Teacher Education Experiences Research Articles

Evoking Challenges Associated with the Newness of Teaching: A Collaborative Self-Study of Teacher Educators Forced Online During the Pandemic

ABSTRACT This article reports on how four faculty self-study learning group members reexperienced the newness of teaching when forced to move online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a collaborative self-study of experienced teacher educators, we explored our abrupt transitions in teaching over one year through journal entries and individual interviews about our experiences. To better inform and contextualize our analysis, data on our teaching was considered in relation to the PDE 430, an evaluative tool used in our state for assessing both professional employees in PK-12 and the quality of teacher preparation programs. Based on the categories of professional practice reflected in the PDE 430, the findings of our study reveal the various ways in which we struggled to plan for instruction, manage the classroom, deliver instruction, and embody professionalism in our new teaching context. By analyzing these experiences as beginners in the specific context of teaching online, we highlight the importance of developing empathy with teacher candidates, staying current in our fields, and being willing to share our vulnerabilities and uncertainties.

The Voices of College Students in Learning Math Online, During the Covid Pandemic: The Hurdles, Upper Hands, and Takeaways

<p style="text-align:justify">This descriptive phenomenological study looks into the lived experiences of teacher education college students on what it is like to learn math online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic, online math learning may pose even more significant challenges. Hence, the researchers conducted the study to better understand and support the students in these challenging times. They interviewed 16 college student participants, who consented to participate in the study, to share their actual experiences - the challenges, struggles, and opportunities – in learning math online during the pandemic. The interview transcripts were analyzed following Colaizzi's method. Results revealed the following themes: (a) The hurdles: poor internet connection, unconducive learning space, difficulty in understanding the topics, financial problems, and health problems; (b) The upper hands: ease of access to varied resources, staying at home, and flexibility of the teaching and learning process; (c) The key takeaways: improved time management, self-discipline, resourcefulness, and growth mindset. The researchers recommend that the management of educational institutions consider the students' demographic data, financial level, available resources, and mental and emotional health while designing and implementing online programs. Further, future research may be conducted on the teachers' concerns that may influence students' online learning experiences with Math and other disciplines.</p>

The Portrait of Lecturer’s Feedback on Students’ Oral Presentation Experience from Indonesian and Nepal University

Although much research has been conducted on teacher feedback, little is discussed about how teacher educators give feedback on student teachers’ oral presentations to improve students’ communicative competence in foreign-language (FL) education. Semi-structured interviews have been carried out to get the data and this case study analyzed the methods used by an experienced Indonesian teacher educator of English as a foreign language to provide feedback on student teachers’ oral presentation tasks. This study revealed that the teacher gave feedback mainly focused on content, oral skill development, and analytical thinking. The analysis also revealed that the teacher used the pattern of ‘praise and suggestion’ when giving feedback on student teachers’ oral presentations. This paper also discusses relevant pedagogical implications for student teacher’s feedback practices in the EFL context.

Perceived preparedness to teach over time: A longitudinal case study of instrumental music teachers

Music teacher education programs are an integral part of preparing novice music teachers for a successful start to their careers. Despite that, many studies show that music educators often feel unprepared by their education. This three-and-a-half year longitudinal case study examined instrumental music educators’ perceptions of the preparation provided by their education as they completed university coursework and entered the profession. Participants were four instrumental music education majors who were in their upper-level courses at the beginning of the study and participants completed five focus group discussions. Participants were four instrumental music education majors who were in their upper-level courses at the beginning and participants completed five focus group discussions starting at the end of their third year, continuing through both semesters of their final year, and at the end of their first 2 years in the classroom. I identified three emergent themes from the data: the importance of authenticity and contextualization; the core practices of classroom management, secondary instrument knowledge/skills, and rehearsing ensembles were central to feelings of preparedness; and a shifting focus over time. Findings indicated various perceptions of preparedness and their connection to music teacher education experiences, including implications for future research.

Civil society organisations transforming teacher professional development: Social, Emotional, and Ethical Learning in wartime Ukraine

AbstractA unique model of government and civil society cooperation has emerged in Ukraine since the Revolution of Dignity in 2014 and grew even more important amid the full‐scale invasion of Russia. Recent reforms and teacher professional development in Ukraine build on this model that promotes addressing national‐level challenges in equitable partnerships between government and civil society organisations (CSOs). This paper considers examples and results of their cooperation and draws on: (1) experiences in teacher education—specifically, from the EdWay national platform and the SEE Learning programme, both implemented by EdCamp Ukraine NGO (EdCamp); (2) national sociological studies—specifically, the 2018 study Teach and Learn, and the 2021 Feasibility Study on Opportunities for Social and Emotional Learning in Ukraine; (3) and data from the 2022 case study SEE Learning in Ukraine Through Teachers' Eyes: Before, During, and After the War. Experiences and study data demonstrate the need to support Ukrainian teachers in developing social and emotional skills both for self‐help and for students. These findings align with the requirements of the current New Ukrainian School reform. The authors discuss the potential education CSOs possess in addressing teacher needs for developing emotional and ethical competence and corresponding soft skills. It may be predicted that government and civil sector collaboration will continue to play an important role in the development of education in Ukraine. These expectations are supported by Ukraine's involvement in the 2023 OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills where EdCamp is the designated national research centre in Ukraine.

Lessons from the pandemic: Teacher educators’ use of digital technologies and pedagogies in Vietnam before, during and after the Covid-19 lockdown

This article reports on responses from an online survey designed to explore the before, during and after lockdown experiences of higher education teacher educators in Vietnam (n = 145) who were required to use digital technologies and pedagogies exclusively in their teaching during the 2020/21 lockdown. The data is interpreted using the TPACK framework (Koehler & Mishra, 2009) which enables analysis of the participants’ technological, pedagogical and content knowledge in relation to teaching online using digital tools. The findings indicate mixed responses and experiences of teacher educators during this period with many having struggled with new technologies and unfamiliar pedagogical strategies whilst others enjoyed the opportunity to develop new approaches to their teaching. The paper concludes with key recommendations for best practice in this sector going forward post pandemic including the development of national and institutional e-learning policies, improvements in IT infrastructure and increased provision of professional training.

Emergency remote assessment practices in higher education in sub-Saharan Africa during COVID-19

Following the disruptions to in-person schooling during COVID-19 and the need for emergency remote teaching, this study explored the assessment experiences of teacher educators in Ghana. Through a qualitative transcendental phenomenological approach, purposive criterion sampling was used to select 25 teacher educators from 15 teacher training institutions in Ghana who participated in online teaching during COVID-19 school closure. The findings show that teacher-centered approaches to assessment dominate emergency remote assessment practices of teacher educators. Hodgepodge grading and general feedback were more prevalent during remote assessment. Teachers were also found to randomly select a few students to provide individualized feedback due to the large class size. Challenges including limited knowledge of the use of the online teaching platform for assessment, inadequate professional training and access to technological resources, and concerns about academic dishonesty were reported. However, teachers reported that their involvement in abrupt remote teaching and assessment has been a learning opportunity for them to develop new skills, which is imperative for their professional development.

Effect of Household’s Food Security on Educational Outcomes of The Students in Public Primary Schools in Tehsil Shorkot

Millions of people in both developed and developing nations are affected by the serious problem of household food security. Household food security is a situation where members of a household have access to enough food to meet their basic nutritional needs. The main objective of the current study is to explore the effect of household food security on the educational outcomes of the students in public primary schools in tehsil Shorkot. The study was quantitative. From the total number of primary schools in tehsil Shorkot, twenty-five primary schools were selected conveniently. According to the list obtained from DEO, there are a total 119 teachers who are currently working in selected schools. A sample size of 91 respondents was selected with a confidence interval of 5 and a confidence level of 95%. For data collection a well-structured and well-prepared questionnaire was used for data collection as a research instrument. Data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to calculate the frequency, mean value, standard deviation, and weighted score for variables for further results and study recommendations. It was concluded that less than half (40.7%) had master-level qualifications, while less than one-fifth (16.5%) had the bachelor-level qualification. More than one-third (34.1%) of the respondents had more than 15 years of experience at the school level, while about one-fifth (25.3%) of the respondents had 6-10 years of teaching experience. Lack of knowledge about food security was at 1st in rank order according to the weighted score of 358 and mean value of 3.93, followed by the low-income level at 2nd rank order with a weighted score of 353 and mean value of 3.87. The chi-square value of 13.20 indicates a moderate association between the teaching experience of teachers and their perception of factors affecting food security. The p-value of 0.047 is less than 0.05. This suggests that teaching experience might play a role in teachers' perceptions of food security factors. They should encourage the creation of jobs and opportunities for income generation while supporting entrepreneurship. Increasing small-scale farmers', rural entrepreneurs, and marginalized communities' access to credit and financial services and creating sustainable livelihoods encourage economic diversification and value chain development in the agricultural and other sectors.

“My noticing lens disrupts this narrative”: Preservice mathematics teachers' awareness of the self as noticer

AbstractTeacher noticing has been identified as central to enacting responsive and equitable mathematics instruction. Mathematics teachers' noticing is shaped by institutional and sociopolitical narratives and ideologies that persistently marginalize culturally, socially, linguistically, and neuro‐diverse learners. Gaining insight into how one's noticing is related to these narratives can enable a teacher to identify and reflect on how they frame, attend to, and interpret classroom activity, and how that in turn can perpetuate or disrupt inequitable mathematics instruction. We conjectured that learning to systematically analyze and reflect on their own noticing can enable preservice mathematics teachers to develop their awareness of themselves as noticers to support more responsive and equitable instructional practice. Using data from summative assignments in a course focused on learning from teaching, we investigate whether and how preservice teachers (PSTs) take up frameworks for responsive and equitable teaching to narrate their noticing, and examine what their narrations reveal about how they frame mathematics instruction. Analysis reveals PSTs problematized instruction to adopt aspirational frames for equitable practice, while also re‐narrating classroom interactions from dominant perspectives. These findings have implications for PSTs' learning to notice for equity and for designing teacher education experiences for this purpose.

Up Schitt’s Creek? Comedy as a Slantwise Pedagogical Encounter with Queerness

Background: Pedagogical approaches to learning about LGBTQI+ themes and experiences remain a largely understudied topic in teacher education. This is partly due to anxieties around exploring these themes in nuanced and sensitive ways, with many teacher educators feeling ill-equipped to navigate the complexities of exploring so-called “difficult knowledge.” Purpose: In response to this, the purpose of this paper is to offer reflections on the pedagogical value of comedy for exploring such themes and experiences in teacher education, focusing especially on the situational comedy (sitcom) Schitt’s Creek. We turn to comedy given our interest in the capacity of comedic modalities to offer “slantwise” pedagogical encounters with LGBTQI+ themes and experiences, that is, nonaffronting encounters that resist damage-centered narratives of LGBTQI+ people and are open to multiple queer futures. Research design: In exploring how the sitcom offers teacher educators and student teachers these kinds of encounters, we provide a reading of three episodes of Schitt’s Creek through a “queer utopian” lens. We analyze a purposive sample of episodes from the series that speak directly to LGBTQI+ themes and experiences. We accompany this analysis with prompts for teacher educators to use in discussing these episodes in the teacher education classroom. Conclusions: We suggest that the sitcom offers teacher education an opportunity for student teachers and teacher educators to access a queer utopianism that can be encountered not only in the specifics of Schitt’s Creek’s plotlines, characters, and/or settings, but also, perhaps more primarily, through the affective dimensions of watching the sitcom itself. The piece comes to a close with some thoughts on the significance of comedy for exploring the relationship among affect, education, and social justice more generally.

Insights From Informal Research Mentoring of Three University EFL Teachers

Abstract Research-practice nexus has been an ideal for higher education. However, research mentoring has been underexplored in both formal and informal formats. This study aimed to examine the effects of one-year-long informal research mentoring conducted by an experienced EFL teacher educator for three teaching-focused EFL teachers from three different universities. It found that the informal research mentoring generated three positive effects. It fueled the mentees’ research interest, raised their awareness of self-discipline and stress-coping strategies, and kindled their enthusiasm for constructing a collegial environment in their working contexts. Meanwhile, limitations also emerged associated with the mentees’ limited research engagement and productivity owing to personal and contextual factors as well as the problems with the informal mentoring relationships. Implications of the study are drawn to improve faculty research mentoring processes and outcomes.

Research on the Cultivation of Kindergarten Soccer Teachers in the Context of Industry-Education Integration

The main force of kindergarten soccer teachers tends to be younger, which is a good status quo for kindergartens. For primary and secondary schools, the older the teacher's teaching experience will be richer, how to control the students' emotions, the more effective for students to receive knowledge have more scientific methods. Through visiting kindergartens, it is not difficult to find that for kindergarten soccer teachers, young teachers have a lot of energy and vitality in teaching and can create teaching activities that cater to children's preferences. Especially in soccer teaching activities, young kindergarten teachers are better than their older counterparts in terms of demonstration, infectiousness, and flexibility. The desire for new things is higher, the speed of accepting new knowledge is faster, and the effect will be better in the subsequent continuing education and training. As for the older teachers, they have been teaching for a long time and have a fixed teaching mode. Relatively speaking, they are more traditional and lack innovation and vitality in teaching. However, most of the young kindergarten teachers are just entering the workplace, are relatively inexperienced, poor organizational skills, for the emergence of unexpected situations can not be dealt with patiently, timely, and effectively. Older teachers, because of their longer working hours, and children in the teaching and after-school life of a longer period, can more accurately determine what kind of soccer teaching activities are more suitable for children, and will not appear in the classroom out of control, chaotic scenes. Therefore, kindergartens should strengthen the training of new and old teachers, older teachers can not only pass on their rich teaching experience to new teachers but also learn innovative soccer activities that are in line with the development of the times and meet the preferences of young children.

Moral sight and ethical praxis in the prison classroom

The deployment of moral sight (a sensitivity towards the humanity of all people) and ethical praxis (taking account of important matters for learners) enhanced learners’ sense of dignity in a prison classroom comprising university students and men serving long prison sentences. This in turn enhanced the trustworthiness of the space, helped learners benefit from interaction and prevented moral blindness among prison educators. Three domains of ethical praxis for enhancing moral sight among educators are discussed: person-centred praxis; situational praxis; and pedagogical praxis. The article grounds the discussion using empirical data from participant reflections to uncover what mattered to them in creating a trustworthy learning space. Recognising the human dignity of learners, and engaging in practices that enhance this dignity and protect associated rights, was important for both groups of students. Deploying ethical praxis enabled participants to feel ‘seen’ in the classroom, in turn enhancing their sense of belonging and comfort in the space. For the prison-based students, having their contributions heard, recognised and valued was a rare experience in the context of serving a life sentence. For university students, the space provided a new and refreshing pedagogical experience, away from the institutionalised logics and constraints of the contemporary university. Relatedly, teacher-facilitators involved reported this to be their most enjoyable higher education teaching experience. There are wider implications for how higher education institutions ‘see’ the people they work with. The article argues for prioritising the human activity of learning over the institutionalisation of education processes, to create more trustworthy learning spaces.

Increase in self-efficacy in prospective teachers through theory-based lesson study

This paper explores the education of prospective teachers with regard to the Theory of Didactical Situations when they engage in lesson study. We particularly focus on studying how a lesson study process oriented towards the Theory of Didactical Situations contributes to increasing prospective teachers’ self-efficacy to plan and teach lessons based on such theory, reducing the gap between theory and practice. Prior to the study, we will discuss how the theoretical postulates assumed in lesson study affect crucial aspects of the process. The study is implemented with 47 prospective early childhood education teachers. We also consider another group of 47 prospective teachers that were engaged in practicum at the time the lesson study process took place. Using a quasi-experimental methodology based on a questionnaire developed ad hoc that captures the particularities of the didactic paradigm assumed, the results of our study show that both lesson study and practicum lead to a statistically significant increase in future teachers’ self-efficacy to plan and teach lessons in line with the paradigm assumed. However, size effect measures show that the increase observed in the lesson study group is significantly higher, which supports the benefits of lesson study in initial teacher education. We discuss what the features of lesson study are that could be related to this increase. Finally, we sketch new lines of research connected with the benefits of lesson study versus other teacher education experiences like practicum, as well as with links between self-efficacy and knowledge growth in lesson study.

혼합형 학습을 활용한 교육대학교 체육 교수 경험 탐구

혼합형 학습을 활용한 교육대학교 체육 교수 경험 탐구

Teachers Pedagogical Competence in Terms of Supervisors Academic Supervision and Teaching Experience

" This study aims to determine the pedagogical competence of teachers in terms of supervisors' academic supervision and teachers' teaching experience. This type of research is ex post facto which consists of two independent variables, namely supervisor academic supervision (X1) and teacher teaching experience (X2) and one dependent variable, namely teacher pedagogical competence (Y). The study population was all private junior high school teachers in Binamu District, Jeneponto Regency. Class random sampling and the number of samples used Slovin. Data collection techniques are divided into two, namely questionnaires for variables X1 and X2 and tests for variable (Y). The results of the study found that: 1) teachers' pedagogical competence is influenced by supervisors' academic supervision and teachers' teaching experience, both jointly and partially.

Strengthening infant and toddler pedagogy through an online specialised postgraduate qualification: building on initial teacher education and teaching experience

ABSTRACT In Aotearoa New Zealand, there has been a significant increase in the numbers of infants and toddlers participating in ‘out-of-home’ care and education settings. While initial teacher education programmes include references to this age group, due to competing priorities in the programmes, space to include the depth of knowledge required is scarce. In 2020, Te Rito Maioha Early Childhood New Zealand developed and implemented an online specialist infant and toddler learning and development postgraduate diploma qualification. The online programme employs multi-disciplinary theories and research from fields such as education, health, and social services to support a holistic view of learning, development, and wellbeing. This paper draws on collaborative self-study and survey methodologies that investigated the key requirements of an effective online specialist infant and toddler postgraduate qualification and how these supported teachers to engage with the learning. Our findings highlight the positive impact of the qualification on infant and toddler teacher identity and pedagogy and, from their perspective, improved outcomes for infants and toddlers. Key aspects of success were asynchronous online delivery, teacher-educator availability, and multi-disciplinary perspectives. Keywords: infant; toddler; online; specialisation; pedagogy; self-study; teacher-educator availability, and multi-disciplinary perspectives.

Four Lenses of Reflection: Experiences of Teacher Educators

To have in-depth exploration of the experiences of teacher educators’ about four lenses of reflection. In Pakistani context there is dearth of reflection and reflective practice studies about teacher educators. So it underscores the need for reflection studies in Pakistan. The methodological approach chosen for this study was Narrative. Participants were selected purposively. Data was collected through narrative interviews. For data analysis narratives of the participants were constructed and then themes were identified. The study explored that the teacher educators use four lenses of reflection in their professional lives. They follow their favorite teachers, take feedback from students, share their experiences with colleagues but they narrated that their study habits specifically for reflection purpose are not very good. Study also revealed that teacher educators are sometimes reluctant to use reflective practices because of less supportive organizational culture and because of lack of mutual trust. It is recommended in the light of findings of study that here is need to train the administration and teachers that how reflective practices can be used productively.

발명교육 담당 교사의 교사효능감과 교수창의성에 영향을 미치는 요인 분석

This study aims to identify the teacher factors that affect the quality of education in order to enhance the effectiveness of invention education. We analyzed the factors affecting teacher efficacy and teaching creativity. Teacher efficacy is the belief that teachers themselves can have a positive influence on students, and teaching creativity is an important individual teacher characteristic for creative class management. To this end, a questionnaire was conducted targeting teachers who had completed job training for invention teachers of the Korea Invention Promotion Association, and 165 data were analyzed. The results of the study are as follows: First, there is a positive correlation between teacher efficacy and teaching creativity of teachers in charge of invention education. Second, as a result of verifying the difference in teacher efficacy and teaching creativity according to the personal background of the invention education teachers, it was found that the teaching experience showed a significant difference. Third, it was found that the entire teaching experience of teachers has a positive effect on teacher efficacy and that the career in charge of invention education has an effect on teaching creativity. Accordingly, to improve the quality of invention education, it is necessary to create a cognitive and affective educational environment for teachers to enhance teacher efficacy and teaching creativity. In particular, it is necessary to develop various programs and expand training opportunities to enhance the experience of invention education teachers.

Asessing Student Teachers’ Ability in Constructing Mathematical Reasoning Problems

Assessing student teachers' skills in posing mathematical reasoning problems within their experiences in teacher education is essential due to the increasing challenges for them to prepare for 21st-century learning. This study aims at investigating the quality of mathematical reasoning problems posed by student teachers. As many as 34 student teachers who attended an assessment lecture posed mathematical problems, where the three aspects; suitability of indicators with problems posed, the plausibility of the solution, the correctness of the solution, and language readability were used to assess the problems posed. Results indicate that more than 70% of the student-teacher participants were successful in posing reasoning problems—either objective or subjective questions—indicated by those which are in accordance with the established criteria although most of the posed problems are categorized as “analyze” problem, instead of “evaluate” or “create” problem.