Micro-Teaching: How Short Reflections Make a Big Difference

Hattie's Visible Learning Effect Size Series – #11 Micro-Teaching – Effect Size 0.88

To note: John Hattie’s Visible Learning research brings together over 1,500 meta-analyses, covering more than 90,000 studies and millions of students. Its aim is to identify what works best in education by measuring impact using 'effect size'. In this context, an effect size of 0.4 is considered average progress over a year. Anything above 0.6 is seen as highly impactful. This blog is part of a 20-post series exploring the top-ranked influences in Hattie’s Visible Learning research, with a focus on practical strategies teachers can use to make a meaningful difference.

When we pause long enough to look at our teaching, really look at it, powerful things begin to happen. We become more aware, more precise, and more intentional. That’s the promise of Micro-Teaching, and why it sits high in Hattie’s list with an effect size of 0.88. Micro-teaching isn’t about recording a perfect performance. It is about building clarity, reflection, and professional dialogue into our day-to-day teaching habits. It creates space to notice what’s working and what needs refining, with a level of focus we rarely get in the busy flow of school life.

Done well, it can sharpen our impact faster than almost anything else.

What Is Micro-Teaching?

Micro-teaching refers to the deliberate practice of teaching a short segment of a lesson (often filmed or observed), followed by focused reflection and feedback. It originated in teacher training programs in the 1960s, and although the name hasn’t evolved much, the idea remains powerful.

In Hattie's model, it is most effective when it includes:

• Video or peer observation of a specific segment

• A clear focus or goal, such as questioning, explanation, or transitions

• Structured feedback, ideally from multiple sources

• Time to reflect, review, and adapt

It moves the focus from general impressions (“That went well”) to specific insights (“My questioning technique didn’t quite open up student thinking as I intended”).

Why It Matters

Teaching is complex. It involves hundreds of rapid decisions, unspoken signals, and intuitive adjustments. Without structured reflection, we can easily misread what’s really happening in a lesson. Micro-teaching gives us a way to pause the noise. It allows us to:

• See our practice more clearly

• Hear our own explanations with fresh ears

• Notice student reactions we may have missed

• Compare intent with impact

When teachers engage in regular, supported micro-teaching, they tend to become more deliberate, more confident, and more precise. And perhaps most importantly, it promotes a culture where improvement is normal, not a sign of weakness, but of professional maturity.

A Snapshot in Practice

A teacher in their third year of practice films a ten-minute segment of their lesson introduction. Their focus is on clarity of instruction and transitions between modelled and independent work. After watching the clip, they realise they spoke for longer than planned, and students only began working with three minutes left in the segment. A colleague notes that while the explanation was clear, the task instructions needed simplification.

By the next lesson, the teacher rehearses their delivery, reduces content on the slide, and checks student understanding with a quick stop-and-check. Confidence grows. So does student independence. The change isn’t dramatic, but it is meaningful. One lens, one goal, one cycle. Progress.

Practical Strategies for Using Micro-Teaching

1. Start Small and Safe - Choose a focus area that feels manageable, for example, modelling, questioning, or clarity of instructions. Record five to ten minutes, not the full lesson. Invite a trusted colleague to reflect with you.

2. Use a Framework - Structure helps. Try using a simple rubric or prompt such as:
   “What do I notice about my voice, pacing, and checking for understanding?” or
   “Where in this clip did I move learning forward?”

3. Build in Time to Watch Back - It is tempting to skip this step, especially when time is short. But watching the recording from the student’s perspective often reveals more than we expect. It is not about judging — it is about noticing.

4. Use Peer Dialogue, Not Evaluation - This is not a formal observation. It is a shared reflection. Ask colleagues to focus on what you want feedback on. “Can you look at how I manage transitions between phases of the lesson?” is more useful than “What did you think?”

5. Reflect and Plan One Next Step - Avoid overwhelm. After reviewing the video and feedback, pick one thing to change or refine. Trial it. Then repeat the cycle. Growth is iterative.

Quick Wins for This Week

1. Choose one section of your lesson to film, perhaps an explanation or the start of group work

2. Use your phone or laptop to record and watch it back on your own

3. Jot down two things you did well and one thing you’d like to refine

4. Share a 5-minute clip with a peer and ask for feedback on a specific goal

Challenges and Considerations

Watching yourself teach can feel uncomfortable, especially at first. It is important to normalise this process within a culture of trust and professional growth. Leaders have a key role to play here. If micro-teaching is framed as self-improvement rather than performance management, it builds confidence, not fear.

Time is another factor. To be successful, micro-teaching cycles need protected time. That might mean using meeting time differently or embedding the process into coaching or professional development.

When trust, time, and structure come together, micro-teaching becomes a powerful lever for school-wide improvement.

Reflections

For teachers:

• What part of your teaching would you like to understand better?

• How do your instructions, tone, or pacing affect student responses?

• Could watching back even five minutes of your teaching give you new insight?

For leaders:

• Do your systems create space for teachers to reflect, refine, and rewatch?

• Is video used for growth, not judgment?

• Could you model the process yourself?

Try This

In your next planning session, ask: “If I filmed just five minutes of this lesson, what would I hope to see?” That question alone can shift how you prepare and how you teach. Try setting a 3-week mini-goal: record one clip per week with a different focus and reflect on what changes. Share your insights with a trusted colleague

Further Reading and Resources

• Effective Professional Development – Education Endowment Foundation
  https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/effective-professional-development

• What is Lesson Study? – Teacher Development Trust
  https://tdtrust.org/what-is-lesson-study

Research Connections

• Hattie, J. (2009) – Visible Learning
  Identifies Micro-Teaching as a high-impact strategy (effect size 0.88), particularly when used with feedback and peer dialogue.

• Joyce, B. & Showers, B. (2002) – Student Achievement Through Staff Development
  Their research shows that watching teaching, practising strategies, and receiving feedback significantly improves instructional quality.

• Santagata, R. & Yeh, C. (2016) – Video-Based Professional Development
  Explores how structured video reflection enhances teacher noticing, planning, and classroom responsiveness.

Visible Learning Blog Series

1. Stronger Together: How Collective Teacher Efficacy Unlocks Student Potential (1.57)

2. Students Knowing Themselves: Why Self-Reported Grades Matter (1.33)

3. Judging Potential: The Power of Teacher Estimates of Achievement (1.29)

4. Supporting Every Learner: How Response to Intervention Changes Trajectories (1.29)

5. Teaching for Thinking: Why Piagetian Programs Make a Difference (1.28)

6. From Misconception to Mastery: How Conceptual Change Programs Support Deep Learning (0.99)

7. Knowing Where to Start: Why Understanding Prior Knowledge Enables Effective Teaching (0.94)

8. Making It Stick: Why Connecting New Learning to What Students Already Know Matters (0.93)

9. Belief Before Progress: Why Self-Efficacy Is a Game-Changer for Learning (0.92)

10. The Trust to Teach: Why Teacher Credibility Drives Student Engagement (0.90)

11. Micro-Teaching: Seeing Practice, Sharpening Impact (0.88) — You are here

12. Classroom Discussion: Dialogue as a Driver of Thinking

13. Targeted Support: What Works for Learners with Additional Needs

14. Relationships That Matter: How Teacher-Student Connection Fuels Learning

15. Revisiting and Remembering: Why Spaced Practice Outperforms Cramming

16. Learning to Learn: Embedding Meta-Cognitive Strategies Across the Curriculum

17. Stretching Forward: What Acceleration Means in Practice

18. Calm and Clear: How Classroom Management Enables Progress

19. Word Power: Why Vocabulary Programs Widen Access

20. Read It Again: How Repeated Reading Builds Fluency and Confidence

Next up: Classroom Discussion — exploring how purposeful dialogue, questioning, and student voice deepen understanding and unlock insight.