scholarly journals Understanding Malaysian ESL pre-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning through metaphors

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 347-361
Author(s):  
Wan Noor Miza Wan Mohd Yunus
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Multiple Roles ◽  
Pedagogical Beliefs ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Government Schools ◽  
Teaching Practicum ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Beliefs About Teaching

Teaching metaphors are often used in teacher education programmes for pre-service teachers to critically reflect on their teaching. Metaphors not only give insights into teachers’ beliefs and principles about teaching and learning but may also guide classroom practices. This article sought to explore three Malaysian ESL pre-service teachers’ teaching metaphors in different situations during their teaching practicum. The study also explored what the selected metaphors revealed about the pre-service teachers’ pedagogical beliefs. Data in this study was collected qualitatively by using semi-structured interviews and reflective tasks assigned after the pre-service teachers’ teaching practicum at local government schools. Findings indicated that the pre-service teachers have multiple roles, which are represented by various metaphors they formulated in different situations. It has been suggested that metaphors can be effective in eliciting beliefs as the constructed metaphors reveal much about the roles of the pre-service teachers. The major beliefs about teaching and learning generated by the research participants include meeting students’ needs, varying teaching approaches, and facilitating students. The implications of this study are for teacher educators to utilize metaphors in teacher education programmes and to acknowledge pre-service teachers’ beliefs as this may highly impact their practices and development.

scholarly journals Transforming Perspective Teachers' Beliefs about Teaching: What Teacher Educators do in a Teacher Education Institution in Pakistan?

sjesr ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 545-554
Author(s):  
Haji Karim Khan ◽  
Yasmeen Batool ◽  
Farah Deeba
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Teacher Education Institution

Taking the lenses of cultural perspectives, this study has investigated the role of teacher educators in transforming the teaching and learning beliefs of prospective teachers in a formal teacher education program in a remote mountainous region of Pakistan. We used a qualitative exploratory approach to conduct the study and collected data from eight teacher educators through semi-structured interviews, non-participatory observations of the classroom practices, as well as researchers' field, notes Findings, showed that the changing culture of teacher education in Pakistan seem to redefine and reinterpret teacher educators' roles in transforming prospective teachers' beliefs. As a result, teacher educators saw themselves as role models, counselors, mentors, storytellers, and listeners. These findings have pertinent implications for the teacher educators' roles in similar settings.

scholarly journals A CASE STUDY ON THE ROLE OF SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS IN ESL PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AND PRACTICE

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-345
Author(s):  
Wan Noor Miza Wan Mohd Yunus
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Beliefs About Teaching ◽  
Schooling Experience ◽  
Beliefs And Practice

Pre-service teachers are often involved in the continuous construction and reconstruction of their identities that are shaped by various internal and external factors. This study explores sociocultural factors that influence pre-service teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning namely 1) previous schooling experience, 2) teacher education, and 3) curriculum specifications. Participants of the study were three pre-service teachers studying at a local university in Malaysia. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews conducted after their teaching practicum at local government schools. Findings from this study indicate that the three sociocultural factors have a varying degree of influence towards the pre-service teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and practice. Previous schooling experience and teacher education programme have the most influence on all the pre-service teachers' beliefs and practice while curriculum specifications have the least impact. It is also evident from this study that the formation of teachers' beliefs is complex as sociocultural factors such as ethnicity, gender, school and home are always interactional. The findings provide implications for ESL teacher educators in considering pre-service teachers' beliefs in teacher education programmes as these may significantly impact their pedagogical practices.

scholarly journals Teacher educators’ perceptions and challenges of using critical pedagogy: A case study of higher teacher education in Tanzania

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 112-129
Author(s):  
Patrick Kavenuke ◽  
◽  
Abdulghani Muthanna ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teaching Style ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teaching Resources ◽  
Effective Use

This study investigates teacher educators’ perceptions of and challenges affecting the use of critical pedagogy in higher teacher education in Tanzania. The study employed a qualitative case study design and collected in-depth data through semi-structured interviews and direct classroom observations. The findings showed that critical pedagogy is a significant approach for developing students’ abilities to do critical reflection. However, critical pedagogy demands building a friendly relationship with students and encouraging dialogic interactions; all these lead to critical reflection in return, ensuring better understanding of the subject content. Most importantly, the findings report several challenges related to the presence of crowded classes, the use of lecturing teaching style and the use of English as a language of instruction, the use of unsuitable assessment format that is university guided and lack of teaching resources. These challenges impede the effective use of critical pedagogy in teaching. To overcome such challenges, policy makers and institutional leaders need to rethink of providing teaching resources and encouraging the use of critical pedagogy in teaching and learning at higher teacher education programmes. The study concludes that by practising what teacher educators perceive to be critical pedagogy, classrooms will be transformed into places of liberation. Further, while this qualitative study does not intend to make any generalisation, the findings might be of interest to international teacher educators who are interested in employing the critical pedagogy approach effectively.

scholarly journals Beliefs: Quality Teaching Practicum Vs Quality Teachers

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Gui Chan Choo ◽  
Md Melor Yunus ◽  
MOHAMED AMIN EMBI
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Quality Teachers ◽  
Teacher Education Programme ◽  
Teaching Practicum ◽  
Future Success ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Beliefs About Teaching ◽  
Real Challenge

<p>Teaching practicum is one of the important aspects in teacher education programme as it concerns preparation of quality teachers and it embraces all the learning experiences of pre-service teachers in schools. Teaching practicum is a real challenge for the pre-service teachers because their performance during teaching practicum will foreshadow the future success of the pre-service teachers. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) pre-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching practicum and identify what components of teacher education programme that contribute pre-service teachers’ views about teaching practicum. Data was collected via a questionnaire survey of third year TESL undergraduates from University of Malaya. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings will be presented and elaborated upon in this paper. For further understanding, this paper also discusses the pre-service teachers’ beliefs according to the two main aspects namely, (i) importance of teaching practicum and (ii) confidence and uncertainty about teaching practicum.</p>

scholarly journals Primary Teachers' Mathematical Beliefs and Practices in the Maldives

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Mohamed Shameem Adam
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Primary Teachers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Mathematical Beliefs ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Beliefs About Teaching ◽  
Beliefs And Practice

<p>Recent reforms in mathematics education have been influenced by such theoretical perspectives as constructivism, which have reconceptualised teaching and learning. Mismatches between teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning, and ideas underpinning reform are often viewed as major obstacles to implementing educational reforms. This study examined the mathematical beliefs and practices, and factors affecting practices, of eight primary teachers selected from four schools in two different regions of the Maldives. The research used a multiple case study approach within a qualitative methodology. A questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and observations were used to collect data about teachers’ beliefs and practice. Teachers’ lesson notes, worksheets, samples of student work, and test papers were used to understand teachers’ practice. Data were analysed within and across cases using a thematic approach. Teachers demonstrated a range of beliefs that included both constructivist and traditional elements to different degrees. In general, teachers’ observed practice was more traditional than their beliefs about teaching and learning mathematics. The teachers’ practice showed some consistency with their beliefs about the nature of mathematics, mathematics teaching and learning; however, the degree of consistency between beliefs and practice differed from teacher to teacher. Overall, the findings indicated there are several factors affecting teachers’ practice, including methods of assessment, teacher accountability for students’ results, limited time to cover the curriculum, lack of resources, and parental pressure to use textbooks. National assessment practices, affecting many factors found to limit practice, emerged as being particularly influential on the teachers’ instructional behaviour. The study suggests the need to change the nature of national assessment, and remove other barriers if teachers are to be best placed to implement their constructivist beliefs and the Maldives mathematics curriculum. The findings also have implications for professional development and teacher education programmes.</p>

scholarly journals Primary Teachers' Mathematical Beliefs and Practices in the Maldives

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Mohamed Shameem Adam
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Primary Teachers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Mathematical Beliefs ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Beliefs About Teaching ◽  
Beliefs And Practice

<p>Recent reforms in mathematics education have been influenced by such theoretical perspectives as constructivism, which have reconceptualised teaching and learning. Mismatches between teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning, and ideas underpinning reform are often viewed as major obstacles to implementing educational reforms. This study examined the mathematical beliefs and practices, and factors affecting practices, of eight primary teachers selected from four schools in two different regions of the Maldives. The research used a multiple case study approach within a qualitative methodology. A questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and observations were used to collect data about teachers’ beliefs and practice. Teachers’ lesson notes, worksheets, samples of student work, and test papers were used to understand teachers’ practice. Data were analysed within and across cases using a thematic approach. Teachers demonstrated a range of beliefs that included both constructivist and traditional elements to different degrees. In general, teachers’ observed practice was more traditional than their beliefs about teaching and learning mathematics. The teachers’ practice showed some consistency with their beliefs about the nature of mathematics, mathematics teaching and learning; however, the degree of consistency between beliefs and practice differed from teacher to teacher. Overall, the findings indicated there are several factors affecting teachers’ practice, including methods of assessment, teacher accountability for students’ results, limited time to cover the curriculum, lack of resources, and parental pressure to use textbooks. National assessment practices, affecting many factors found to limit practice, emerged as being particularly influential on the teachers’ instructional behaviour. The study suggests the need to change the nature of national assessment, and remove other barriers if teachers are to be best placed to implement their constructivist beliefs and the Maldives mathematics curriculum. The findings also have implications for professional development and teacher education programmes.</p>

Blogging for Effective Teacher Education Course in English as a Second Language

2010 ◽  
pp. 41-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Bangou ◽  
Douglas Fleming
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Effective Teacher ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Democratic Spaces ◽  
Technological Integration

Two years ago, as teacher educators, the authors decided to integrate the use of blogs into their practice in order to contribute to the development of an understanding of the knowledge base related to the processes of teaching and learning English as a Second Language (ESL) and provide their teacher candidates with a space to critically reflect collectively and individually on course content. In this chapter, the authors use discourse analysis (Johnston, 2008) of semi-structured interviews conducted with these teacher candidates to explore how they use and perceive blogs within a course specifically focused on ESL teaching methods. This allows the authors to problematize the notion of technological integration in teaching and learning and complexify the notion of blogs as democratic spaces (Kuzu, 2007). On the basis of this analysis, the authors formulate four recommendations to guide teacher educators who are working in similar contexts.

scholarly journals A Sociocultural Perspective on English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) Teachers’ Cognitions About Form-Focused Instruction

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Sun ◽  
Lawrence Jun Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Output ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Focus On Form ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Beliefs About Teaching

There has been much research into teacher beliefs about teaching and learning as seen in the general teacher education literature. In the field of language teacher education, this line of research has been evolving, with the recent trend being streamlined into “teacher cognition” as a generic or umbrella term. Despite increasing amounts of research output so far, research into foreign language teachers’ cognitions about their own teaching and decision-making is still insufficient, particularly with regard to university-level English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) teachers in China. Drawing on Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory, this qualitative research focused on EFL teachers’ cognitions about form-focused instruction in Chinese university settings. It intended to discover how teachers’ cognitions changed when they were expected to teach in actual classrooms and what factors contributed to these changes. Data collected from four teacher-participants through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and follow-up stimulated recall interviews showed participants’ support for focus-on-form instruction, which means they not only paid attention to the grammatical form of the language but also to the meaning it is intended to convey. However, data also showed that the teacher-participants shifted from focus-on-form to focus-on-formS instruction in actual teaching, which suggests that they might have realized the challenges of carrying out teaching activities surrounding focus-on-form and would like to take an easier approach by only teaching the grammar of the language by focusing on formS. Such incongruences are interpreted with reference to a plethora of sociocultural factors including traditional Chinese thinking and institutional expectations. The implications of the findings for stakeholders in universities, including faculty members, students, and curriculum developers in similar contexts, are also discussed.

scholarly journals Identifying Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About Teaching EFL and Their Potential Changes

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Andrés Suárez Flórez ◽  
Edwin Arley Basto Basto
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Public University ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teaching Practicum ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Bachelor Of Arts ◽  
Beliefs About Teaching ◽  
Weekly Journal ◽  
Journal Entries

This study aims at identifying pre-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching English as a foreign language and tracking their potential changes throughout the teaching practicum. Participants were two pre-service teachers in their fifth year of their Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Languages program in a public university in Colombia. Data were gathered through a modified version of Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory before the practicum, eight weekly journal entries administered during ten weeks, and two semi-structured interviews at the end of the teaching practicum. The findings revealed that most of the pre-service teachers’ beliefs changed once they faced the reality of the classroom.

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