Preservice Teachers’ Skills to Identify Effective Teaching Interactions: Does It Relate to Their Ability to Implement Them?

Abstract

Research about in-service teachers has shown that specific skills such as the skill to identify effective teaching interactions in others relates to the teachers’ skill to engage in effective classroom interactions related to student learning. This study aimed to examine the relationship between these skills for 130 preservice teachers in the final year of their program. Findings indicated that preservice teachers’ skill to identify effective teaching interactions in others related to the effectiveness of the emotional support and instructional support exhibited in their observed classroom interactions. In addition, the study investigated the relationship between these skills and the teacher program characteristics. This study provides further evidence that the skill of noticing effective teaching interactions in others is related to implementing one’s own effective classroom interactions. Thus, enhancing preservice teachers’ noticing skills serves as an important target for current and future teacher training.