Promote Preservice Teachers Research Articles

Fostering self-directed learning competencies among preservice teachers through reflective practice and technology-mediated collaborative learning

ABSTRACT This study examined the effects of reflective practices (RP) on self-directed learning competencies (SDLC) as well as the relationship between technology-mediated collaborative learning (TMCL) as a reflective practice and SDLC in a preservice teachers’ class. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the effects of RP on SDLC. In addition, a pre- and post-test survey comparison was used to compare SDLC differences before and after the class using TMCL. To investigate more details regarding the relationships between TMCL and SDLC based on participants’ experiences and perceptions, qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. The results indicated that RP significantly affected SDLC. Importantly, TMCL played a crucial role in improving SDLC of preservice teachers. This study implied that the ultimate goal of collaborative learning using technology was to promote preservice teachers’ SDLC so that they could become self-directed learners.

Promoting Preservice Teachers' Teaching Self-Efficacy: Curriculum Innovation with Concept Mapping at the Core of the Elementary Bilingual Science Teaching Materials Pedagogy Program

Promoting Preservice Teachers' Teaching Self-Efficacy: Curriculum Innovation with Concept Mapping at the Core of the Elementary Bilingual Science Teaching Materials Pedagogy Program

Supporting Preservice Teachers’ Civic Competence as a Strategy for Internationalisation in the Digital Era

Higher education institutions worldwide show an interest in enhancing their internationalisation initiatives by integrating innovative teaching approaches into formal curricula. A main concern is to ensure that preservice teachers enter future classrooms with a high level of civic competence. The aim of this study was to investigate the challenges and opportunities confronted within a professional development programme designed to promote preservice teachers’ competencies for democratic culture. The professional development programme was a three-year Erasmus+ KA2 programme involving the development of teacher training modules inspired by and aimed at developing competencies from the Reference Framework of Competencies for Democratic Culture. Its objective was to integrate digital resources within practicum-based learning modules based on democratic citizenship values. Following the implementation of the programme, a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) was conducted to gather data on the programme’s potential to support preservice teachers’ civic competencies. The SWOT analysis was completed by ten teacher educators from five different university departments located in two metropolitan cities in central and northern Greece. Thematic analyses were used at a case and group level. The results showed that the online affordances of the programme, combined with each department’s practicum-based learning modules, could effectively support the development of preservice teachers’ civic competencies, provided that resources were adapted with a human-centred sensitivity to the specificities of each context. In alignment with worldwide teacher education trends, we advocate for the implementation of similar programmes in the future as a ‘participatory internationalisation at home’ strategy for supporting teacher online collaboration and peer learning.

How does online training with reflection tasks affect the depth of reflection of preservice teachers in China?

ABSTRACT While lengthy teacher training programs with reflection were beneficial for promoting teachers’ teaching performance and perception of teaching, it is still unclear whether a short online training program can promote preservice teachers’ in-depth thinking of their learning and teaching. This study focused on the instructional design of a short self-access online training program with different reflection tasks to stimulate preservice primary and secondary teachers’ depth of reflection in China. A qualitative research method was conducted to analyse the reflective logs of 94 preservice teachers. The results showed that developing preservice teachers’ depth of reflection during initial teacher education is essential for their professional growth. The results suggested that an online teacher training program with reflection tasks could effectively reinforce preservice teachers’ reflective depth by promoting deeper pedagogical knowledge and a stronger professional identity.

Uniting through green chemistry lab a inclusive, responsive pedagogical approach. Experiences from Malaysia

There has been a noticeable surge in the number of publications focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion within the realm of chemistry education. While these publications have shed light on various strategies to foster gender and ethnic equality, a consensus is emerging regarding the integration of these concerns into the landscape of chemistry education. Notably, in Malaysia, where this study was conducted, there has been limited emphasis on inclusivity in chemistry education. This study aims to introduce "UnityChem: Uniting Through Green Chemistry Lab," an innovative and inclusive pedagogical approach designed to bridge this gap. The approach focuses on training a group of 35 pre-service chemistry teachers on inclusivity in chemistry education. At the heart of UnityChem lies the application of green chemistry as a foundational framework for teaching and learning, with a specific emphasis on transesterification chemistry. This approach actively involves students through hands-on activities, leveraging green chemistry principles to produce biodiesel from a variety of vegetable oils. UnityChem intentionally incorporates articles that emphasize gender and ethnic disparities to promote preservice teachers' awareness of these issues while they engage in biodiesel production and learn about transesterification. Pre-service teachers have expressed that UnityChem not only delivers a meaningful chemistry lesson but also nurtures gender sensitivity and underscores the impact of deforestation on the well-being of indigenous people living in forested areas. The design of UnityChem caters to students with diverse abilities, including those with lower abilities. This study collectively presents UnityChem as a viable approach to utilizing green chemistry to make chemistry education more inclusive and comprehensive.

An experimental study to promote preservice teachers’ competencies in the classroom based on teaching-learning model and Moso Teach

An experimental study to promote preservice teachers’ competencies in the classroom based on teaching-learning model and Moso Teach

How to promote preservice teachers’ reflections through critical incident training

IntroductionThis study with a pre-post design reports the results of training developed from the framework of reflective practice and the critical incident technique (CIT) for teacher education.MethodsFifty-three preservice teachers participated in either online or face-to-face training, with the aim of determining if the training sufficiently improved their reflection abilities. To this purpose, an online questionnaire with validated scales on educational satisfaction, reflection abilities, and learning logs were used. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis and t-tests, as well as qualitative data analysis.ResultsThe results show that the students significantly improved their teaching reflection abilities after participating in the training.DiscussionGiving preservice teachers the opportunity to reflect on their own experiences is thus an appropriate way to foster their reflection abilities.

Promoting preservice teachers’ psychological and pedagogical competencies for online learning and teaching: The T.E.A.C.H. program

During the widespread COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face teaching was not viable because many schools were forced to close as a preventive measure. Educators abruptly shifted to online classes without sufficient time and resources to prepare for such an enormous transition. Although shifting from traditional face-to-face format to modern e-learning approach ensured that students could be educated outside of the classroom, its impact on the quality of learning and teaching (L&T) can be mixed. This study aims to address the knowledge gap in conventional teacher training by developing a web-based program called T.E.A.C.H. to enhance preservice teachers' psychological and pedagogical competencies for conducting online L&T. The program consisted of five modules, each focused on one dimension of psychological competence (creativity, curiosity, love of learning, judgment, and perspective) and applied to the ‘three foci’ for online L&T (attendance and participation, engagement, and assessment). Adopting a quasi-experimental design with matched sampling, a total of 314 preservice teachers were allocated into the intervention or control group. The intervention group was given access to the web-based program to receive training materials, learn about the content, and take part in the online L&T exercises. Program effectiveness was evaluated using pretest and posttest questionnaires, a teaching design task, short quizzes, and a program quality assessment. The results showed that the T.E.A.C.H. program was effective in promoting preservice teachers' psychological competencies, positive attitudes toward online L&T, self-efficacy to teach in an online format, intentions to use technology for L&T, and online pedagogical skills. The successful implementation of T.E.A.C.H. encourages school leaders, teachers, and teacher professional development providers to utilize this web-based program to enhance online teaching practices.

Effects of using video-based coaching to promote preservice teachers’ interactional skills in Chinese preschool classrooms

Based on the Teaching Through Interaction (TTI; Hamre et al., 2013) framework and the observational tool Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta, La Paro, et al., 2008), some professional development (PD) programs combined with video-based coaching had been developed. Previous studies have well-documented the effects of these PD programs on in-service teachers’ mastery of interactional skills; however, little research has been done on the effects for preservice teachers. In the current study, we aimed to explore: (1) if video-based coaching improves preservice teachers’ interactional skills, and (2) how the personal characteristics of teachers (whether they attend coaching or not) predict the change of interactional skills during their practicum. Using an experimental approach, the study recruited 56 preservice teachers from a Chinese university to participate in the assessment and intervention. Results showed that preservice teachers in the coaching group who received one semester of sustained and individualized coaching support demonstrated a greater improvement in teacher-child interaction skills in the Emotional Support domain than those in the control group. Further, preservice teachers’ higher levels of child-centered beliefs and initially lower levels of knowledge of effective teaching, ability of identifying effective teaching behavior, and teacher-child interactional skills related to a greater increase in interactional skills during the internship. These findings shed light on how to design effective preparation programs for preservice teachers during their practicum.

Utilizing Bloom's taxonomy and authentic learning principles to promote preservice teachers' pedagogical content knowledge

The global reading crisis has been widely reported. One of the reasons attributed to the reading crisis is teachers' inadequate pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) regarding the teaching of reading. In South Africa, a multilingual country, the reading dilemma and the need for improved PCK have been debated extensively. This study, therefore, explores how utilizing Bloom's taxonomy and authentic learning principles within teacher education can promote the development of PCK in teaching reading. Using an interpretivist paradigm and an exploratory qualitative research design, data were collected from 20 second-year preservice teachers. The data collection consisted of a qualitative open-ended reflection questionnaire and document reviews. Inductive and thematic analysis was used for data analysis. The findings highlight the importance of authentic learning and PCK in teacher education and training. Furthermore, the findings indicate how Bloom's taxonomy can serve as a possible metacognitive framework to promote preservice teachers' PCK development. The benefits and challenges of PCK within teacher education are also elaborated on. Recommendations are made for teacher education programs to explore the value of Bloom's taxonomy as a metacognitive learning framework instead of a hierarchical assessment framework to create authentic learning opportunities to better prepare preservice teachers for practice.

The Role of Project-Based Learning in Promoting Preservice Teachers’ Communicative Capabilities

This research aimed to explore the impacts of project-based learning on promoting preservice teachers’ communicative capabilities. A survey research design was employed to collect data, using an online questionnaire consisting of seven closed-ended and four open-ended questions. There were two target groups of preservice teachers who were second-year teacher trainees and enrolled on the course of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language. The first target group consisted of 23 preservice teachers from the Faculty of Education, Khon Kaen University, Thailand, while the second target group consisted of 25 preservice teachers from the Faculty of Arts, Southwest University, China. Both target groups attended the project-based learning lessons for 15 cycles in the first semester of the academic year 2021. The quantitative results indicated that all participants’ Chinese language communicative capabilities in listening and speaking skills were increased, from a total score of 45.47 to 68.25. Besides, the quantitative results showed that their vocabulary acquisition and communication skills improved, from a mean score of 2.62 to 3.33 and 2.67 to 3.29, respectively. In addition, the qualitative results of the 25 preservice teachers from Southwest University revealed that project-based learning is a successful teaching approach, because it provides preservice teachers with an opportunity to develop their Chinese language knowledge and skills through the project engagement set around challenges and problems in the real world. Finally, the qualitative results of the 23 preservice teachers from Khon Kaen University revealed that project-based learning has improved their communicative capabilities in understanding questions and using modern media in their teaching management.

Multitiered Consultation to Promote Preservice Teachers’ Delivery of Behavior-Specific Praise in Early Childhood Education Classrooms

Multitiered Consultation to Promote Preservice Teachers’ Delivery of Behavior-Specific Praise in Early Childhood Education Classrooms

TPACK leveraged: A redesigned online educational technology course for STEM preservice teachers

Integration of computational thinking and programming into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) classes is needed to promote students’ learning of twenty-first century skills. Yet, teachers are not equipped to achieve this integration successfully as teacher education curricula do not generally align with this need. With the Covid-19 outbreak, curricula also need to be adapted for online environments. This qualitative study presents the redesign of an educational technology course that introduces programming and computational thinking to STEM preservice teachers for online settings, and explores learning experiences of preservice teachers, in terms of how they combine technological knowledge with pedagogy and content. Data were collected from course artifacts, such as reading responses, coding challenges, and lesson designs and implementations. The findings showed the online course design was helpful in enhancing preservice STEM teachers’ pedagogical approaches of how to teach computational thinking and programming. Offering hands-on coding practices in the course allowed preservice teachers to improve their technological knowledge (programming), and they were able to integrate their technological pedagogical knowledge into their content area and design meaningful lessons. The study offers implications for design of online teacher education courses that promote preservice teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge for computational thinking and programming. Implications for practice or policy: The online course design implemented in this study can be adjusted into different contexts, considering that fully-online or blended teacher education courses will still be needed in the future. The design guidelines used in this study can be utilised to develop online teacher education modules for educational technology topics other than programming. The question prompts given to preservice teachers in the study can be refined to trigger deeper reflection on pedagogy of computing education.

Investigating the impact of adapted physical education service-learning projects on preservice teachers' attitudes toward individuals with disabilities.

Service-learning (SL) has been implemented widely in teacher education to connect knowledge and practical experiences. In the field of Physical Education Teacher Education, Adapted Physical Education (APE) Courses have been implemented SL to provide hands-on experiences to promote preservice teachers’ attitudes toward individuals with disabilities. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of two SL projects, the volunteer project, and the parasports project, in the Intro APE course on preservice teachers’ attitudes toward individuals with disabilities. A total of 130 preservice teachers participated in this study taking the Multidimensional Attitude Scale Toward Persons with Disabilities (MAS) before and after completing two SL projects. The result of the t-test indicated that there is no difference in overall MAS scores between pre- and posttest (Meanpre=2.954, SDpre=0.689, Meanpost=3.01, SDpost=0.679; t(129)=0.390, P=0.784). However, the significant increase observed in affects subscale of MAS (Meanpre=3.47, SDpre=0.374, Meanpost=3.52, SDpost=0.188; t(129)= 0.347, P=0.327). Our finding indicated cognition and behavior of preservice teachers toward individuals with disabilities were positively increased, but not significantly improved yet. Evidence suggested that two SL projects in this study did not significantly improve the overall positive attitudes of preservice teachers toward individuals with disabilities, but it was meaningful to observe that preservice teachers increased their affects toward individuals with disabilities.

Methods Course for Primary Level STEM Preservice Teachers: Constructing Integrated STEM Teaching

A STEM methods course was developed for undergraduate preservice teachers at the faculty of education. The course model design had three phases: 1) review of the STEM literature and conceptual considerations, 2) planning of the STEM methods course, and 3) evaluation by experts and revision based on their feedback. Research literature and other documentation were reviewed. A framework and guiding principles for primary-level STEM education were developed to identify key elements, including STEM focus/essence, student-centered, curriculum, learning environment, and assessment. A 15-week STEM methods course was planned to model good practices for teaching integrated STEM and to let preservice teachers confront real-world issues and problems that arise in STEM instruction and then design their own STEM lessons or activities for teaching. The result of implementing the STEM methods course was examined through pre-and post-surveys which showed the influence of the methods course in promoting preservice teachers’ STEM understanding.

Integrating video analysis of teacher and student behaviors to promote Preservice teachers’ teaching meta-strategic knowledge

Teachers need to notice and interpret student behavior as part of their everyday classroom work. Current teacher education programs often do not explicitly focus on helping pre-service teachers learn to analyze and interpret student behavior and understand how it may influence teachers’ teaching behaviors, which in turn may affect students’ thinking and achievements. Using a quasi-experimental design, the current study examined a systematic reflective approach promoting dual learning from both teacher and student perspectives in authentic videotaped classrooms. More specifically, the study examined how this dual reflective “professional vision” framework influenced pre-service teachers’ actual ability to explicitly teach meta-strategic knowledge (MSK) to students. Results indicated that pre-service teachers whose video-analysis reflected on both teachers’ and students’ behaviors demonstrated greater improvement in their MSK-teaching, and their students showed better MSK achievements, compared to pre-service teachers whose video-analysis reflected only on teachers’ behaviors. The current study suggests the need to integrate systematic dual reflective professional vision approaches – that analyze not only teachers’ but also students’ behaviors – into teacher preparation programs as a means for developing pre-service teachers’ capacity to promote students’ MSK.

Elementary pre-service teachers’ practice of racial literacy: analysis of small stories in online critical inquiry communities

ABSTRACT Despite pedagogical efforts to promote preservice teachers’ racial literacy, preservice teachers may resist critical racial pedagogies. Such resistance has serious, detrimental consequences in classrooms populated with students of Color. To study how interracial groups of preservice teachers (PSTs) engage with issues of race outside of their coursework and fieldwork, I investigated preservice teachers’ engagement with race in discussing Claudia Rankine’s Citizen in an informal online space. The preservice teachers were embedded in an urban emergent elementary school in a predominantly African-American community in the Southeastern U.S. I asked: (1) how do PSTs use their racial literacy in an online critical inquiry community? (2) how might we understand the possibilities and constraints of PSTs’ practice of racial literacy? I found that some students continued to see issues of race and racism as an intellectual rather than a lived problem. Other students wrestled with their lived experiences of racism and those shared by their peers in response to their text. This work provides insight into how informal online spaces and small storytelling can be used to teach racial literacy, understand resistance, and implement antiracist action within teacher education.

Compare Inquiry-Based Pedagogical Instruction with Direct Instruction for Pre-service Science Teacher Education

Formal teacher preparation programs are facing the challenge of ineffective instruction of educational theories. It is partly because educational theories are taught through direct instruction, which could lead to problems such as impersonality and low motivation of pre-service teachers. In addition, it is also an unwieldy task for teacher educators to cover meaningfully a tremendous amount of theories through direct instruction within a limited time. This study presents an innovative approach of Inquiry-based Pedagogical Instruction (IPI) as a possible solution. The IPI approach has two key features: explicit modeling and scaffolding. In this quasi-experimental study, I compare IPI and direct instruction in promoting preservice teachers’ competence in terms of their knowledge associated with science teaching and their disposition in terms of their sense of belonging to science and science teaching. The participants are 39 preservice teachers in Phase 1 with 23 of them receiving IPI and the other 16 receiving direct instruction and 92 preservice teachers in Phase 2 with 42 receiving IPI and 50 receiving direct instruction. The results from two-way ANOVA and effect size analyses suggest that IPI is a promising alternative to direct instruction for the instruction of pedagogical knowledge. IPI has the potential to empower pre-service teachers with the competence and disposition with which they are capable and willing to construct their knowledge of teaching. Implications for future research are also discussed.

Tapping the Sources of Self-Efficacy: Promoting Preservice Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy for Instructing English Language Learners

The primary objective of the current study was to examine the effects of an intervention to promote preservice teachers’ sense of efficacy for teaching English language learners (ELLs). Participants were undergraduates enrolled in either a “non-intervention” or “intervention” section of an educational psychology course. Results revealed that those receiving the invention had a higher sense of efficacy for instructing ELL students than those who did not, but that participants in both groups had a higher sense of efficacy for students in general than for ELL students specifically.

Supporting collaborative reflection in teacher education: a case study

ABSTRACTThe aim of this paper is to understand how certain educational supports promote preservice teachers’ learning to reflect in collaborative settings. To address this issue, we present a case study on collaborative reflection among 14 preservice teachers and one teacher educator over the course of five weekly consecutive sessions. The results suggest that collaborative reflection can be supported by organizing the process according to a twofold dynamic: from analysis to synthesis, and from open facilitation to directive facilitation. Six different types of assistance related to this dynamic, and provided by the teacher educator, are identified and qualitatively described: framing, oppositional voice, counterpoising alternatives, asking for the dilemma, problematizing, and modelling.