| Abstract: | One of the most important components of the basic microteaching model in teacher education is the feedback obtained from supervisors, learners, peers and from technical aids such as audio and video recordings (Allen and Ryan, 1969). The feedback serves a dual purpose: first it provides the trainee with information regarding his behavior enabling him to design behavioral changes; and secondly, it facilitates the process of self-confrontation by triggering a cognitive dissonance which stimulates the psychological climate conductive to change (Festinger, 1957; Nielsen, 1962; Kagan et al., 1967; Geerstma and Mackie, 1969 and Onder, 1970).The use of video recordings in microteaching training provides instant and accurate feedback of verbal and non-verbal classroom interaction. However, an intuitive subjective analysis of the video recording performed by a supervisor, peer or the student-teacher himself, faces the danger of being diffused and distorted by individual biases.The combined use of microteaching with systematic observation instruments for analyzing classroom interaction has been recommended by researchers and practitioners alike (Amidon and Rosenshine, 1968 and Minnis, 1968). Both Allen, who played a major role in the development of microteaching (Allen and Ryan, 1969), and Flanders, who developed one of the most common interaction analysis systems (Flanders, 1970), recommend the combination of their systems as an effective procedure in teacher education. The researcher and practitioner in this area are faced with the question of either using one of the existing instruments or constructing a new one.The research was carried out at the Laboratory for Research and Development for Teaching and Learning of the Teacher Training Department of the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.Prof. A. Perlberg is Head of the Teacher Training Department and Director of the Laboratory; Dr. M. Bar-Yam is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the same Department and at present at Boston University; Dr. A. Lewy is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Educational Sciences of Tel-Aviv University and Chief Research Consultant to the Ministry of Education and Culture; E. Bar-On, R. Levin and A. Etrog are Research Associates at the Teacher Training Department of the Technion. |
