Computer-Based Classification of Preservice Physics Teachers\u2019 Written Reflections

Peter Wulff,Lisa Becker,Andreas Borowski,Hugo Robalino,Manfred Stede,Anna Nowak,David Buschhüter,Andrea Westphal

doi:10.1007/s10956-020-09865-1

Peter Wulff, Lisa Becker + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-020-09865-1

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Abstract

Reflecting in written form on one’s teaching enactments has been considered a facilitator for teachers’ professional growth in university-based preservice teacher education. Writing a structured reflection can be facilitated through external feedback. However, researchers noted that feedback in preservice teacher education often relies on holistic, rather than more content-based, analytic feedback because educators oftentimes lack resources (e.g., time) to provide more analytic feedback. To overcome this impediment to feedback for written reflection, advances in computer technology can be of use. Hence, this study sought to utilize techniques of natural language processing and machine learning to train a computer-based classifier that classifies preservice physics teachers’ written reflections on their teaching enactments in a German university teacher education program. To do so, a reflection model was adapted to physics education. It was then tested to what extent the computer-based classifier could accurately classify the elements of the reflection model in segments of preservice physics teachers’ written reflections. Multinomial logistic regression using word count as a predictor was found to yield acceptable average human-computer agreement (F1-score on held-out test dataset of 0.56) so that it might fuel further development towards an automated feedback tool that supplements existing holistic feedback for written reflections with data-based, analytic feedback.

Highlights

A source for preservice teachers’ professional development during university-based teacher education are practical teaching experiences gained primarily during school placements (Zeichner 2010; Clarke and Hollingsworth 2002)
Given the complex demands towards preservice teachers in school placements, external scaffolding was considered a major facilitator for professional growth (Grossman et al 2009; Korthagen and Kessels 1999; Shulman and Shulman 2004)
We performed an experiment where these written reflections were disaggregated into segments of reflective writing according to a reflection model

Summary

Introduction

A source for preservice teachers’ professional development during university-based teacher education are practical teaching experiences gained primarily during school placements (Zeichner 2010; Clarke and Hollingsworth 2002). It was often observed that novice teachers’ written reflections were characterized by descriptive and evaluative writing without more advanced pedagogical reasoning involved or without reframing their experience through a different conceptual frame (Nguyen et al 2014; Mena-Marcos et al 2013; Kost 2019; Loughran 2002; Hatton and Smith 1995) Describing their teaching enactments in a neutral manner was difficult for preservice teachers, where they oftentimes used value-laden and evaluative (mostly affirmative) words (Kost 2019; Poldner et al 2014; Christof et al 2018). Preservice teachers tend to focus on describing and evaluating their behavior instead of using more advanced arguments and explicative reasoning, such as justification, causes, or transformation of personal professional development (Poldner et al 2014; Mena-Marcos et al 2013; Kost 2019)

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