INITIAL WORK OF THE FAR WEST LABORATORY FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT WILL BE FOCUSED UPON INSERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-CONTAINED INSERVICE COURSES UTILIZING MICROTEACHING. EACH OF THESE COURSES, CALLED MINICOURSES, WILL BE DIRECTED TOWARD A PARTICULAR TEACHING SKILL OR TECHNIQUE--FOR EXAMPLE, THE BASIC SKILLS INVOLVED IN QUESTIONING. THE ESSENTIAL IDEA OF MICROTEACHING IS TO VIDEOTAPE A SPECIFIC MINIATURE TEACHING SITUATION, THUS PERMITTING CLOSE REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF THE PLAYBACK. FOR THIS, THE TEACHER TYPICALLY WORKS WITH A SMALL CLASS (4-10 PUPILS), TEACHES A SHORT LESSON (5-15 MINUTES), AND FOCUSES ON ONE SMALL, SPECIFIC PART OF TEACHING BEHAVIOR. THE ADVANTAGES OF MICROTEACHING INCLUDE--(1) EMPHASIS ON THE ACQUISITION AND PERFORMANCE OF SPECIFIC SKILLS, (2) IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK, (3) REINFORCEMENT OF AN EMERGING SKILL, AND (4) CONSTRUCTION OF COMPLEX SKILLS FROM SPECIFIC COMPONENTS LEARNED SINGLY. THE COST OF IMPLEMENTING MINICOURSES FOR A SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL BE LOW, WITH THE SIGNIFICANT COSTS BEING THE ACQUISITION OF A VIDEO TAPE RECORDING SYSTEM AND THE PROVISION OF SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS WHILE THE REGULAR TEACHERS ARE IN THE MINICOURSES. THE LABORATORY PLANS TO HAVE ITS FIRST MINICOURSE AVAILABLE FOR USE IN SCHOOLS BY EARLY 1968. (A 10-PAGE SUMMARY OF TENTATIVE LESSONS FOR MINICOURSE I, "EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING IN A CLASSROOM DISCUSSION," IS INCLUDED.) THIS REPORT WAS PRESENTED AT THE 1967 NCTE ANNUAL CONVENTION. (MM)