Differences In Pre-service Teachers Research Articles

EXPLORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ICT TOOLS FOR ONLINE TEACHING, LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT AMONG PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS FROM A GHANAIAN UNIVERSITY

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, universities in Ghana have embraced the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools for online teaching, learning, and assessment. However, despite the increasing integration of these tools in education, there is a need to explore their effectiveness in enhancing students learning and educational outcomes. The purpose of this study was thus to explores the effectiveness of integrating ICT tools for online teaching, learning, and assessment in one of the Universities in Ghana. To achieve the purpose of this study, the quantitative descriptive survey design was adopted where a convenient sample of 301 pre-service teachers were selected through and surveyed. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 25 and the results showed that majority of pre-service teachers perceived ICT tools as positive for online teaching, learning and assessment. However, challenges like technical skills, unreliable internet, limited access, training needs, academic integrity, support, and student engagement were highlighted as detrimental to online teaching, learning and assessment. The results further revealed interesting age differences in pre-service teachers’ viewpoints about effectiveness of ICT tools with older students perceiving ICT tools as more effective for online teaching and learning but less so for online assessment. It was thus recommended that there should be increased educator support and training on ICT integration in teaching and learning, promoting online student collaboration, soliciting ongoing student feedback, and targeted training on effective use of technology for learning for mature learners.

Training & prompting pre-service teachers’ noticing in a standardized classroom simulation – a mobile eye-tracking study

Numerous events happening in classrooms require a teacher to select important and filter out irrelevant information. This crucial and challenging skill is referred to as noticing. For noticing classroom management events pre-service teachers have a smaller knowledge base and little teaching experience compared to expert teachers. Supporting pre-service teachers in developing their classroom management knowledge and noticing skill is, thus, of great importance for teacher education. Previous research finds positive effects of interventions on teachers’ noticing during video observation. To our knowledge, no studies depict noticing during teaching. We examined N = 46 pre-service teachers’ noticing with regard to classroom management during classroom teaching in a quasi-experimental between-subjects design. Pre-service teachers’ took part in a standardized classroom simulation after a classroom management training, with one group receiving prompting regarding evidence-based classroom management strategies before and during the classroom simulation and one group receiving only training. We also included a control group without classroom management training. To assess differences in pre-service teachers’ noticing, the classroom simulation elicited comparable conditions, including standardized classroom management events and student behavior. Mobile eye-tracking as well as retrospective video observations were used to explore teachers’ event-related and global noticing. Event-related noticing was assessed via count and accuracy of noticed classroom management events. Global noticing included objective parameters of teachers eye movements (visit/fixation counts and duration) onto the students in the standardized classroom simulation. The results show that training and prompting significantly affected pre-service teachers’ event-related noticing, with both experimental groups making fewer target and time errors compared to the control group. No significant differences were found with regard to global noticing. This includes fixation and visit count and duration on students. Correlational analysis showed a positive association between higher noticing accuracy and share of fixations on students. This study expands upon previous empirical research using mobile eye-tracking to obtain objective measures of teachers’ noticing. It sheds light on the relevance of knowledge for teachers’ noticing during teaching. It also takes a first step toward understanding how pre-service teachers’ noticing during classroom teaching can be promoted through fostering knowledge about classroom management through a training.

Preservice teachers equitably attending to and interpreting multilingual students' mathematical thinking

AbstractResearch indicates that teachers may hold biases against multilingual learners (MLs). However, there is limited research regarding how teachers notice MLs' mathematical thinking. Given the complexity of teacher noticing and multilinguality, the lead researchers developed the Equitably Attending to and Interpreting a Student's Mathematical Thinking (EAST) framework to support preservice teachers' development of equitable noticing skills. Using a pre‐ and post‐intervention study design and EAST based lessons, we explored differences in preservice teachers' equitable noticing of MLs' mathematical thinking. We collected data on a noticing assessment from two groups of preservice teachers, 21 of whom received the EAST lessons, and 39 of whom received lessons on eliciting and interpreting student thinking without a focus on equity. Preservice teachers in both groups noticed components of the EAST framework, but more often noticed issues of access and achievement, and rarely attended to issues of identity or power. Findings from the study provide insight into what equitable noticing of a MLs' mathematical thinking entails, as well as areas for further development in both teaching and research regarding equitable noticing.

Individual differences in preservice teachers’ online self-regulated learning capacity: A multilevel analysis

We examined the relationships between preservice teachers' use of six types of online self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies (goal-setting, time management, environmental structuring, task strategies, help-seeking, and self-evaluation) and their characteristics (gender, technology integration self-efficacy, prior online learning experience, and program of study), and how these relationships vary across teacher education programs. A total of 325 preservice teachers from 14 teacher education programs participated in the study. Data were analyzed using cross-sectional two-level multilevel models. Results revealed that, except for environmental structuring and self-evaluation strategies, preservice teachers' use of all specific SRL strategies significantly varied across teacher education programs. Females demonstrated higher use of goal-setting strategies compared to males. Technology integration self-efficacy was a significant positive predictor of all SRL strategies, except for task strategies. Prior online learning experience was a significant negative predictor of goal-setting and self-evaluation strategies. This study's findings inform teacher education by highlighting variations in online SRL among preservice teachers, influenced by gender, technology integration self-efficacy, and prior online learning experience. Study limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Exploring mathematical pedagogical content knowledge of pre-service teachers

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their mathematical pedagogical content knowledge and to determine effect of demographic variables (Gender, year of study) on their mathematical pedagogical content knowledge. A Likert scale questionnaire was used to collect data from 104 pre-service teachers. Descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney U-test were used to examine pre-service teachers’ perceived knowledge of teaching strategies, mathematical language and symbols, misconceptions, curriculum, and their perceived knowledge of learners. Results show that in general, majority pre-service teachers have strong perceptions of their mathematical pedagogical content knowledge. They consider lesson planning, purpose of the mathematics curriculum and assessment tools used in a mathematics classroom as important aspects of their perceived knowledge of the curriculum. It was also revealed that their perceived knowledge of misconception would enable them to know and anticipate their learners’ misconceptions. However, results also indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in pre-service teachers’ mathematical pedagogical content knowledge based on gender and year of study. Study implications are also discussed.

Building teacher candidates’ self-efficacy beliefs about the education of multilingual learners: A linguistically responsive approach

This study explores possible effects of a linguistically responsive instructional intervention including critical language awareness and systemic functional linguistics on preservice teachers' self-efficacy beliefs about providing support for multilingual learners, focusing on their knowledge of language structures, and incorporating multilingual activities and critical perspectives in classroom instruction. Survey data were collected from 106 preservice teachers (control = 54, intervention = 52). Findings suggest that the intervention had several significant effects on teacher candidate's self-efficacy beliefs and that many of the effects were moderated by background factors. This study shows that critical content infused into teacher education coursework can make differences in preservice teachers' perceptions.

Critical language awareness in teacher education: an experiment at the intersection of language, identity, and ideologies

ABSTRACT The recent push to ban the teaching of critical perspectives in K-12 schools in the US has highlighted the need to equip future teachers with views that emphasise the inseparable connections among identity, language, and equity and the roles they have in supporting an inclusive and just society. This study explores possible effects of a critical language awareness (CLA) experiment on preservice teachers’ perceptions about seven measures, including their language and identity, their own language use, supporting students’ first language at home, using students’ ethnic identities in the classroom, their language ideologies, using students’ first language(s) in the classroom, and advocating for diverse students in the school. Survey data were collected from 97 preservice teachers (control = 51, experimental = 46). Findings suggest that the CLA experiment had a significant impact on four of the seven language and identity measures (e.g. supporting students’ first language(s) use in the classroom, advocating for diverse students in the school. Some of the demographic (e.g. language status) and background factors (e.g. exposure to cultural/racial diversity in life) appeared to have moderated some effects on participants’ perceptions. This study shows that critical content infused into the coursework through well-structured experiments can make a difference in preservice teachers’ perceptions.

Pre-service teachers’ knowledge, beliefs and predispositions to teach argumentation in their disciplines

ABSTRACT Despite growing emphasis on learning to argue and arguing to learn as educational outcomes in the secondary curriculum, a gap remains between these curricular goals and teachers’ practices. The present study seeks to understand this gap by surveying 158 pre-service teachers about their knowledge, beliefs and predispositions related to argumentation and learning. Results reveal a strong, unanimous value for argumentation among pre-service teachers, combined with a vague understanding of what it means to learn and teach argumentation within their academic disciplines. In addition, we found a contradiction between pre-service teachers’ belief in the importance of learning to argue and their reluctance to use instructional time to teach it. Finally, we did not find differences in pre-service teachers’ perceptions across majors. We conclude with recommendations for fostering pedagogical content knowledge in argumentation to pre-service teachers, particularly in content-area methods classes.

Exploring pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy, content knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge concerning education for sustainable development

The current study utilized a pre-and post-intervention design to assess pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy, perceived content knowledge, and perceived pedagogical knowledge before and after a teaching practicum in the Pakistani context. The data were collected in two phases. In the pre-practicum phase, data were collected from 419 pre-service teachers enrolled in B. Ed, M. Ed, and MA Education programs to assess the general level of self-efficacy for teaching ESD-related concepts, their perceived content knowledge, and perceived pedagogical knowledge concerning ESD. In the post-practicum phase, the data were collected from 215 participants who participated in the first phase and consented to participate in the second phase. One-way ANOVA, Independent sample t-test and paired sample t-test were utilized for data analysis. Results suggest significant differences in pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy based on the university, program, and age. Similarly, a difference was found between pre-service teachers’ perceived content knowledge based on the university they were enrolled in. The difference in pedagogical knowledge was also found based on university and gender. Further, the post-practicum analysis suggests a significant difference in pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy, perceived content knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge after undergoing a teaching practicum. Conclusion, limitations, and recommendations are provided at the end of the paper.

Exploring Classroom Use of ICT Among Pre-service Science Teachers in Selected SADC Countries

Information and communication technology (ICT) competences are among the most important requirements to effectively teach mathematics and science in today’s classrooms. Teacher educators in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region have prioritised ICT competences for pre-service teachers (PSTs) to effectively select suitable instructional techniques for teaching mathematics and science subject matter. The purpose of this study was to compare PSTs’ knowledge of integrating ICT resources into mathematics and science instruction during their teaching practice based on the country of their training, and to determine a linear combination of subfactors that best explains their ICT knowledge. Data were collected from 524 final year PSTs in three SADC countries: Lesotho, South Africa and Zimbabwe. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the effect of country on PSTs’ ICT competence levels. In addition, a stepwise linear multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine a linear combination of subfactors that significantly influenced their ability to integrate ICTs into their instruction. The results of the study revealed a significant difference in PSTs’ ICT competences by country. A post hoc test was conducted to determine which groups differed significantly. The results have highlighted the importance of PSTs’ access to ICT resources during teaching practice in the three countries. Furthermore, the results have contributed to knowledge about teacher education in the three countries.

I value the problem, but I don’t think my students will: preservice teachers’ judgments of task value and self-efficacy for modelling, word, and intramathematical problems

According to expectancy-value models, two important motivational constructs are task value and self-efficacy expectations. As students work intensively on mathematical problems in the classroom, teachers need the competence to judge whether students value solving the problem and how confident they are that they will succeed. However, not much is known about the mechanisms behind teachers’ judgments concerning students’ motivation. The goal of the present study was to answer the following research questions: (a) How do preservice teachers rate their own task value and self-efficacy for modelling, word, and intramathematical problems? (b) Are there differences in preservice teachers’ diagnostic judgments concerning school students’ task value and self-efficacy for modelling, word, and intramathematical problems? (c) Do preservice teachers’ own task value and self-efficacy for modelling, word, and intramathematical problems differ from preservice teachers’ judgments of school students’ task value and self-efficacy? A total of 182 preservice teachers were asked about the value of 12 problems, their confidence in solving the problems, and how hypothetical ninth graders would judge these constructs. Preservice teachers’ ratings of their own perceptions regarding both constructs were lower for modelling problems than for other problems. When judging school students’ motivation, ratings of both constructs were higher for word problems. Preservice teachers’ ratings of their own motivation were significantly higher across all types of problems than their judgments of school students’ perspectives. A positive correlation between preservice teachers’ own motivation and their judgments of school students’ motivation indicates the importance of teachers’ perceptions of their own motivation to solve mathematical problems for diagnostic judgments.

‘How do you reflect linguistic diversity in the classroom?’: A quanticised analysis. The pedagogic repertoires of pre-service teachers in England training in predominantly monolingual classrooms

ABSTRACT This study, undertaken in a predominantly monolingual area of England, examines pre-service teachers’ (N = 293) suggestions of how they could reflect linguistic diversity in primary classrooms (ages 4-11). Trialling a mixed method approach where open-text data are quanticised, a combination of content analysis and statistical analysis are used to ask a) what methodsare identified as ways of reflecting linguistic and cultural diversity? And b) is there a difference in the methods suggested by the pre-service teachers according to their own experience of learning languages and the institution they train at? The methods most commonly suggsted were likely to be isolated events and fit with existing structures (e.g. ”show and tell” time, multicultural days and guest speakers). Overall, substantial differences in pre-service teachers' pedagogic repertoires were found, highlighting the need to ensure practice, research and rhetoric supporting multilingualism reaches all.

The Effect of the Flipped Classroom Model on Pre-Service Teachers' Digital Literacy and Digital Pedagogical Competencies

This study aims to analyze the effect of the flipped classroom model on the pre-service social studies teachers’ digital literacy and digital pedagogical competencies. The study employed one group pretest-posttest design, one of the weak experimental models. The working group of the study consisted of 28 sophomore studying at the department of social studies teaching in a Turkish state university during the 2019-2020 academic year. This study employed “Digital Literacy and Digital Pedagogic Competency Scales” as data collection tools. Descriptive statistics and multivariate variance analysis (MANOVA) were used during data analysis. The study results revealed that the flipped classroom model based activities had a significant impact upon the digital literacy and digital pedagogical competences of the participants. The study also examined whether there was a significant difference in pre-service teachers’ pre-test and post-test scores with regards to gender. A significant difference was identified across the pre-service teachers’ digital literacy post-test scores in favor of females. Based on the results, various recommendations were provided.

A STEM Course Analysis During COVID-19: A Comparison Study in Performance and Affective Domain of PSTs Between F2F and F2S Flipped Classroom.

Due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, university education has faced a significant challenge that requires adaptation to virtual and online education. Here, a fruitful flipped methodology with increased popularity can support adaption to and improvement of the current pandemic situation. This research presents a comparison of two different instruction situations with an identical teaching methodology, face-to-face (F2F) and face-to-screen (F2S) flipped methodology, in terms of students' performance and affective domain in a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) course. It was considered and designed as an examination of 132 pre-service teachers (PSTs), with 68 and 64 PSTs respectively for each group. The first group before the pandemic was applied by F2F flipped classroom and the second group after the pandemic was applied by F2S flipped classroom. The results after pertaining various data analyses of class activities and questionaries showed that performance had been improved for both groups toward the course. In addition, F2F had a significant difference in PSTs' emotion and perception toward the course and made classes more interactive. The mean score values of students' emotion and perception between two groups showed that the difference between these mean values were significant, suggesting a very large effect. Particularly, the effect size (ES) showed that positive emotions were more significant with different variables and the items Q7–Q9 of questionnaires indicated more significant different perceptions for both F2F and F2S after completing the course. Finally, the principal component analysis (PCA) test described that F2F answers were located mainly in the positive emotion, while F2S answers were grouped in the negative emotion, while no differences were observed for PSTs perceptions to the flipped methodology. Consequently, although F2F–F2S transition was an effective process, instructors and PSTs faced difficulties in the platform usage for online lectures reflecting emotions' results in F2S group. Thus, by solving the problems raised, it will allow PSTs to be more interactive in a virtual and online context for their future implementation by giving them active instruction methodology and educating future students to teach STEM contents.

College of Education Pre-Service Teachers’ Attitude in Terms of Usefulness, Confidence and Enjoyment towards Geometry by Gender

This study investigated gender differences in pre-service teachers’ attitude towards geometry in Northern Region of Ghana. The research design was descriptive cross-sectional survey. A concurrent mixed-methods approach was adopted using both closed and open-ended questionnaire items. The population for the study was one thousand, six hundred and sixty-nine (1669) level 200 Pre-service Teachers (PSTs). The sample composed of two hundred and forty (240), comprising 120 PSTs each of female and male. The sampling procedure was convenient, stratified and simple random. The instrument used was 32 item Utley Geometry Attitude Scales (UGAS) that was developed by Utley (2007) and 4 opened ended questions. Statistically significant difference was detected between the male and female in their responses to usefulness of learning geometry, confidence to learning geometry and enjoyment of learning geometry which all favored the male PSTs who showed positive attitude towards geometry.

“Do You Think You Have What it Takes?” – Exploring Predictors of Pre-Service Teachers’ Prospective ICT Use

Despite extensive efforts to support teachers with the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into their classroom practice, current research reports that teachers face immense challenges when integrating ICT into their teaching. This issue has become even more relevant with the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, forcing schools around the world to close for an indefinite period of time and thus to offer remote digital learning solutions. Against this background, this study focused on examining the predictors of pre-service teachers’ prospective ICT use and investigated the heterogeneous results of previous research related to ICT use and gender. Following the ‘will, skill, tool’ framework, the study examined relevant factors of pre-service teachers’ (N = 103) prospective ICT use for teaching and learning processes by means of multiple regression analyses. The analyses included pre-service teachers’ background characteristics, ICT profiles (attitudes and self-efficacy), digital competencies and use of digital tools in order to explore their role in future in-class use of ICT. They also show that there are no gender differences in pre-service teachers’ prospective ICT integration. However, male pre-service teachers hold more positive attitudes towards ICT use than their female counterparts. Additionally, the findings reveal that the two strongest predictors of pre-service teachers’ future ICT use are their attitudes and perceived competency to teach and implement technology in their teaching practices. Finally, the results provide important information about teachers’ training needs. Implications of the results and further research are discussed.

Online Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Preservice Teacher’s Perception

This study aims to explore preservice teacher’s perception of online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study is a descriptive-exploratory research where respondents are 107 preservice teachers from four study programs that provide preservice teacher’s education, namely Mathematics Education, Biology Education, Physics Education, and Chemistry Education in the Mandalika University of Education–Indonesia. An instrument in the form of a questionnaire was used with a Likert scale and has been validated (expert validation). The research data were analyzed descriptively and statistically using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. The study results show that the preservice teacher’s perception of online learning modes during the Covid-19 pandemic is “quite” category, and there is no significant difference in preservice teachers' perceptions of online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. Descriptions of the results of further studies are presented in this article

Pedagogy, Didactics, or Subject Matter? Exploring Pre-service Teachers’ Interest Profiles

Abstract Interest has been considered an important determinant of teacher quality. However, research into teacher interest, and more specifically, pre-service teachers’ interest is limited. Hence, the current study tackled the current gaps in pre-service teachers’ interest and aimed to explore pre-service teachers’ interest profiles based on the multidimensional framework of teacher interest. A total of 225 pre-service teachers, enrolled in various initial teacher education programs of two universities in Germany, participated voluntarily in the study. The results revealed two distinct pre-service teachers’ profiles based on the three teacher interest factors. Interestingly, the two profiles did not significantly differ in their subject interest levels, but did vary in their didactic and educational interest. In addition, the findings also revealed gender and school track differences in pre-service teachers’ interests and profiles. Consequences for future research and teacher education are discussed in detail.

Investigation of Pre-Service Biology Teachers' Self-Confidence Concerning Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge With Respect to Some Variables

The present study aims to determine pre-service biology teachers' self-confidence levels concerning their technological pedagogical content knowledge with respect to variables namely class level and computer knowledge. Designed as a survey, 91 pre-service teachers enrolled in the biology education programme participated in the study. Data were collected by using the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Self- Confidence Scale developed by Graham, Burgoyne, Cantrell, Smith, Clair and Harris (2009) and adapted in Turkish by Timur and Tasar (2011). Findings of the study show that pre-service teachers have a high self-confidence concerning their technological pedagogical content knowledge. It was also found that there was no significant difference in pre-service teachers' self-confidence with respect to the class level. However, it was found that pre-service teachers who had enrolled in a computer course during their education had higher self-confidence.

Examining the relationship between pre-service mathematics teachers’ mathematical thinking level and attitude towards mathematics courses

Abstract: This study is correlational research and aims to investigate the relationship between preservice mathematics teachers' mathematical thinking levels and attitudes for courses in mathematics. We also examined whether gender, reasons for career choice, and academic achievement lead to significant differences in pre-service teachers' attitudes and mathematical thinking levels. Participants are 109 senior pre-service mathematics teachers from three different state universities that have similar conditions. Participants are selected via convenience sampling. Seventy-nine of the participants are female, and 30 are male. "Attitude scale for courses in mathematics" and "Mathematical Thinking Scale" are used to collect data. Data were analyzed by using SPSS package program. Pre-service teachers are found to have moderate attitudes while their mathematical thinking levels are at a high-level in the sub-domains of higher-order thinking tendency, reasoning, and problem-solving and at a moderate level in the subdomain of mathematical thinking skill. Pre-service teachers' attitudes for courses in mathematics have a significant moderate relationship with higher order thinking tendency, and reasoning and have a significant and weak relationship with problem-solving.