Teaching Methods Course Research Articles

THE EFFECT OF OUTCOMES IN THE TEACHING PRINCIPLES AND METHODS COURSE IN THE PEDAGOGICAL FORMATION PROGRAM ON PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS' SELF-EFFICACY BELIEFS

The purpose of this research is to reveal the effect of the gains obtained in the teaching principles and methods course in the pedagogical training program implemented in education faculties in Turkey on the teacher self-efficacy beliefs of prospective teachers. The research is a descriptive study in pre-test and post-test screening model. The study group consisted of 350 prospective teachers studying in the pedagogical formation program of Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Faculty of Education in the spring semester of 2018-2019 academic year. In obtaining the data for the course of teaching principles and methods , the teaching self-efficacy scale , which was developed by Kuzu and Demir (2015) together with validity and reliability studies, was used. For the sub-dimensions of the scale, t-test was employed for unrelated samples to determine whether the scores of pre-test and post-test differed significantly from each other. Two-way variance analysis (ANOVA) was used for repeated measurements to determine whether the differences in the two tests were statistically significant. Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test was used to determine whether the data were normally distributed or not. According to the findings as a result of the analysis, self-efficacy beliefs of the participants increased significantly in all sub-dimensions of the scale. The teaching area where the self-efficacy increased the most was program development, while the areas where it increased the least were explanation in teaching and planning areas . The distribution of self-efficacy beliefs by gender revealed significant differences in favor of female teacher candidates compared to men. It was determined that prospective teachers showed significant differences depending on department variables and did not show significant differences depending on undergraduate education class variable. Article visualizations:

Dispositions for Inclusive Literacy: Fostering an Equitable and Empowering Education for Academically Diverse Learners

This article offers teacher educators’ practical methods for, and shares findings from a study of, developing teachercandidate dispositions for inclusive literacy. Based on the extensive teacher disposition literature, the authors discernthat dispositions for inclusive literacy include the belief that all students have valid ways of being literate; the valueof inclusive literacy experiences for all students; and an attitude that all students should be participants in meaningfulliteracy experiences. Using a within-site case study approach, qualitative thematic analysis of three assignments usedin a literacy teaching methods course suggest that it is possible to shift narrow dispositions to broader and moreinclusive conceptualizations that support struggling readers and students with disabilities in the general educationclassroom. Conclusions suggest that dispositional development toward inclusive literacy can support teachercandidates’ implementation of inclusive literacy practices; thus, fostering an equitable and empowering education foracademically diverse learners.

Effect of E-Portfolio-Based Reflection-Enhancing Tasks on Female Saudi Student Teachers’ Development of Reflective Practice With Respect to Lesson Planning and Teacher Research

This study was an attempt to develop student teachers’ level of reflection as a result of having a blended teaching practice course. More specifically, its aim was to develop their reflection and performance by having them engage in certain reflection-enhancing tasks in an online e-portfolio during the practicum. To achieve this goal, the study was conducted using 8 student teachers in a practicum course offered at Imam Mohammed ibn Saud Islamic University. This study addressed the research question: How does engaging EFL student teachers in e-portfolio-based reflection-enhancing tasks affect their level of reflection as it pertains to lesson planning and teacher research? El-Okda’s (2009) rubric for assessing reflection was used to evaluate the participants’ reflection-enhancing tasks using descriptive statistics. The findings of this study suggest that the participants understood and learned to reflect through participation in reflection-enhancing tasks with respect to lesson planning and teacher research. The recommendation that a reflection component with a framework of assessment should be incorporated into teaching methods courses and teacher preparation programs is presented.

Teaching the teacher: exploring STEM graduate students’ nature of science conceptions in a teaching methods course

ABSTRACTGraduate students regularly teach undergraduate STEM courses and can positively impact students’ understanding of science. Yet little research examines graduate students’ knowledge about nature of science (NOS) or instructional strategies for teaching graduate students about NOS. This exploratory study sought to understand how a 1-credit Teaching in Higher Education course that utilised an explicit, reflective, and mixed-context approach to NOS instruction impacted STEM graduate students’ NOS conceptions and teaching intentions. Participants included 13 graduate students. Data sources included the Views of Nature of Science (VNOS-Form C) questionnaire administered pre- and post-instruction, semi-structured interviews with a subset of participants, and a NOS-related course project. Prior to instruction participants held many alternative NOS conceptions. Post-instruction, participants’ NOS conceptions improved substantially, particularly in their understandings of theories and laws and the tentative nature of scientific knowledge. All 12 participants planning to teach NOS intended to use explicit instructional approaches. A majority of participants also integrated novel ideas to their intended NOS instruction. These results suggest that a teaching methods course for graduate students with embedded NOS instruction can address alternative NOS conceptions and facilitate intended use of effective NOS instruction. Future research understanding graduate students' NOS understandings and actual NOS instruction is warranted.

Selection and Compliance of Learning Outcome of Pre-service Turkish Language and Literature Teachers in Activity Development Process

Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı dersleri öğrenme alanları doğrultusunda yapılandırmacı yaklaşım ekseninde ve etkinlik yaklaşımı aracılığı ile gerçekleştirilmektedir. Bu sebeple dersin öğretmen adaylarının ders planı geliştirebilmeleri için öğrenme alanlarına göre ve kazanımlara uygun olarak etkinlik hazırlayabilmeleri beklenmektedir. Bu araştırmada Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı öğretmeni adaylarının öğrenme alanları doğrultusunda hazırladıkları etkinliklerde tercih ettikleri kazanımlar ve bu kazanımların etkinlik süreci ile uyumunu tespit etmek amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma, nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden durum çalışması ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışma grubunu Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı öğretmeni adayı olan ve 2017-2018 eğitim-öğretim yılında Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesinde Pedagojik Formasyon Eğitimi programı kapsamında Özel Öğretim Yöntemleri dersi alan 30 kişi oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmadaki inceleme nesneleri çalışma grubundaki öğretmen adayları tarafından hazırlanmış okuma, yazma ve sözlü iletişim (dinleme/konuşma) etkinlikleridir. Öğretmen adaylarından etkinlik geliştirebilmeleri için ortaöğretim 100 temel eser içerisinden istedikleri bir örneği seçmeleri ve etkinliğe yönelik eğitim ortamlarında bu örneklerden yararlanmaları istenmiştir. Eser seçme, kazanım seçme ve sınıf düzeyi belirleme hususlarında öğretmen adayları serbest bırakılmıştır. Doküman incelemesi ile toplanan veriler içerik analizi ile değerlendirilmiştir. Etkinlik süreci ile kazanımların uyumu üç alan uzmanı tarafından “uyumlu”, “kısmen uyumlu” ve “uyumsuz” olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda öğretmen adaylarının kazanım seçimlerinde ve kazanımları etkinlik süreciyle eşleştirmede sınırlı oldukları belirlenmiştir. 4 saatlik bir içeriği olan özel öğretim yöntemleri dersini alan öğretmen adaylarının öğrenme alanlarını tanıyabilmeleri ve bu doğrultuda etkinlik geliştirebilmeleri için Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı eğitimine yönelik farklı dersler de almaları gerektiği düşünülmektedir.

The Impact of a Summer Camp-Based Science Methods Course on Preservice Teachers’ Self-Efficacy in Teaching Science as Inquiry

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this research is to examine the effect of a summer camp-based science methods course on elementary pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy in teaching science as inquiry. The science camp was offered to K-6 students as part of the 4-week, 3-credit science teaching methods course over the summer. The preservice teachers were asked to teach camp children for two weeks for their practicum requirement. This study utilized a mixed-methods design using both qualitative and quantitative data collected with 55 participants over four years. The TSI (Teaching Science as Inquiry) was administered at the beginning and end of the course to estimate participants’ self-efficacy. We only measured PSTEB (Personal Science Teaching Efficacy Belief) using 34 items out of the TSI to reduce test fatigue. We also conducted semi-structured interviews at the end of the course to investigate sources for their self-efficacy. The paired samples t-test of the pre- and post-course survey indicates that preservice teachers’ self-efficacy in teaching science as inquiry increased significantly as a result of participating in the course (p < .001). Analysis of the interview data revealed eight main sources of self-efficacy and each one’s relative significance compared to other sources. The findings of this study imply that the camp-based course increased pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy by providing not only various mastery experiences, but also unique experiences that afforded reflection and mentoring, and drew camp participants’ positive reactions. This study highlights the potential of informal science education settings as field experience sites especially for elementary science methods courses.

Integrating Classroom Video Cases into a Teaching Methods Course

This design case illustrates a three-semester-long curricular and instructional design project focusing on the design and implementation of a technology-enhanced case-based learning experience for pre-service teachers within a teaching methods course. This case highlights the iterative process that a teacher educator and an instructional designer went through to integrate technology-enhanced cases into a methods course and connect them to other aspects of the course experiences, as well as the teacher education program in general. The first part of this case provides an overview of the project, the designers and their personal objectives, design context, information on the online environment and case materials, and ideas, challenges, and differences of the designers shared before the actual design process. The second part of this case presents each phase of our design from the first to the final semester, including the discussions of our goals, issues, results, and reflections.

A sociocultural investigation of pre-service teachers’ outdoor experiences and perceived obstacles to outdoor learning

This study utilizes a sociocultural approach to explore how pre-service elementary teachers’ experiences in both outdoor and formal school settings have contributed to their intentions for taking their students outdoors and perceived obstacles to doing so. The participants were pre-service elementary teachers (N = 95) enrolled in an elementary science education methods course at a public university in the Midwestern United States. This study builds on the qualitative research methodology established in a prior research study, whereby after reading Richard Louv’s book entitled Last Child in the Woods, pre-service teachers completed written essay responses to prompts about their past outdoor experiences, their intentions for taking their students outdoors, and additionally in this study, perceived obstacles to doing so once they become teachers. Analysis of the data indicates the importance of participants’ youth experiences in the outdoors and positive intentions for taking students outside. In addition, findings describe major obstacles discussed by pre-service teachers, and we use sociocultural theory to analyse the context of these findings. Implications for teacher educators working to better equip pre-service teachers to overcome these perceived obstacles are discussed.

Critical multicultural education and preservice teachers’ multicultural attitudes

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of critical multicultural education on the multicultural attitudes of preservice teachers in a teacher education program. Design/methodology/approach The study sample consisted of 76 preservice teachers enrolled in a teacher preparation program. This study used a pretest–posttest quasi-experimental research design with pretest-posttest. The multicultural content integration was implemented in an experimental group for one semester, and data were collected using the teacher multicultural attitude survey. Findings Analyses indicated that preservice teachers who were exposed to the critical multicultural education program showed significantly greater progress in their multicultural attitudes compared with teachers in the control group. The results of this study indicate that the integrating critical multicultural education content into teacher education program has a positive effect on fostering preservice teachers’ multicultural attitudes. Practical implications Teacher education program planners should integrate multicultural content, materials and activities into teaching methods courses to promote change in preservice teachers’ multicultural attitudes. Originality/value This study contributes to the multicultural studies on teacher education.

‘I became a teacher that respects the kids’ voices’: challenges and facilitators pre-service teachers faced in learning an activist approach

ABSTRACTSeveral studies demonstrate the benefits of educating for social justice in physical education teacher education programs [O’Sullivan, M. (2018). PETE Academics as public intellectuals and activists in a global teacher education context. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 23(5), 536–543], which supports that pre-service teachers (PSTs) have the capacity to be active agents of change. In working with social justice, PSTs engage in what can be a very personal struggle with their own stereotypes and assumptions about the people they are working with [Oliver, K. L., Oesterreich, H. A., Aranda, R., Archeleta, J., Blazera, C., Crux, K., … Robinson, R. (2015). ‘The sweetness of struggle’: Innovation in physical education teacher education through student-centered inquiry as curriculum in a physical education methods course. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 20(1), 97–115]. Although the challenges that PSTs faced to learn an activist approach to teaching are described in the literature, there is little research that aims to understand how these challenges progress across time. The aim of this study is to explore the challenges pre-service teachers faced when learning to use an activist approach across time. Participatory action research framed this 3-semester study (18 months). Participants included 10 pre-service-teachers, 90 youth, and two researchers. Data collected included: (a) collaborative PSTs group meetings; (b) PSTs reflective diaries after each teaching episode; (c) lead researcher observations collected as field notes; (d) PSTs generated artifacts; and (e) PSTs interviews and focus groups. Data analysis involved inductive and constant comparison. Results conveyed: (a) the PSTs’ assumptions about what student-centered pedagogy meant and the challenges of overcoming their misconceptions about teaching and learning; and (b) the PST’s struggles in coming to understand themselves as activist teachers, with dispositions as advocates of social justice. Future studies should continue to explore the challenges and facilitators PSTs face when learning an activist approach aimed at empowering both students and teachers to develop a critically conscious understanding of their relationships with the world through their effort to name and change the world together.

Citation as a social practice in a TESOL graduate program: A language socialization approach

Using the theoretical framework of language socialization, this paper investigates the local contexts in which four international students were initiated into citation during their first semester in a Masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA-TESOL) program. Drawing from 38 hours of observation and audiotaping in two teaching methods courses, interviews with instructors and students, and students’ texts, it situates students’ citation practices within the discourses surrounding source use in the classroom and in the program. Instructors envisioned “doing citation” as embedded within larger processes of academic and professional enculturation through which students would dialogue with sources and develop professional voices as members of a TESOL/applied linguistics community who based teaching practice on theory and research rather than personal experience. However, socializing interactions around citation focused on its formal aspects and characterized it as a requirement for writing done in the program, but with little relevance otherwise. Analysis of students’ texts reveals that they were being socialized into citation as a school-based academic convention, but provides little evidence of dialogue with sources and suggests that students regarded the theoretical and the personal as two distinct and irreconcilable ways of knowing.

Discussion on the Cultivation of Mechanical Talents in Applied Colleges Under the Background of “Made in China 2025” + “New Engineering”

Under the background of innovation-driven development and "made in China 2025",the education sectors put forward the "new engineering" to adapt to the new changes in the world economy. Therefore, it was of great practical and strategic significance to cultivate engineering talents with strong scientific foundation, strong engineering ability and high comprehensive quality to support the vigorous development of new economy featuring new technologies, new business forms, new industries and new models. Based on the teaching work of mechanical majors in local private institutions, this paper explores a new model for training talents under the background of "Made in China 2025" and "New Engineering" by reforming the curriculum structure system, reforming the teaching methods of courses, and strengthening the evaluation and construction of students 'academic achievements.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic (STEM) Education in Malaysia: Preparing the Pre-service Science Teachers

The aims of this paper is to discuss the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematic (STEM) education in Malaysian educational system and how it has been implemented in teaching method course. The policy of STEM education started in the United States and has been expanded to all over the world including Malaysia. The policy of STEM education in Malaysia has its own understanding based on Malaysian Education policy. In ensuring the successful of STEM education, preservice teachers need to be trained. Hence, School of Educational Studies has taken this initiative to train these student teachers through Chemistry Teaching Methods course. In this course, student teachers need to plan a lesson plan using 5E instructional model. They also need to teach based on that lesson plan through simulated teaching in ensuring STEM elements are successfully implemented.

Preservice Mathematics Teachers’ Performances in Teaching Activities

In this study, it was tried to determine teaching activities that elementary preservice mathematics teachers exhibited in a micro teaching session. Preservice teachers are required to prepare and later present a sample micro teaching session. First of all, they were advised to freely select a topic (or an attainment) of their own intention within 5-8 middle school mathematics subjects. Then, every one of them planned their own special session. While they were planning the sessions, they were advised to take into account of all perspectives and practices of the theoretical subjects covered via the course of Special Teaching Methods 1 and the experiences that they gained during the other courses of the mathematics teacher education program. After that, each one performed tasks in the classroom environment related to their own planning. No intervention was made to the preservice mathematics teachers by the lecturer during the sessions. After each session, the remaining candidates and the lecturer made critique about the candidate’s performance. The study was conducted with 50 preservice teachers who take Special Teaching Methods II course. A systematic observation form has been prepared and used for data collection. Descriptive analysis and content analysis based on observations were used as mixed methods in the study. Findings show that preservice mathematics teachers have some misconceptions regarding the lectured subject, besides the deficiencies and mistakes in the course planning and performance.

PETE Teacher Candidates’ Preferred Teaching Styles

This study examined the chosen teaching styles of teacher candidates in a university PE high school teaching methods course (a) to see if teaching styles were chosen with equal probability and (b) to see if there was a difference of the distribution of styles used by males compared to females. A chi-square goodness of fit test determined if one or more teaching styles was more popular than at least one other, and a post hoc test compared all pairs of proportions. A two-sided normal-based test tested whether reproductive and productive styles were equally popular. A test for independence of gender and preferred teaching style was conducted, followed by post hoc tests. The following pairs of teaching style proportions were significantly different: practice with all the other styles except reciprocal. Overall, reproductive styles were more popular. Female candidates preferred reproductive styles at a significantly higher rate than male candidates did, and male candidates preferred productive styles at a significantly higher rate than female candidates did. Reasons for style preference are explored and recommendations made for environmental enhancements that help teachers to develop productive styles.Subscribe to TPE

Teacher Self-Efficacy in SBAE Methods Coursework: A Mixed Methods Study

As novice teachers gain experience, they are more efficacious and likely to overcome adversity. The more authentic, rigorous, and frequent the experience in preservice methods coursework, the better prepared candidates are to teach. We used a mixed methods, convergent, nested design to examine the Teacher Self-Efficacy (TSE) of 21 SBAE preservice teaching candidates prior to student teaching. In a teaching methods course that emphasized student engagement and the contextual conditions of learning, we used the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale to quantitatively measure efficacy, while qualitatively measuring TSE using open-ended reflections. We concurrently analyzed data using paired sample t-tests, and deductive open coding and frequency counts. Students were more efficacious, particularly within student-engagement efficacy, following the methods course. While participants most frequently discussed instructional strategies, their richest discussion focused on the value of interest approaches and student engagement. Our study provides evidence that preservice teaching experiences embedded within a methods course significantly shape efficacy. When instructors emphasize student engagement, it is possible to develop student engagement efficacy to a similar, or even greater degree, as both instructional strategies and classroom management efficacy under the same conditions, which may reduce teacher burn out and improve teacher satisfaction.

Planned Behavior Typologies of Agricultural Education Teacher Educators Regarding Service Learning as a Method of Instruction: A National Mixed Methods Study

This study sought to understand the service-learning beliefs and intentions of agricultural education teacher educators. We collected quantitative data through a web-based survey instrument and course syllabi. Variables yielding statistically significant relationships were analyzed using cluster analysis, which produced three unique clusters operationalized as typologies representing the planned behaviors of teacher educators regarding service learning. For example, the Optimistically Unaware expressed positive beliefs about the method, but did not understand how to integrate service learning in their teaching methods courses. Meanwhile, the Policy-Focused Decision Makers used established education policy as anchors when navigating decisions, such as whether to feature service learning in their courses. Service-Learning Implementers espoused strong beliefs about the method’s potential while also emphasizing how it could be used to enrich the preparation of agriculture teachers. Results point to the potential service learning holds if integrated as a complement to teacher preparation rather than an addition to current practice.

A Study on Developing Special Teaching Methods Attitude Scale for Pre-service Music Teachers

The objective of the current study is to develop an attitude scale for pre-service music teachers’ special teaching methods course. The data of the research was obtained in the spring semester of the 2017-2018 academic year. The study group consists of 388 pre-service music teachers who continue their education at eight universities in Turkey. Before proceeding to further analysis, the missing values and outliers were processed. As a result, mean substitution was performed for the missing data in the dataset and 2 participants with outliers were excluded from the study. The suitability of the data for factor analysis was determined by running the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity. Result of the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value was found to be 0.97. The overall internal consistency coefficient (Cronbach’s Alpha) of the single-factor and 58 item-scale was determined to be 0.98.

Using technology-enhanced cases in teacher education: An exploratory study in a social studies methods course

The purpose of this case study was to gain insight into pre-service teachers' and an instructor's perceptions and experiences on their uses of technology-enhanced cases in a teaching methods course. Findings demonstrate two different reactions from pre-service teachers. The majority of them valued case discussions with co-construction of knowledge as useful and meaningful, but a few also perceived the cases as meaningless and disengaged from the discussions. The study also provides insight into how the instructor's case-based instruction mediated such differences and used the cases as a means of closing the gap between the methods course and field experience.

Developing a Three-Dimensional View of Science Teaching: A Tool to Support Preservice Teacher Discourse

ABSTRACTThe Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC, 2012) on which they are based, describe a new vision for science education that includes having students learn science in a way that more closely aligns to how scientists and engineers work and think. Accomplishing this goal will require teacher educators to make important shifts in the ways they prepare future science teachers (NRC, 2012). Many science teaching methods courses are being reformed to better support future science teachers to meet the ambitious goals of the NGSS. Specifically, these reform efforts require evidence-based and standards-aligned tools to help preservice teachers align instruction with the new science standards. This study utilized the methodology of Improvement Science “Plan, Do Study, Act” cycles in order to design a Three-Dimensional Mapping Tool (3D Map) as a visual scaffold for use in science teaching methods courses to support preservice teachers in unpacking the components of NGSS and to promote discourse related to the three-dimensionality of planning instruction. The 3D Map provides a visualization of key elements of the NGSS, while being flexible enough to accommodate established teaching strategies.