Microteaching revisited! A tool for improving undergraduate student seminars

Objectives: A deluge of techniques are made available for students to encourage for self-directed learning. Microteaching is one of the old techniques which is traditionally used as a method to improve pedagogical skills. Incorporating microteaching techniques in student seminars enhance the effectiveness of the learning process. The objectives of the study were to assess the effectiveness and perceptions regarding microteaching methodology in improving the undergraduate student seminars. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted among ten randomly selected 1 st year MBBS students. They were assigned a seminar topic from pre-discussed lecture in Physiology. They were divided into two equal groups and one group underwent training in microteaching through a workshop. Each student from both the groups presented seminar which was evaluated on Likert’s scale by standardised blinded observers consisting of 13 faculty and 12 students. Perceptions of students were assessed by self-evaluation. The data were analysed by Chi-square and Mann–Whitney U-test. Results: Each student was evaluated by 25 members and got 125 responses from each group. The median score for all the components in the assessment was significantly higher in the intervention group as compared to the control group. The presentation skills, providing non-verbal clues and stating the objectives were significantly better among the microteaching trained group ( P ≤ 0.05). Common perception among the intervention group was that they found it interesting, innovative, improved presentation skills, interactive and needed preparation for application and analysis, whereas some students felt lack of time and motivation were the obstacles for implementation of microteaching methodology for student seminars. Conclusion: The students found microteaching methodology to be very interesting and useful learning tool. Microteaching technique assists students to develop competence and confidence in seminar presentations.