Abstract
This essay describes one professor’s alternative approach to planning and teaching an English language arts methods course for pre-service teachers. Planning for the course began with a needs assessment, much like a needs assessment that practicing teachers would complete in order for administrators to plan professional development workshops. Students were surveyed concerning their efficacy beliefs as they pertained to common tasks English language arts teachers encounter in the classroom. A methods course was then designed to provide a series of professional development-type workshops to boost the students’ efficacy beliefs about their abilities to become effective English language arts teachers.
Highlights
Each semester, countless numbers of pre-service teachers enter what many educators label “methods courses” to receive formal training for teacher education
Teacher educators should first assess the efficacy beliefs their students have as they pertain to teaching situations common to a majority of classrooms in the form of a “needs assessment” and build a course based upon the
A teacher’s self-efficacy beliefs develop over time as he or she completes numerous tasks that produce favorable outcomes. Either on their own or through school mandated experiences, developers must realize that while teaching practices and ideas may be supported by research and proven to work, teachers who possess low self-efficacy beliefs will likely hesitate to utilize the new practices
Summary
Countless numbers of pre-service teachers enter what many educators label “methods courses” to receive formal training for teacher education. These courses often focus on content pedagogy and instructional practices. We teach our students to diagnostically assess their own students in order to individualize education and yet we often employ the same antiquated teaching strategies semester after semester rather than designing programs that meet their individual needs. Teacher educators should first assess the efficacy beliefs their students have as they pertain to teaching situations common to a majority of classrooms in the form of a “needs assessment” and build a course based upon the. 2012, Vol 3, No 2 experiences those students will need to become successful teachers
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