Microteaching

Microteaching is a type of teaching exercise, in which a group of new instructors provide short mini-lessons, and receive feedback from an educational consultant or teacher trainer. The session may be conducted live or may be recorded. This article mainly concerns microteaching as an exercise for new university professors or teaching faculty. Here, microteaching workshops are often part of a mandatory professional development program offered by a university’s teaching and learning support center. New professors are typically required to participate in a microteaching workshop, and a coaching support session with an educational consultant. They may also be required to participate in other workshops that are sponsored by the teaching and learning center, and conducted by teaching experts; these workshops deal with teaching methods, improving teaching skills, and other matters of professional development.

1 Introduction

Microteaching workshops provide professors or instructors an opportunity to practice their teaching techniques and receive feedback in a controlled and non-threatening setting. The focus of feedback is on teaching clarity, student engagement, and teaching techniques.

Typically, the instructor prepares a short lesson of 10-20 minutes to a group of peer professors, that is, other new instructors who serve as mock students. In many programs, a microteaching session consists of 4-6 professors giving demonstration lessons. Several instructors usually present their lessons in turn. After the lesson, the fellow instructors and consultant viewed a video recording, or react to the live lectures that they heard. They provide feedback and suggestions on each other’s min-lectures. Then the educational consultant or trainer also provides feedback on each lecture. This process provides teachers with very detailed, specific, and objective perspectivesof their teaching.

At the university level, this is used for new teaching assistants (especially in North America), and for relatively new professors. This is often done in conjunction with a coaching session, where a client (a new instructor) meets an educational consultant or coach to discuss their teaching procedures and skills. While microteaching is distinct from a pedagogical coaching program, the issues and contents often overlap. Professors also tend to schedule their microteaching workshops and coaching sessions at similar times in one semester, so similar issues tend to arise in both sessions, or aspects of their microteaching presentation may also be brought up in a coaching session.

After each presentation, the educatioanl consultant invites the other professors to provide their feedback and impressions of each others’ presentations. Then the research professor(s) provide their own detailed feedback on strengths and weaknesses of each presentation.

2 Instructions for participants

The following is a template for providing information to microteaching participants or clients about the purpose and procedures for microteaching workshops.

Introduction

One of your professional development requirements is a microteaching workshop, where you will present a fairly brief sample lecture to a “class” of fellow professors. This will be a friendly and semi-formal workshop.

What is micro-teaching?

The purpose of the micro-teaching workshop is primarily for your benefit. It is designed to help you reflect on your teaching, to become more aware of what your teaching is like, and to receive feedback and advice on your strengths and areas for improvement. The workshop provides a safe environment where you can practice and observe your own teaching, and where you and others can benefit from giving each other feedback and teaching tips.

What to prepare

Each person delivers a presentation, with the allotted time depending on the number of students in this course – probably in the range of 10-20 minutes each. You can deliver a mini-lesson from any part of a current or potential future courses. If you are not teaching (e.g., medical professors who do not teach regular courses full-time), you can present a short presentation that you want to give as a conference presentation. You may demonstrate one or more teaching methods that you might use, such as lecture, lecture-discussion, or group activities. However, it should be reasonably organized, and the goals or purpose of your presentation should be clearly stated. Many presenters like to bring a PowerPoint file for their lectures, though this is not required – you may use whichever instructional materials you prefer. You will present your demo lecture, and then you will be asked to reflect on your teaching. Then your classmates will provide their feedback, and finally, the professors will provide you comments and feedback. After your classmates present, you will have a chance to give them feedback. The feedback from this session will help you see your strengths, and what you could do differently; helpful advice will be provided on how you might modify your teaching and improve your lecturing skills. Feedback topics can include presentation skills, organization, delivery, lecture contents, PowerPoint usage, poise, audience interaction, or any others.

Finally...

At the end of the semester, a revised version of your lesson plan will be turned it as part of your portfolio project. Another component of the portfolio will be a self-reflection paper, part of which can include reflection on your micro-teaching and what you have learned from it.

2.1 Procedures for pedagogy course

Instead of a one-time microteaching workshp for professors, the microteaching session could be part of an entire course on pedagogy, say, for teacher trainees, or graduate students who plan to enter academic careers. In that case, the following instructions can be used for the procedure.

You will first create a lesson plan and micro-teaching proposal as an assignment around week 5. Later you will revise this for your micro-teaching. Around week 12 you will have a chance to work on and practice your lessons with classmates as a sort of peer editing or peer review sessions. The actual micro-teaching sessions will be weeks 13-15. You will present your demo lecture, and then you will be asked to reflect on your teaching. Then your classmates will provide their feedback, and finally, the professors will provide you comments and feedback. After your classmates present, you will have a chance to give them feedback.

The feedback from this session will help you see your strengths, and what you could do differently; helpful advice will be provided on how you might modify your teaching and improve your lecturing skills. Feedback topics can include presentation skills, organization, delivery, lecture contents, PowerPoint usage, poise, audience interaction, or any others.

3 Evaluation criteria

The following is a summary of criteria and aspects examined in micro-teaching, followed by a more complete list of topics or aspects of one’s teaching to be considered in coaching and micro-teaching.

3.1 General evaluation criteria

These general criteria can be used by the educational consultant, and they can also be provided to the microteaching participants.

A. Organization

1. Structure (flow, time management, transitions, making connections clear)
2. Preparation (seems well prepared; objectives are clear and accomplished well)
3. Introduction (connection with previous materials, or clear overview of lesson or objectives); and conclusion / summary

B. Teaching methods

1. Expertise (expertise in content area demonstrated; shows strong teaching ability)
2. Conveying content (effective explanations, examples, and/or use of questions)
3. Effective use of lecture, instructional media, and class activities
4. Enthusiasm and attitude (shows enthusiasm for topic and for teaching; shows interest in students)
5. Interaction (interaction and eye contact with students; asking or using questions)

C. Language competency

1. Vocabulary and grammar (appropriate usage, style)
2. Fluency (pronunciation, intonation)
3. Comprehensibility (speaking rate, audibility, vocal clarity)

3.2 Detailed evaluation criteria

The following detailed criteria can be used by educational consultants to evaluate microteaching lessons.

Note: In the table below, T = teacher, S = student(s).

Lesson preparation
Lesson plan	Complete, well written, or seems to comes from a well thought-out plan
Objectives	Clear learning objectives (e.g., in terms of expected student outcomes or assessment criteria)
Objectives met	Fulfills goals, meets lesson plan
Topic	Topic is clear, specific, focused, and doable in the allotted time
Suitability	Topic and contents are suitable to students’ level
Preparation	T seems well prepared; T has essential questions prepared. T can articulate main concepts and goals of the lesson, and for the course.

Lesson structure
Structure	Organization of the lesson is clearly communicated (via intro or signposting), including a preview of main lesson points at the beginning.
Objectives	Lesson objectives / purpose of lesson and contents are clearly explained (e.g., relevance of contents); reasons for activities are clear.
Objectives met	Fulfills goals, meets lesson plan (e.g., from students’ perspective)
Intro	Effective introduction - stimulates interest or thinking.
Conclusion	A clear summary of main points learned (or an otherwise suitable closure) at the end.
Transitions	Clear transitions between points; clear transitions between lesson components.
Signposting	T provides retrospective summaries of materials discussed and progression of the lesson.
Organization	Lesson is well organized; lesson components smoothly and in logical sequence.

Lecture and activities
Explanations	Clear, detailed explanations that students can follow; lecture contents are clear and comprehensible.
Expertise	Lesson demonstrates knowledge of subject matter being taught.
Variety	T uses a variety of activities, not just pure lecture.
Activities	T uses group learning, problem based learning, or other means of keeping students engaged and promoting deeper learning.
Relevance	Activities and/or lectures are engaging, relevant and meaningful
Purpose of lesson /activity	Purpose of activity/activities made clear (e.g., its usefulness outside the classroom, or how it fits meaningfully with other lessons or in the course).
Group / pair work	Students function or working well together (this may or may not entail presenting to the whole class).
Tangible task product	The students working to produce a tangible product or work.
Practice	Activities allow students to practice, model, apply, or integrate concepts.
Expectations	T clearly explains what students are to do during activities, and what is expected of them.
Creativity	T shows creativity in explanations of material, and in design of activities.
Time management	T manages time well; components of lesson flow well; T keeps students on-task during activities; no unnecessary or excessive digressions during lecture or other activities. Not too much time is spent on one activity.

Conveying contents
Establishing relevance	Making connections between new concepts / material to be learned, with the students’ everyday lives (e.g., giving real-life examples), or with students’ background knowledge or previous knowledge of the topic.
Background	Background, context given, or material is otherwise appropriately situated.
Major points	Major points are identified
Connections	Clear connections made between different points, including with previous material.
Clarity	Explanations and lectures are clear and reasonably easy to follow. Questions are suitable to students’ level.
Engaging	Material is intellectually engaging and interesting.
Scaffolding	T provides appropriate strategies, examples, analogies, or models to help students learn, digest matierial, make connectiosn with previous knowledge, or to complete an activity successfully.
Modeling	T models concepts, explanations, or solutions to problems.

Questions
Questions	T uses questions effectively to maintain interest, to make students think, and to punctuate the lesson.
Guiding questions	T uses questions to guide students’ thinking; questions are interesting and important to the content; questions engage students’ thinking and participation.
Referential questions	Occasionally asking questions (to which the T does not necessarily know the answer).
Rhetorical questions	Asking questions (to which the T knows the answer) to gain students’ interest.
Answers	T can answer questions effectively; provides appropriate, knowledgeable answers to students’ questions; helps students understand the materials.
Question form	Are the questions written in a form that elicits an extended verbal explanation? (Not simple yes/no questions; not simply objectives or commands in question form).
Question form	Do the questions help students think the relevance or application of the contents? Do the questions encourage students to relate learning to their lives or to other learning?
Question form	Do the questions help students organize information to be learned? Do the questions help students identify the critical content structures, concepts, or ideas to be learned?
Question form	Are the questions worded clearly and concisely? Would everyone interpret a given question in the same way – not vague or ambiguous?
Questions - amount	Is the number of questions reasonable – an economical use of questions (e.g., not more than ten – though this depends on the assignment)?

Materials and teaching aids
Use of teaching aids	Teaching aids used to enhance delivery of content; effective use of teaching aids and media – realia, diagrams, pictures, charts, etc.
Materials	Effective and appropriate teaching materials (handouts, readings, etc.)
Whiteboard	Effective and appropriate use of whiteboard.
Technology	Effective and appropriate use of technology.
Use of PPT	T does not use PPT or other media excessively or inappropriately; T does not lecture from slides; lecture is not all PPT based.
Relevance	Materials are relevant and appropriate for the lesson.

Motivational factors
Promoting intrinsic motivation	Promoting contact with L2 speakers and cultural products and encouraging students to explore the L2 culture and community.
Promoting external motivation	Highlighting the role that the L2 plays in the world and how knowing the L2 can be potentially useful for the students themselves as well as their community.
Promoting language motivation	Encouraging students to understand the value of English – (1) by highlighting its importance in the field and for students’ future success in the field; and (2) by promoting interaction with scholars in the field using English (e.g., chances to meet or hear scholars in the field in English, in class or outside class).
Arousing curiosity or attention	During the presentation of an activity, raising the students’ expectations that the upcoming activity is going to be interesting and/or important.
Promoting cooperation	Setting up a cooperative learning activity, or having students to work / study together.
Promoting autonomy	Offering students a choice of activities, involving them in decision making or considering their input.
Empathy	T shows concern, interest and empathy for students’ welfare.
Respect	T conveys respect toward students.
Humor	T shows some sense of humor, or at least is not overly serious or strict.
Expectations	T communicates high (but reasonable) expectations of the students. T shows that s/he believes students can be successful.
Encouragement	T provides encouragement; at least 3:1 ratio of positive to non-positive comments. T comments on a student’s or group’s success, risk-taking, or effort.
Efficacy	T demonstrates a sense of self-efficacy – motivation, confidence, content expertise, and pedagogical expertise.
Attentiveness	T is attentive to students, their needs, difficulties, and questions.
Attitude	T shows a positive attitude toward students, and toward teaching (and a positive attitude in general).
Rapport	T maintains good rapport with students.

Class interaction and dynamics
Sensitivity	T understands students’ level, background, and difficulties with the contents. T can effectively gauge students’ level and difficulties.
Personalization	Creating opportunities for students to express their opinions or to contribute their knowledge.
Element of interest, creativity	The activity contains engaging, paradoxical, problematic, controversial, or exotic material; connects with students’ interests, values, creativity, or arouses their curiosity (e.g., predict-and-confirm activity).
Intellectual challenge	The activity presents an intellectual challenge (e.g., an engaging problem to solve, or information to discover).
Competition	The activity involves an element of individual or team competition.
Attention	Most students seem to pay attention; little or no inattentive or disruptive behavior; they look at and follow the teacher. Students follow instructions, and are respectful of the T and toward each other.
Participation	Most students seem to actively take part in classroom activities.
Classroom management	T effectively manages the classroom and teaching; effectively deals with problems that arise, including unexpected events, or students’ behavioral problems.
Student centered	Lesson and activities are student centered, not overly teacher centered.

Feedback and assessment
Neutral feedback	Going over exercises or assignments with the class without communicating any expression of irritation or criticism.
Process feedback	Focusing on what can be learned from the mistakes that have been made, and from the process of producing the correct answer.
Eliciting self or peer correction	Encouraging students to correct their own mistakes, revise their own work, or review/correct their peers’ work.
Positive feedback and encouragement	Specific positive feedback is given, which is accurate and commensurate with the student’s achievement. N.B.: Ability feedback (“You are very good at English”) or praise involving social comparison (“You did better than anyone else in the class”) is not considered effective praise.
Specific constructive feedback	Specific feedback is given to students on how they can improve – specific feedback that they can act on.
Expectations	T clearly communicates expectations and criteria for grading, for all assignments.
Transparency	Grading and evaluation criteria are well explained and followed, so that grading does not seem arbitrary; grading is fair and transparent.
Assignments	Assignments are effective in promoting conceptual learning of the contents; homework is intellectually challenging but not excessive (not just busy work, and not difficult just for the sake of being difficult).
Formative assessment	T uses formative assessment methods to understand how well students are learning.
Knowing students	T can know how well each student is doing based on his/her work.
Learning emphasis	T conveys an emphasis on learning, not grade performance or rote learning.
Monitoring	Teacher monitors understanding as lesson progresses most of the time.

Presentation / delivery
Vocal delivery and clarity	T speaks clearly and audibly; clear rhythm and intonation; not monotonal; voice is well projected; good vocal variation.
Enthusiasm	T conveys enthusiasm for contents and/or teaching.
Presence	T conveys a sense of teaching presence.
Eye contact	T uses effective and appropriate eye contact.
Posture	T uses effective and appropriate eye posture.
Confidence	T projects a sense of confidence and competence.
Professionalism	T exhibits professional behavior.
Language	No major language errors that would impede students’ comprehension; proficiency in and effective use of the language (e.g., English, Korean).
Preparation	Lesson delivery demonstrates good preparation, rehearsal, and practice.
Non-verbal behavior	T uses effective and appropriate non-verbal behavior, e.g., to help students follow the lecture.
Organization	T is well organized.
Reflection	T can self-reflect on his/her strengths and weaknesses.

General evaluation
Overall strengths:
Overall weaknesses:
Suggestions for improvement:

3.3 Use of questions

The following are some guidelines and criteria for how questions should be used effectively in a lesson.

1. Are the questions more open-ended, so that they require more thought, and elicit more complex verbal explanation? (Not simple yes/no questions, repetition questions, knowledge display questions, or objectives or commands in question form).
2. Are the questions created clear and specific enough?
3. Are the questions designed with clear goals in mind—e.g, regarding the contents or concepts to be learned, how students should learn the content, or how they are to think through the question?
4. Do the questions help students think not only about the contents, but also about how the content is meaningful or important?
5. Do the questions encourage students to apply their knowledge, or relate it to other concepts in the course?
6. Do the questions help students to mentally organize information to be learned (e.g,. how it relates to previously learned contents)?
7. Are expectations clear about what they need to learn and understand?
8. Are expectations clear about they they will use the contents?
9. Do the questions help students identify the critical contents, concepts, or ideas to be learned?
10. Are the questions worded clearly and concisely? Would everyone interpret a given question in the same way–not vaguely or ambiguously?
11. Is the number of questions reasonable – an economical use of questions (e.g., not too many for the task)?

4 Links

See also: " University Pedagogical Coaching: Standard Operating Procedures