Cultivating the Pedagogical Competence of Pre-Service Science Teachers through Microteaching

The article investigated microteaching's effects on pre-service chemistry teachers' preparation for teaching practice at the Federal College of Education, Zaria. A sample of 80 pre-service teachers was selected randomly using the balloting method into the experimental and control groups from a population of 400 students. The experimental group was trained for six weeks using the microteaching modules for the teacher training program, while the control group did not undergo the training. The Microteaching Evaluation Template (MET) with a reliability coefficient of 0.65 was employed as the instrument for data collection. Data was analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and t-test at p≤ 0.05. The finding from the study revealed that pre-service teachers exposed to microteaching modules performed better in teaching practice than the control group. Furthermore, the study discovered that microteaching benefited both male and female pre-service teachers. The study recommends that microteaching be adopted as a vital instructional tool to enhance the delivery of pre-service teachers.