Microteaching

About Microteaching:

"Microteaching" is a facilitated, collegial practice teaching session, during which each instructor teaches a brief (approx. 5 minute) lesson or leads a short discussion for colleagues. After each participant has given a lesson, the group discusses the experience and offers comments on strengths and suggestions for improvement.

Often done together by a group of TAs in the same course or department, or by colleagues in a cohort (e.g., undergraduate TAs; new faculty), produce:

New, shared insights on effective teaching.
A group dynamic that supports collaboration and sharing on what works in teaching.
Identification of unique challenges—and solutions—for teaching specific topics, disciplines, or circumstances.

Preparing for Microteaching:

Choose a topic or lesson you're going to teach soon, so you get feedback you can use.
Plan to involve the group—if giving a mini-lecture, include some questions; pause and check for understanding; invite responses.
Feel free to try something new in your teaching. No one is expecting perfection, and we can all learn from each other's experiments.
Relax—microteaching is intended to be helpful, collegial, and even a little bit fun. The environment will be supportive and constructive.

Logistics:

Microteaching usually takes place during the first week or two of a quarter.
It's helpful to plan for about 15 minutes per participant for each microteaching session, and to keep sessions under two hours (about 7 participants per session).
Microteaching can be video recorded if desired, so that individual instructors can later view and discuss their microteaching segment in a private consultation with Teaching and Learning Programs staff.