MICRO-TEACHING: A TOOL TO ENSURE QUALITY IN TEACHER TRAINING AT A DISTANCE

The word ‘micro' denotes a very small portion of a bigger entity. In education domain micro-teaching refers to teaching practice that involves a small number of learners. Quality on the other hand connotes the degree of excellence, something which is up to standard or fits the purpose for which it is meant. In this ever changing competitive global society Higher Education institutions strive to achieve quality in the programmes, courses, qualifications and services offered to their clients. There is some misconception and myth among some people about the quality or standard of teachers trained at a distance. This paper debunks that myth and argues that micro-teaching can be used as a tool to ensure quality of pre-service teachers trained at a distance. The paper reviews relevant literature to support the experiences of the authors and explores the efficacy of micro-teaching in enhancing professional training of teachers through distance education mode. The literature study and the experiences of the authors are validated by a case study on micro-teaching by distance teacher trainee students.