Microteaching

Micro-teaching is a teacher training and faculty development technique whereby the teacher reviews a recording of a teaching session, in order to get constructive feedback from peers or students about what has worked and what improvements can be made to their teaching technique. Micro-teaching was invented in 1963 at Stanford University by Dwight W. Allen, and has subsequently been used to develop educators in all forms of education.

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 his/her own students. This was then recorded on video. 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 teaching objectives. Watching the video and getting comments from colleagues and students provide teachers with an often intense "under the microscope" view of their teaching.

A review of the evidence for micro-teaching, undertaken by John Hattie as part of his Visible Learning project, found it was the 6th most effective method for improving student outcomes.[1]

  1. ^ "Glossary of Hattie's influences on student achievement". Visible Learning.