Micro Teaching: Meaning, Cycle, Skills and a Sample Lesson Plan

What is micro teaching?

Micro teaching is real teaching made small. The class is small, the lesson is short and the topic is one idea. You also work on one skill at a time, such as asking questions or using the blackboard.

Dwight W. Allen, one of its founders, called it "a scaled down teaching encounter in class size and class time" (1966). In simple words, it is a mini lesson for practice.

Why make teaching small? In a full class, many things happen at once. A new teacher cannot improve everything together. Micro teaching removes most of this, so you can focus on one skill and get clear feedback on it.

Where micro teaching came from

Micro teaching began at Stanford University in the USA. Most textbooks say Dwight W. Allen and his team gave it its name in 1963. Robert Bush and a researcher named Keith Acheson also worked on it. Acheson used video recordings so that trainee teachers could watch their own lessons.

Some accounts give earlier dates for the first trials at Stanford. In exams, the answer most books expect is Dwight W. Allen, Stanford University, 1963.

In India, NCERT and the Centre of Advanced Study in Education (CASE) in Baroda started a project on micro teaching in 1975. B.K. Passi wrote a well-known book on it, published by CASE in 1976. Today micro teaching is a regular part of B.Ed courses.

The micro teaching cycle: six steps

Micro teaching works as a cycle. You go through six steps and repeat them until you can use the skill well.

1. Plan. Choose one skill and one small topic. Write a short micro lesson plan that uses each part of the skill.
2. Teach. Teach the lesson to a small group. Your teacher educator and one or two classmates watch and fill in an observation sheet.
3. Feedback. The observers tell you what you did well and what to improve. Good feedback points to what they saw and marked, not to general opinions.
4. Re-plan. Change your plan using the feedback. You may keep the same topic or choose a new one.
5. Re-teach. Teach the new plan, usually to a different small group. A new group keeps the lesson fresh.
6. Re-feedback. The observers watch again and tell you how much you improved.

After re-feedback, you can start the cycle again. When you can use several skills well, you join them in one full lesson. Many colleges call this an integration lesson or a link lesson.

Micro teaching timings in the Indian model

Many B.Ed notes describe an Indian model of micro teaching and link it to NCERT. In this model, one cycle takes 36 minutes.

The first plan is not counted in these 36 minutes. You prepare it before the session.

Sources do not agree on timings

Colleges and universities use different timings. You will see at least three versions.

• 36 minutes: 6 minutes each to teach, give feedback, re-teach and give re-feedback, plus 12 minutes to re-plan. This is the version you will see most often.
• 40 minutes: 5 minutes each for the four short steps and 20 minutes to re-plan. Tilak College of Education, Pune, uses this version in its notes.
• 48 minutes: the 36-minute cycle plus 12 minutes for the first plan, as in University of Lucknow notes.

Use the timings your own university gives. In an exam, write the version from your syllabus. You can add one line saying that sources differ.

Class size, time and who takes part

• Learners: 5 to 10. They can be school pupils, or your classmates acting as pupils.
• Lesson time: 5 to 10 minutes. In the 36-minute model, you teach for 6 minutes.
• Topic: one small idea, such as what a fraction is or the parts of a flower.
• Skill: one skill in each cycle.
• Observers: a teacher educator, also called the supervisor, and one or two classmates.
• Recording: if your college allows it, record the lesson on a phone. Watching yourself shows habits you did not notice.

The main micro teaching skills, with examples

Books list different numbers of skills. The eight skills below appear in many B.Ed syllabi in India. Each one has a short meaning and a classroom example. For phrases you can use in class, see our guide to teaching skills.

1. Set induction (introducing a lesson)

Set induction means getting learners ready to learn. You link the new topic to what they already know and make them curious.

Example: before a Class 6 lesson on magnets, hold a magnet over some pins. Then ask, "Why did the pins jump up?"

2. Explaining

Explaining means making an idea clear. Use simple words and linking words such as because and so. Start with a clear first line and end with a short summary.

Example: in Class 9 maths, tear the three corners off a paper triangle. Put them side by side to show that they make a straight line, which is 180 degrees.

3. Questioning

Good questions are short, clear and about the topic. Ask, pause, then name a learner, and spread questions across the class. When an answer is wrong or half right, ask a follow-up question. This is called probing.

Example: you ask, "Is this bottle empty?" A learner says yes. You ask, "Is there anything inside that we cannot see?"

4. Stimulus variation

Stimulus variation means changing how you teach to keep attention. You move around, use gestures, change your voice, pause, and switch between talking and showing.

Example: in a Class 7 lesson on the heart, talk for two minutes, then show a model. Then ask learners to feel their own pulse. Our guide to teaching aids has more ideas for models, charts and videos.

5. Reinforcement

Reinforcement means responding to answers in a way that makes learners want to take part again. Use words like good and well done, a nod or a smile, and the learner's name. Avoid harsh words.

Example: "Good, Priya. You noticed that the plant bends towards the light."

6. Illustrating with examples

This skill means giving examples that are simple, interesting and close to learners' lives. A common pattern is example, rule, example.

Example: in a spoken English batch, say three sentences about yesterday. Point out the past tense, then ask learners for their own sentences.

7. Blackboard writing

Write clearly, in straight lines, with letters large enough for the last bench to read. Write only the key points and use coloured chalk for key words.

Example: for a Class 6 lesson, write the title at the top left. Below it, draw two columns for living and non-living things.

8. Closure

Closure means ending the lesson well. Sum up the main points, link them to what comes next and ask learners to use what they learnt.

Example, after the magnet lesson: "Name three things in this room that use a magnet."

Why you see 5 steps, 7 steps or 7 skills

Students often search for five steps, seven steps or seven skills. The answer depends on the book you follow.

• Five steps: teach, feedback, re-plan, re-teach and re-feedback. These are the five timed steps of the cycle. Planning comes before them, so some books leave it out.
• Six steps: plan, teach, feedback, re-plan, re-teach and re-feedback. This is the full cycle that most books show.
• Seven steps: there is no single standard list. Longer lists add steps such as watching a model lesson before you plan, or an integration lesson at the end. Follow your own notes.
• Seven skills: skill lists vary too. Allen and Ryan at Stanford listed 14 skills in 1969. B.K. Passi listed 13.
• One Indian list of seven core skills is probing questions, explaining, illustrating with examples, stimulus variation, reinforcement, classroom management and using the blackboard.

A simple micro teaching observation sheet

Observers fill in a sheet while you teach. The sheet below is for the skill of questioning. Each observer gives a rating from 1 (poor) to 5 (very good) for each part of the skill. Here it is filled in as an example.

Top of the sheet. Trainee: [Your name]. Skill: Questioning. Topic: [Topic]. Class: [Class]. Date: [Date]. Observer: [Observer name].

Some colleges ask observers to make a tally mark each time you show a behaviour, minute by minute. Others use a rating scale like this one. Use your own college's sheet for practice and exams.

Sample micro lesson plan: skill of questioning

Here is a short plan you can copy and change. It is for a 6-minute micro lesson in Class 6 science. For a full-period plan, see our guide to the lesson plan format.

Name: [Your name]. Subject: Science. Class: 6. Topic: Air is all around us. Skill: Questioning. Time: 6 minutes. Parts of the skill: clear questions, pausing, spreading questions, probing and thinking questions. Teaching aids: an empty plastic bottle and a bucket of water.

After feedback, change only what the observers pointed out. In this example, you might plan longer pauses and choose three quiet learners when you re-teach.

Advantages of micro teaching

• You work on one skill at a time, so it is easier to improve.
• You get feedback right after you teach, while you still remember the lesson.
• Feedback is specific, because it is based on an observation sheet.
• Mistakes happen in front of a small group, not a full class.
• Your confidence grows before you face a real class.
• New teachers and experienced teachers can both use it.

Limits of micro teaching

• It takes a lot of time, because each trainee needs several cycles.
• Classmates acting as pupils are not the same as a real class.
• You practise skills one by one, but a real lesson needs many skills at once.
• It needs trained supervisors who give fair and useful feedback.
• It looks at the skill more than the content of the lesson.
• Small groups, spare rooms and recording devices are not always available.

Share your teaching on Sikhami

After your training, you may want learners to find you. Sikhami gives every teacher a free teacher profile with your photo, a short intro, an About section, your subjects and links. Learners can follow it, write reviews and ask questions. Institutes can invite a published teacher to teach on their courses.

On your own account, you can post clips (short videos) and notes. A short clip of one clear explanation shows learners how you teach. You can also earn from paid notes, paid clubs, meetups, study rooms with an entry fee, memberships and Super Chat. Joining and posting are free.