Introduction to University Teaching

Unit 10: Teaching Practice

Learning Objectives

  • Design effective micro-teaching sessions with focused, achievable goals
  • Apply recording guidelines to produce clear, usable teaching footage
  • Receive and use peer and tutor feedback constructively
  • Develop reflective practice habits through structured self-analysis
  • Implement teaching tips systematically with evidence-based reflection
1

Teaching Practice Overview

Teaching practice brings together everything covered in this course — planning, delivery, assessment, materials, and observation — into a live performance context. Micro-teaching sessions, peer feedback, and reflective practice cycles are the core tools for continuous improvement as a university instructor.

This unit covers micro-teaching session design, recording techniques, feedback reception and application, reflective journaling, and systematic implementation of teaching strategies. You will develop skills to learn actively from every teaching experience and build a sustainable professional development habit.

2

10.1 Designing Effective Micro-Teaching Sessions

Effective micro-teaching focuses on one or two discrete skills — elicitation, instruction-giving, feedback delivery — within a short timeframe (10–15 minutes). Clear aims and success criteria help both the teacher and observers evaluate the session meaningfully.

The most productive micro-teaching sessions target a specific, observable skill: giving clear task instructions, using effective concept-checking questions, or managing student groupwork transitions. Avoid broad aims like "teach well" — narrow focus makes feedback actionable.

Define what success looks like before you start: "Students will be able to complete the task without asking for clarification" or "I will use at least three different students' names during the session." Clear criteria help observers give targeted feedback and help you self-evaluate accurately.

Even in 10 minutes, a micro-teaching session benefits from a clear arc: opening (set up the activity), middle (deliver the skill you are practising), close (consolidate and check). A brief written plan — with timings — prepares you and signals your intentions to peer observers.

Scenario: You have 10 minutes for a micro-teaching task. Which scope is most appropriate?

3

10.2 Recording and Uploading Teaching Sessions

Video recording enables detailed self-reflection and tutor review. Key technical priorities are clear audio (use a clip mic or position close to the speaker), adequate framing, and stable footage. Consent from any students in the frame is required before recording begins.

Scenario: You review your recording and notice students at the back cannot be heard. What is your best adaptation for the next recording?

4

10.3 Using Peer and Tutor Feedback Constructively

Feedback is only valuable when received with openness and acted upon systematically. Effective learners listen without defensiveness, seek clarification on vague points, and prioritise one or two concrete changes per feedback cycle rather than attempting wholesale self-overhaul.

Receiving feedback: Listen actively without interrupting or justifying. Take notes. Resist the urge to explain why you made each choice — at this stage, your role is to understand the observer's perspective.

Ask yourself: "What specific behaviour is being described?" Separate observation ("you spoke for 8 minutes without checking understanding") from interpretation ("that means students were bored").

Analysing feedback: After the session, review your notes and categorise: What aligns with your own self-evaluation? What surprised you? Where did multiple observers agree?

Points where self-perception and observer perception diverge are especially valuable — they reveal blind spots in your self-awareness as a teacher.

Responding to feedback: Select one or two highest-priority changes and write a specific action plan: "In my next session I will ask a comprehension check question after every instruction." Vague plans ("I'll engage students more") rarely produce change.

After implementing the change, reflect on whether it produced the intended effect — this closes the professional development loop.

Scenario: A peer gives you vague feedback: "You should engage students more." What is your best response?

5

10.4 Developing Reflective Practice Habits

Reflective practice — writing structured self-evaluations after each teaching session — transforms experience into professional learning. Frameworks such as Gibbs' Reflective Cycle (Description → Feelings → Evaluation → Analysis → Conclusion → Action Plan) structure reflection productively and prevent superficial self-commentary.

Scenario: After a session, you receive conflicting feedback — your tutor praised your pacing but a peer thought it was too slow. How do you handle this in your reflection?

6

10.5 Implementing Teaching Tips Systematically

A "teaching tip" — a concrete technique like think-pair-share, exit tickets, or cold-calling — is most effective when implemented intentionally, observed carefully, and reflected upon. Adopting too many techniques simultaneously prevents the deliberate practice needed to internalise any single one.

Scenario: You try a think-pair-share activity but students are reluctant to share with the whole group. What is your best response?

Review

Test your understanding of teaching practice principles.

Effective micro-teaching sessions should:

Correct! Micro-teaching is most valuable when it focuses on one specific skill with clear, observable success criteria. Trying to cover too much in a short session prevents the deliberate, focused practice that builds genuine skill.
Not quite — review the material and try again. Micro-teaching is most valuable when it focuses on one specific skill with clear, observable success criteria. Trying to cover too much in a short session prevents the deliberate, focused practice that builds genuine skill.

When recording a teaching session, the most important consideration is:

Correct! Clear audio and video quality are essential for the recording to serve its purpose — enabling specific, evidence-based feedback. A technically poor recording cannot support meaningful reflection or peer review.
Not quite — review the material and try again. Clear audio and video quality are essential for the recording to serve its purpose — enabling specific, evidence-based feedback. A technically poor recording cannot support meaningful reflection or peer review.

Effective peer feedback on teaching should be:

Correct! Useful feedback identifies specific observed behaviours, balances strengths with development areas, and gives the teacher something concrete to act on. Vague praise or general criticism does not support professional growth.
Not quite — review the material and try again. Useful feedback identifies specific observed behaviours, balances strengths with development areas, and gives the teacher something concrete to act on. Vague praise or general criticism does not support professional growth.

Reflective practice is most effective when it:

Correct! Reflection without action does not produce change. The most productive reflective practice analyses specific feedback, identifies a root cause, and commits to a concrete, testable action plan for the next session.
Not quite — review the material and try again. Reflection without action does not produce change. The most productive reflective practice analyses specific feedback, identifies a root cause, and commits to a concrete, testable action plan for the next session.

Teaching tips are most effectively implemented when:

Correct! One tip, implemented deliberately over several sessions and reflected upon, produces deeper learning than adopting many tips simultaneously. Deliberate practice — focused, repeated, and reflective — is what builds lasting skill.
Not quite — review the material and try again. One tip, implemented deliberately over several sessions and reflected upon, produces deeper learning than adopting many tips simultaneously. Deliberate practice — focused, repeated, and reflective — is what builds lasting skill.
Course Complete

Congratulations on completing Introduction to University Teaching. You have worked through ten units covering the core principles of effective university instruction — from understanding learners and managing classrooms to designing assessments, selecting materials, and developing through peer observation and reflective practice.

The skills developed in this course form a foundation for continued professional growth. Teaching improves through deliberate practice, openness to feedback, and sustained reflection — the habits you have begun to build here.

Introduction to University Teaching
Overview 01 Focus on Learners 02 Teachers and Context 03 Classroom Management 04 Instructions and Interactions 05 Aims, Objectives and Outcomes 06 Lesson Planning and Staging Models 07 Materials and Resources 08 Assessments and Assignments 09 Peer Observation 10 Teaching Practice