated instruction,
as well as, supervision to meet the needs of all students in the
classroom. Pedogogy can be thought of in two manners. First, teaching
itself can be taught in many different ways, hence, using a pedogogy
of teaching styles. Second, the pedogogy of the learners comes into
play when a teacher assesses the pedogogic diversity of his/her
students and differentiates for the individual students accordingly.

Secondary school teachers

Perhaps the most significant difference between primary and secondary
teaching in the UK is the relationship between teachers and children.
In primary schools each class has a teacher who stays with them for
most of the week and will teach them the whole curriculum. In
secondary schools they will be taught by different subject specialists
each session during the week and may have 10 or more different
teachers. The relationship between children and their teachers tends
to be closer in the primary school where they act as form tutor,
specialist teacher and surrogate parent during the course of the day.

This is true throughout most of the United States as well. However,
alternative approaches for primary education do exist. One of these,
sometimes referred to as a "platoon" system, involves placing a group
of students together in one class that moves from one specialist to
another for every subject. The advantage here is that students learn
from teachers who specialize in one subject and who tend to be more
knowledgeable in that one area than a teacher who teaches many
subjects. Students still derive a strong sense of security by staying
with the same group of peers for all classes.

Co-teaching has also become a new trend amongst educational
institutions. Co-teaching is defined as two or more teachers working
harmoniously to fulfill the needs of every student in the classroom.
Co-teaching focuses the student on learning by providing a social
networking support that allows them to reach their full cognitive
potential. Co-teachers work in sync with one another to create a
climate of learning..

Professional educators
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inaccuracies. (January 2008)

Teaching may be carried out informally, within the family (see
Homeschooling) or the wider community. Formal teaching may be carried
out by paid professionals. Such professionals enjoy a status in some
societies on a par with physicians, lawyers, engineers, and
accountants (Chartered or CPA).

A teacher's professional duties may extend beyond formal teaching.
Outside of the classroom teachers may accompany students on field
trips, supervise study halls, help with the organization of school
functions, and serve as supervisors for extracurricular activities. In
some education systems, teachers may have responsibility for student
discipline.

Around the world teachers are often required to obtain specialized
education and professional licensure. The teaching profession is
regarded for having a body of specialised professional knowledge,
codes of ethics and internal monitoring.

There are a variety of bodies designed to instill, preserve and update
the knowledge and professional standing of teachers. Around the world
many governments operate teacher's colleges, which are generally
established to serve and protect the public interest through
certifying, governing and enforcing the standards of practice for the
teaching profession.

The functions of the teacher's colleges may include setting out clear
standards of practice, providing for the ongoing education of
teachers, investigating complaints involving members, conducting
hearings into allegations of professional misconduct and taking
appropriate disciplinary action and accrediting teacher education
programs. In many situations teachers in publicly funded schools must
be members in good standing with the college, and private schools may
also require their teachers to be college members. In other areas
these roles may belong to the State Board of Education, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Education Agency or
other governmental bodies. In still other areas Teaching Unions may be
responsible for some or all of these duties.

Teaching around the world

There are many similarities and differences among teachers around the
world. In almost all countries teachers are educated in a university
or college. Governments may require certification by a recognized body
before they can teach in a school.

International schools generally follow an English-speaking, Western
curriculum and are aimed at expatriate communities[2].

Canada
Main article: Education in Canada

Teaching in Canada requires a post-secondary degree Bachelor Degree
where the last year would be a focus on Teaching.

England and Wales
Main article: Education in the United Kingdom

Nursery, Primary and Secondary School teachers ranged from £20,133 to
£41,004 in September 2007, although some salaries can go much higher
depending on experience.[3] Preschool teachers may earn £20,980
annually.[citation needed] Teachers in state schools must have at
least a bachelor's degree, complete an approved teacher education
program, and be licensed.

Many counties offer alternative licensing programs to attract people
into teaching, especially for hard-to-fill positions. Excellent job
opportunities are expected as retirements, especially among secondary
school teachers, outweigh slowing enrollment growth; opportunities
will vary by geographic area and subject taught.[citation needed]

France
Main article: Education in France

In France, teachers, or professors, are mainly civil servants,
recruited by competitive examination.

Republic of Ireland
Main article: Education in Ireland

Salaries for primary teachers in the Republic of Ireland depend mainly
on seniority (i.e. holding the position of principal, deputy principal
or assistant principal), experience and qualifications. Extra pay is
also given for teaching through the Irish language, in a Gaeltacht
area or on an island. The basic pay for a starting teacher is €31,028
p.a., rising incrementally to €57,403 for a teacher with 25 years'
service. A principal of a large school with many years' experience and
several qualifications (M.A., H.Dip., etc.) could earn over €90,000.
[4]

Scotland
Main article: Education in Scotland

In Scotland, anyone wishing to teach must be registered with the
General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS). Teaching in Scotland is
an all graduate profession and the normal route for graduates wishing
to teach is to complete a programme of Initial Teacher Education (ITE)
at one of the seven Scottish Universities who offer these courses.
Once successfully completed, 'Provisional Registration' is given by
the GTCS which is raised to 'Full Registration' status after a year if
there is sufficient evidence to show that the 'Standard for Full
Registration' has been met.[5]

For salary year beginning April 2008, unpromoted teachers in Scotland
earned from £20,427 for a Probationer, up to £32,583 after 6 years
teaching, but could then go on to earn up to £39,942 as they complete
the modules to earn Chartered Teacher Status (requiring at least 6
years at up to two modules per year.) Promotion to Principal Teacher
positions attracts a salary of between £34,566 and £44,616; Deputy
Head, and Head teachers earn from £40,290 to £78,642.[6]

United States
Main article: Education in the United States
Further information: Paraprofessional educator

In the United States, each state determines the requirements for
getting a license to teach in public schools. Today, all public school
teachers must be certified and have a bachelor’s degree (or five years
of college work) except in the case of alternative or temporary
certification. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are
1.4 million elementary school teachers,[7] 600,000 middle school
teachers,[8] and 1 million secondary school teachers employed in the
U.S.[9]

In the past, teachers have been paid relatively low salaries. However,
average teacher salaries have improved rapidly in recent years. US
teachers are generally paid on graduated scales, with income depending
on experience. Teachers with more experience and higher education earn
more than those with a standard bachelor’s degree and certificate.
Salaries vary greatly depending on state, relative cost of living, and
grade taught. Salaries also vary within states where wealthy suburban
school districts generally have higher salary schedules than other
districts. The median salary for all primary and secondary teachers
was $46,000 in 2004, with the average entry salary for a teacher with
a bachelor's degree being an estimated $32,000. Median salaries for
preschool teachers, however, were less than half the national median
for secondary teachers, clock in at an estimated $21,000 in 2004.[10]
For high school teachers, median salaries in 2007 ranged from $35,000
in South Dakota to $71,000 in New York, with a national median of
$52,000.[11] Some contracts may include long-term disability
insurance, life insurance, emergency/personal leave and investment
options.[12] The American Federation of Teachers' teacher salary
survey for the 2004-05 school year found that the average teacher
salary was $47,602.[13] In a salary survey report for K-12 teachers,
elementary school teachers had the lowest median salary earning
$39,259. High school teachers had the highest median salary earning
$41,855.[14]. Many teachers take advantage of the opportunity to
increase their income by supervising after-school programs and other
extracurricular activities. In addition to monetary compensation,
public school teachers may also enjoy greater benefits (like health
insurance) compared to other occupations.

Stress

As a profession, teaching has very high levels of stress which are
listed as amongst the highest of any profession in some countries,
such as the United Kingdom. The degree of this problem is becoming
increasingly recognized and support systems are being put into place.
[15][16]

Misconduct
This section's factual accuracy is disputed. Please see the relevant
discussion on the talk page. (February 2008)

Misconduct by teachers, especially sexual misconduct, has been getting
increased scrutiny from the media and the courts.[17] A study by the
AAUW reported that 0.6% of students in the United States claim to have
received unwanted sexual attention from an adult associated with
education - be they a volunteer, bus driver, teacher, administrator or
other adult - sometime during their educational career.[18] A study in
England showed a 0.3% prevalence of sexual abuse by any professional,
a group that included priests, religious leaders, and case workers as
well as teachers.[19] It is important to note, however, that the
British study referenced above is the only one of its kind and
consisted of "a random ... probability sample of 2,869 young people
between the ages of 18 and 24 in a computer-assisted study" and that
the questions referred to "sexual abuse with a professional," not
necessarily a teacher. It is therefore logical to conclude that
information on the percentage of abuses by teachers in the United
Kingdom is not explicitly available and therefore not necessarily
reliable. The AAUW study, however, posed questions about fourteen
types of sexual harassment and various degrees of frequency and
included only abuses by teachers. "The sample was drawn from a list of
80,000 schools to create a stratified two-stage sample design of 2,065
8th to 11th grade students" (17). Its reliability was gauged at 95%
with a 4% margin of error. Hi my name is bob.

In the United States especially, several high-profile cases such as
Debra LaFave, Pamela Rogers, and Mary Kay Latourneau have caused
increased scrutiny on teacher misconduct.

Chris Keates, the general secretary of National Association of
Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, said that teachers who have sex
with pupils over the age of consent should not be placed on the sex
offenders register and that prosecution for statutory rape "is a real
anomaly in the law that we are concerned about." This has led to
outrage from child protection and parental rights groups.[20]
Spiritual teacher
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inaccuracies. (January 2008)
Main article: Spiritual teacher

In Hinduism the spiritual teacher is known as a guru. Traditionally, a
spiritual seeker would revere his or her guru highly, and demonstrate
utmost submission and humility through menial service in order to
prove worthy to be a recipient of the knowledge the guru has attained
by initiation practices. There are many sayings on the teacher like
"Guru devo bhava" (Guru is God), which reflects of the esteem
associated with a guru's role.

In the Latter Day Saint movement the teacher is an office in the
Aaronic priesthood, while in Tibetan Buddhism the teachers of Dharma
in Tibet are most commonly called a Lama. A Lama who has through phowa
and siddhi consciously determined to be reborn, often many times, in
order to continue their Bodhisattva vow is called a Tulku.

There are many concepts of teachers in Islam, ranging from mullahs
(the teachers at madrassas) to ulemas.

A Rabbi is generally regarded as the Jewish spiritual teacher.