Having read your report on microteaching at Stirling University, I can happily confirm that it was indeed very much alive from 1970 when I first experienced it under Jack Duthie. I am surprised that the university doesn’t know how successful it was then. Students were introduced to the Flanders Interaction Analysis Chart which allowed observers to check pupilteacher interaction. It was very useful. The benefit of microteaching at that time was that it quickly identified those students who simply did not have the personality to help children enjoy learning and, hopefully, led to students unsuited to teaching to withdraw.

Gordon Ford, director of education, West Lothian Council.