A model trial for the “Teaching Practice” course within Turkish teaching programs: Lesson study

Abstract

This study aimed to reveal certain people’s perceptions and experiences regarding the lesson study model conducted within the Teaching Practice course under the program of Turkish Teaching at a state university in Turkey. The design of this research was determined to be a case study. The study group consisted of an instructor, practice teacher and three pre-service teachers. Data were collected through observation, interviews or documents, and assessed through analyses. At the end of the study, three categories as positive experiences, issues and contributions emerged. The results indicated that participants had positive experiences in terms of preparing and implementing a course plan for the reading skills, classroom management, communication between the group members, and doing research. Moreover, as understood from the results, micro-teaching practices conducted by the pre-service teachers during their undergraduate program consolidated the characteristics of the lesson study process, and pre-service teachers felt satisfied based on the course plan they prepared and implemented, on the participant of secondary-school students to courses, and on the positive feedback of instructor and practice teacher. The issues were found to be related to the model and negative feelings; these issues were specifically associated with finding sources for the reading activities or preparing course plans for different classes. Moreover, model-related issues such as the obligation of group work in the model and greater responsibility of the person instructing the class were experienced. Pre-service teachers were found to experience certain feelings in this process such as anxiety or excitement. In conclusion, lesson study model contributed to the teaching skills and the cooperation in the classroom.