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Microteaching

The world is rapidly changing from an industrial-based society to an information-based society. We have built an educational system based upon the needs of an industrial age, where everyone is expected to learn the same thing at the same time. This is not the kind of school system we need for the information age. Learning must become the primary focus of activity in the classroom. Traditional education focuses on the teacher as the authority, exercising control over the students and selecting the material that will be taught. Most of the time, the teacher talks and the students listen. Learning then becomes a passively received information transfer. Much of what we teach our students today may not be seen in the same way in twenty years. The information that students toil to memorize can be easily stored in a computer and be made subject to instant access by people with computer skills. As memorizers, we cannot compete with computers. The best use of human minds in the future will not be information memorization but the ability to transform raw information into useful knowledge.

The pace of technical change during the last ten years is indeed impressive. Teachers have watched classroom technologies quickly advance from simple drill and practice programs to exciting multimedia packages using CD-ROM and laser videodiscs. The Center for Technology in Education found in their study that those teachers who use computers extensively in their teaching use a range of technologies in a multitude of ways. They found that using the computer changed their teaching significantly as they moved to a more student-centered classroom. These teachers gave their students more individualized opportunities, presented more complex material and expected more of their students. Teachers with a high level of technology implementation were fairly homogeneous, and tended to focus on instilling a sense of curiosity and desire to learn in their students. They used technology not only as a tool for thinking, but as a tool for thinking and learning more deeply about content. These teachers reduced classroom time on the acquisition of facts and devoted more time to an inquiry-based approach which helped students develop critical thinking skills.

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©Leah Graham

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click to log into TeachNetMicroteaching Module

Allan Collins (1991, pp. 29-31) identifies eight major trends affecting learning in schools that may result from the increasing use of computer technology in an active learning environment as opposed to a more traditional one. These are:

  1. More use of small-group instruction.
  2. A shift in the teacher's role from that of a lecturer to a coach or facilitator of learning.
  3. Increased interaction with weaker students.
  4. Students being more engaged in learning.
  5. Student assessment based less on test performance and more on products, progress and effort.
  6. A shift from a competitive to a cooperative social structure.
  7. A shift from all students learning the same things to different students learning different things.
  8. More emphasis on visual thinking.

David Thornburg (1992) envisions contructivist learning in which schools allow students to use technology in creative thoughtful ways. Textbooks will be augmented with information-rich electronic resources that contain still and motion pictures, graphics, and sounds. They will allow the learner to explore information and ideas in many different and flexible ways. Traditional written and oral reports will become interactive, multimedia presentations. Additionally, with extensive use of telecommunications, students will no longer be bound to learn within the confines of their school. Students will be constructing their own learning.
With rapid advancements in technology and its application to education, educators must meet the challenge to take an aggressive approach to maximize the advantages technology can bring to their classroom. Educators can no longer sit back passively and complain about the techno-blitz that's been under way for the past 15 years. Imagine how we'd feel if medical students were unwilling and unmotivated to use the advanced technologies available in their field when they went into practice. As we move towards the 21st century, every educator must be prepared to use these technological tools and help our students become life-long learners.

As you develop your microteaching experience, use your creativity to develop an innovative lesson in which students participate. To assist you this module includes:

  1. Application
  2. Extensions
  3. Sample Lesson Plan
  4. Self-evaluation Format

Your grade will be based on your successful completion of the above. Click here to read the details in general evaluation.

Purpose
The purpose of microteaching is to be a capstone for this course. You will actually teach a short lesson in class using the computer activities developed for your unit. Your students will be the members of your group.
This lesson should:

  1. Reflect your ability to integrate at least 2 of the applications you have learned into a cohesive lesson reflecting your unit.
  2. Develop a lesson plan from one of the three lessons found on the Web (TC).
  3. Apply current instructional principles, research, and appropriate assessment practices to the use of computers and related technologies.
  4. Evaluate, select, and integrate computer-based instruction into the curriculum for your grade levels.

The following are the two microteaching categories:
The lesson you develop may not necessarily fall into either of these two categories but somewhere in between. Be sure to mark your evaluation sheet with the category you feel most closely describes your lesson plan.

MT1 - TEACHER-CENTERED MICROTEACHING
Definition: A teacher-centered lesson is one in which the teacher uses appropriate technologies to improve the instructional process. The teacher directs the instructional activities as well as controls the pace and direction.

MT2 - STUDENT-CENTERED MICROTEACHING
Definition: A student-centered lesson is one in which the student actively interacts with the technology during the learning process. Some students may work individually while others may work in small groups. A lab setting is conducive to student-centered learning. The teacher functions as a coach or facilitator of the learning as the students explore and manage information.

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Prerequisite Skills
The use of computer applications in an educational setting.

Pre-Computer Activity
Develop a lesson using computer applications based on your unit. Design a lesson for a maximum of 10 minute period of time to present in class (addition 5 minutes for set-up).

Instructional Materials

  1. AppleWorks, TeachNet, HyperStudio,and/or Netscape on either the Macintosh or IBM
  2. Your unit material.

Objectives
At the completion of this module, you will be able to:

  1. Teach a short lesson in class using the computer activities developed for your unit as a capstone activity of this course.
  2. Use computer-based materials, including application, educational software and associated documentation in a lesson.
  3. Design and develop student learning activities that integrate computing and technology for a variety of student populations. (See lesson plan format)
  4. Demonstrate knowledge of uses of multimedia to support instruction.
  5. Apply sound instructional principles to the use of computers and related technologies.
  6. Select, integrate, and evaluate computer-based instruction in the curriculum of your grade levels.

Evaluation | Independent Practice | Extensions