Programs and Services

What Happens in a Microteaching Workshop?

Microteaching Workshops bring together seven or eight graduate students and a seasoned MIT instructor to facilitate. You will be asked to present a brief (no more than 10 minutes, please) lesson in your own field with other workshop members playing your students. When you are finished presenting, you will receive feedback from the audience.

What Do I Need to Prepare for the Workshop?

You should come to the workshop with material to teach a ten-minute lesson in your field. The material should be geared to MIT undergraduates and it should allow you to involve the "students" in the "class." In other words, please don't prepare a lecture; most recitations should be interactive.

What Are My Other Responsibilities as a Workshop Participant?

We ask that you help us in two ways in the workshop. First, that you play "student" for the other microteachers. That means asking questions of the microteacher, answering questions the microteacher asks, and letting him/her know if you are confused about some part of the lesson. Second, that you provide the other microteachers with feedback on the strengths of their performance as well as feedback on what they can do to improve their teaching skills.

How Can I Continue to Improve My Teaching?

You might want to view your recording with a faculty member in your department, a graduate student colleague who has been a TA, or a teaching consultant from the Teaching and Learning Laboratory. Watching yourself on DVD is an excellent way to improve your skills; watching the tape with someone else gives you another source of feedback.

During the semester, you can also have an entire recitation or lab recorded. We will have forms available at the Microteaching Workshop that will allow you to make arrangements for a recording. (Most MIT schools and departments will underwrite the expense of classroom recording.) Again, we urge you to view the tape with a faculty member, colleague, or teaching consultant. Or, you can invite a faculty member, colleague, or teaching consultant into one of your classes.