Revisiting Microteaching in Search of Up-to-Date Solutions to Old Problems

Abstract

In second language teacher education programs microteaching has always been a significant technique to help bridge theory to practice and prepare the trainees for real classroom contexts. The expected benefits from 10 to 15 minute-microteaching sessions are the communication among the trainees and supervisor, collaboration with each other, and reflection on the teaching. However, due to some constraints such as limited time and big class size, these benefits may not be derived easily. Therefore, this study aims to explore how the effect of a designed Internet-based instructional learning environment (hereafter iBILE) was perceived by the participating preservice teachers on developing their communication, collaboration and reflection in microteaching process. In so doing, 52 Kurdish preservice English language teachers were asked to use the iBILE for 6 weeks. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from questionnaires, the system analytics, reflection journals, and semi-structured interviews. The results of the data analysis revealed that the designed iBILE has been perceived highly effective in solving the defined microteaching problems by creating unique opportunities for communication, collaboration, and reflection in microteaching process among the preservice teachers.

Perceptions of Preservice English Teachers Regarding Peer Reaction Video Feedback on Their Microteaching

“…One of the most important benefits of peer feedback identified in the research literature is that it pushes beginning teachers to reflect more (Hama & Osam, 2021) and makes them more aware of their teaching practice (Kleinknecht & Schneider, 2013). This may be because they are more emotionally invested in viewing videos of peers' teaching than their own (Jordan, 2012).…”

“…That is, she did not only learn from watching the positive aspects of her peer's lesson, she also learned from seeing their limitations. This learning from peers is possible because videos can expose pre-service teachers to diverse and vivid teaching situations (Wang & Hartley, 2003) and combining video with critical reflection can make future teachers more conscious of their strengths where they need to improve as teachers (Brookfield, 2017;Dayal & Alpana, 2020;Gungor, 2016;Hama & Osam, 2021) that they otherwise may not have considered (Agbayahoun, 2017). This can in turn improve their future teaching (Gungor, 2016;Saban & C xoklar, 2013).…”

“…They also have to be prepared to deliver feedback in this way to their own students (Kessler & Hubbard, 2017), so the earlier they can begin working with it the better. However, at present, there is a substantial amount of research that remains to be conducted in the domain of online microteaching (Hama & Osam, 2021; Pham, 2022).…”

Mixed-Reality Simulation to Support Practice Learning of Preservice Teachers

“…Given these challenges, there is a growing urgency to explore alternative avenues for enriching the practice learning experiences of preservice teachers, moving beyond traditional school placements and conventional microteaching. While microteaching is a common practice in preservice teacher education [19,20], it frequently falls short of delivering the intended benefits [21] due to its often contrived nature, especially when fellow preservice teachers participate as learners.…”