MOUNT CARMEL COLLEGE OF TEACHER

EDUCATION FOR WOMEN

EDU 103: DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES IN EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

ASSIGNMENT
ON

LINK PRACTICE AND SIMULATION

SUBMITTED TO: DR. LISSY KOSHY

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN EDUCATION
MOUNT CARMEL COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION FOR WOMEN
KANJIKUZHI, KOTTAYAM.

SUBMITTED BY: JISHA RUTH SUNNY

I B.Ed.
NATURAL SCIENCE
2016 2018 BATCH

INTRODUCTION

Recent contributions to the teacher education literature raise interest in the use of diverse
instructional practices and activities in teacher education. Various activities and practices in
teacher education are asserted to develop a variety of skills, forms of knowledge and habits of
the mind in prospective teachers. Numerous moves have been made to use different types of
technology to markedly enhance teaching and in particular student learning.
Teaching is a complex skill which can be analysed into simpler skills. Component teaching
skills can be practiced for mastery under simplified teaching situation one by one. Once
component teaching skills are mastered one by one they can be integrated for real teaching.
The skill training can be transferred from simulated teaching situation to actual classroom
teaching situation.
Teaching is a skill and can be developed. In order to make teacher education programme
effective and to bring qualitative improvement a few innovative alternatives like micro
teaching, role playing, simulated training should come into practice.

CONTENT

LINK PRACTICE

Experience has proved that the provision of a bridge between

micro teaching and full class teaching definitely help the trainees to transfer effectively all
the skills learnt in the microteaching sessions. Link practice is the term used to describe such
a bridge. It normally involves the integration of all the skills.
There is a very big contrast between micro teaching and fullclass teaching practice. Micro teaching is a scaled down model in terms of class size, time
and the aspect of teaching Further while micro teaching is a practised under stimulated
conditions, the macro teaching presents problem of classroom management. Hence in link
practice, the trainees are given the chance of teaching school pupils.
The Link practice sessions are normally arranged with about 20
pupils for about half the normal class period i.e., 20 minutes. The trainee prepares a series of
eight short lessons on a single unit and teaches each lesson for 20 minutes using the
appropriate skills particular to the content. The number of lessons used in link practice is also
flexible but should cover adequately the topic the trainee has chosen. The skills of set
induction and closure which are not practiced in micro teaching sessions are now effectively
used in the proper place in the link lesson. There is no meaning to practice these two skills in
micro teaching sessions in isolation. It is most inappropriate in micro teaching to introduce a
lesson which does not then take place at all. Hence in link practice lessons, the trainees gain
sufficient practice and control over the use of components of the skills appropriately with the
content.
A link lesson gives a student trainee a taste of a real class without
the panic and uncertainty associated with a macro lesson. Thus a full unit can be chosen for
link practice. The unit is then divided into several smaller portions and a few selected micro
skills, a link lesson can be framed. This gives an opportunity to use even those skills which

may not have been practiced before. This lesson can be demonstrated to a group of teacher
trainees who can then practise continuously, with no break in subject matter. When mastery
has been attained in various skills, the teacher trainee is allowed to teach the skills together.
This separate training programme to integrate various isolated skills is known as Link
Practice.

Link practice helps the trainee to transfer effectively all the skills learnt in the micro

teaching sessions.
It helps to bridge the gap between training in isolated teaching skills and real teaching

situation faced by a student teacher.

The desirable number of pupil is between 15 and 20.
Preferable duration is 20 minutes.
The desirable number of skills is 3-4 skills.

The integration of teaching skills is characterised by:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The appropriateness of the use of skills integrated.

Adaptability to other situations.
Proper sequencing of the skills.
Optimum proportion of each skill in teaching.
Coordination of different elements involved in teaching.

Link practice or integration of skills can be done in two ways:

1. Integration in parts

: Three or four teaching skills are integrated and then

incorporated into a lesson of 15-20 minutes duration. Again 3-4 skills are
integrated and all are transferred within one lesson.
2. Integration as a whole: The student teacher integrates all the individual
teaching skills by taking them as a whole and transfer them into real teaching
situation.

SIMULATION

Micro teaching is concerned with acquiring the teaching skills. It

is thus the planned interaction between the teacher and the taught. Now it is not possible to go
to schools and practice this skill as the head of the institution will never like the idea of
allowing only 5 to 7 pupils at a time. This will disturb their schedule too. So to overcome this
problem, the student teachers are asked to give lessons to their own peer group. This is called
Simulation.
In 1968, Cruickshank developed a system denoted by several
terms such as Role playing, Artificial teaching. Pilot training, laboratory method, clinical
method and inductive scientific method. This was simulated teaching. It is one of the
techniques being used currently in India as well as in other countries for the modification of
teacher behaviour. Thus classroom roles are simulated under this approach. Behavioural
problems and class room managements are better handled through simulated teaching.

Definition of Simulation
1. Thomas and Deemer. To simulate is to obtain the essence of teaching without the
reality.
2. Harman.

Simulation contains the important parts of, but not all of, reality.

Simulations do not have to look like the real life counterpart, but they do have to act
like the real thing.
From the above mentioned definitions it is clear that when simulation includes important
aspects of reality, it omits other elements of the real life situations. Unimportant elements
from the real life are subtracted when simulations are designed. There is a reduction of
information from the real life in the case of simulated displays. The information is in
some sense unnecessary for learning of the task. Simulation may be defined in the
following equation:
Simulation = Real life - Irrelevant task elements.
3. Websters Dictionary. Giving the appearance or effect of ; to have characteristics of.
4. Tansey. Simulation is an all inclusive term. It contains those activities which produce
artificial environments or which provides artificial experience for the participants in
the activity.

Activities

1. Role playing: The simplest of the activities included in all embracing term simulation
is role playing. Essentially it is one or either of two following types of activities:
Act of being someone else
Act of acquiring experience in a set of activities in which the actor
seeks to acquire or to increase his competence.
In role playing the role assumed is one in which the actor portrays either a fictitious role or an
actual role, but performs that role in an artificial environment. By definition the role play
portrayed may be one with which the actor has little or no familiarity at the start of simulated
situation or of the relationship among real life participants of a social process. Alternatively,
the role playing may be used to assist the participants to gain some perception of actions,
attitudes or situations of another person.
2. Socio drama: Socio drama uses role playing as a means to enables the role players
to seek a solution to a social problem which is posed for them. The problem may be
one extracted from the real world. Alternatively, it may be one designed to present a
selected situation for solution. Irrespective of this type of situation, the role players
are required to devise an acceptable solution to the situation presented.
Socio drama may be distinguished from role playing only in the objective which is
sought. Role playing seeks to provide competence and understanding in a particular
role for a person who plays that role. On the other hand, socio-drama seeks to utilize
role playing as a means of devising a solution to a problem situation which is
prescribed for the role players. This problem may be fictional or it may be an
abstraction from real life.
3. Gaming: An added element in the technique of socio-drama is gaming; an element
which demands the development and choice of strategies and some type of pay-offrewards of deprivations dictated either by chance or by the choice of strategies. These
decisions and the rewards are subject to the strictures of rule known to all players. The
situations employed in gaming involve outcomes which are affected by decisions
made by one or more decision. Gaming may be designed in a manner which allows
chance to affect the outcome, or the chance may be prohibited.
Simulation in Teacher Training
Cruikshank developed a teacher training system which is capable of presenting the
student with different simulated problems relating to teaching. The various steps in
teacher training are the following:
Introducing the participant.

Providing information.
Exposing solutions for problems.
Observing other results.
Introducing to the situation.
Giving the materials.
Presenting the problem.
Responding.
Identifying, locating and implementing.
Small group discussions.
Large group discussion

Precautions in Devising a Simulated Situation

While devising a simulated situation the following precautions should be observed:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Clear objectives: The objectives should be clear and precise.

Motivation in advance: The students should be motivated in advance.
Role involvement: The students should be involved to perform certain roles.
Flexibility in approach: There should be flexibility in approach.

Advantages of simulated Teaching

The following are the advantages of simulated teaching:
1. Device for motivating student. Simulated teaching is a device for motivating
students. To quote Cruickshank, The technique provides reinforcement to
students to develop teaching skills and avoid any risk of actual classroom
encounter.
2. Analysis of teaching problems. Simulated teaching provides opportunities to
student teachers to study and analyse critical teaching problems.
3. Insight into behavioural problems. Simulated teaching helps students in
understanding behavioural problems of classroom, it helps in developing an
insight to encounter them.
4. Foraging link between theory and practice. A major advantage of using simulated
teaching is that it forges close links between theory and practice.
5. Means to conceptual knowledge. Simulated teaching serves as a social laboratory.
It provides opportunities to students to exercise the social skills acquired. It helps
in utilizing an artificial environment knowledge previously acquired. It leads to
gaining some comprehension of the complexities of selected social process.

Simulation is nothing but an artificial creation. It is a sort of tailor-made situation, which is a

realistic as possible; and this is done by breaking down a difficult or complex system into
several sub-systems. It offers opportunities for compensating the trainee for lack of actual
time spent in practice teaching. Simulation is a controlled representation of reality involving
role playing and simplified but minimally distorted reflection of the normal class situations.
The peers serve as pupils in such simulated micro teaching sessions.
Simulation permits teacher trainee to engage in a variety of problems that may arise, which
they may not face in practice teaching. It can provide a variety of school environments to the
trainees at practically no cost and offer immediate feedback making it possible to identify
cause effect relationships. Further students attitudes also indicate that they like to share the
experiences with peers rather than with the college supervisor and to have their plus points
appreciated and false overlooked.

CONCLUSION

Link practise and simulation works as a focused instrument which helps to practice essential
teaching skills safely and effectively at any age. Learning is a change in behaviour , which is
brought about by activity, training or experiencing at any age. When the learner is more
experienced learning becomes more effective
No amount of expertise in any one skill can promise a good lesson. It is the integration of
two or more selected micro teaching skills which forms a macro lesson. The transition from
micro teaching to macro teaching session is done by taking a few selected skills with more
content than in a micro lesson through link practice.

Simulated teaching is a strategy for developing insights into the dynamics of teachinglearning processes and the wider social world in which we find our place. It is practised by
teacher educators, teachers, principals, headmasters, educational planners and administrators.
There is a wide spread use of simulation in the domain of business management, military
education, driving, pilot training and various other fields.

REFERENCES

Mathew T.K, Mollykutty T.M (2006). Science Education- Theoretical Bases of

Teaching & Pedagogic Analysis. Published by Rainbow Books Publishers,

Chengannur, India.
Mathew T. K, George P.T (2012). Modern Trends in Educational Practices. Published
by Rainbow Book Publishers, Chengannur, India.

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