Integrating Study Abroad Curriculum in Teacher Education

Author(s):  
Yasemin Kırkgöz

This chapter describes the design of an innovative study abroad curriculum to be integrated into teacher education departments. The curriculum is based upon the results of in-depth interviews administered to teacher candidates and/or practicing teachers of English following their return from a study abroad program. The curriculum is designed to meet the needs of prospective study abroad student teachers of English and to address possible challenges that might result from their participation in such programs. The most innovative aspect of the curriculum is that it incorporates problem scenarios and provides experiential hands-on practice. The curriculum comprises ten modules, each focusing on a different topic. It is expected that the curriculum will enhance teacher educators' awareness of the contribution(s) study abroad makes to create global citizens and increase teacher educators' knowledge about the learning needs of prospective study abroad student teachers.

Author(s):  
Yasemin Kırkgöz

This chapter describes the design of an innovative ‘Study Abroad' curriculum to be integrated into teacher education departments. The curriculum is based upon the results of in-depth interviews administered to teacher candidates and/or practicing teachers of English following their return from a study abroad program. The curriculum is designed with a view to meeting the needs of prospective study abroad student teachers of English, and to address possible challenges that may result from their participation in such programs. The most innovative aspect of the curriculum is that it incorporates problem scenarios, and provides experiential hands-on practice. The curriculum comprises ten modules, each focused on a different topic. It is expected that the curriculum will enhance teacher educators' awareness of the contribution(s) study abroad makes to create global citizens, and increase teacher educators' knowledge about the learning needs of prospective study abroad student teachers.


Author(s):  
Yasemin Kırkgöz

This chapter describes the design of an enhanced innovative study abroad curriculum to be integrated into teacher education programs. The curriculum is based upon the results of in-depth interviews administered to teacher candidates and/or practicing teachers of English following their return from a study abroad program. It is designed to meet the needs of prospective study abroad student teachers of English and to address possible challenges that may result from their participation in such programs. The enhanced curriculum is comprised of 10 modules, each focusing on a different topic. Integrated into the enhanced curriculum are tasks and problem scenarios reflecting on the real experiences of the returned study abroad sojourners. It is expected that the curriculum will increase teacher educators' knowledge about the learning needs of prospective study abroad participants and enhance their awareness of the contribution(s) study abroad makes to create global citizens.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-120
Author(s):  
Erik Jon Byker ◽  
Tingting Xu

For students to become global citizens they need globally competent teachers. The purpose of this article is to describe and compare the development of global competencies in teacher candidates who participated in international teaching-focused study abroad programs. The article is framed by Critical Cosmopolitan Theory (Byker, 2013), which offers a lens for the development of global competencies through the fusion of critical consciousness (Freire, 1970) and cosmopolitanism (Appiah, 2010). In the field of teacher education, study abroad experiences can help enhance teacher candidates’ commitment to culturally responsive teaching practices (Gay, 2002) and intercultural awareness (Hammer, Bennett, & Wiseman, 2003). The article reports on two case studies of study abroad programs for U.S. teacher candidates. One case study focuses on a study abroad program in China (n=13) and the other case study focuses on a study abroad program in South Africa (n=22). The article compares the teacher candidates’ perceptions of their study abroad experiences in relationship to the development of global competencies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 192-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther T. Canrinus ◽  
Kirsti Klette ◽  
Karen Hammerness

Although teacher educators may perceive their program and courses to be coherent, the question remains to what extent student teachers also are able to perceive the linkages within their programs. Coherence within teacher education programs is important for teacher candidates to build understanding of teaching. Our study draws upon survey data from 269 teacher candidates, in three different teacher education programs, located in three different countries (Norway, Finland, United States [California]) and compares these candidates’ perceptions of the coherence of their teacher education programs. Candidates from a program that has explicitly been working on constructing a coherent program over a period of 15 years do report significantly more coherence, yet, across the programs, there remains room for improvement regarding the coherence between field placement and campus courses. We conclude with the suggestion that potential improvement of program coherence lies within greater communication and collaboration between the various stakeholders within teacher education.


This article is drawn from a doctoral study that investigated initial teacher educators’ views of giftedness and the apparent consequences of those views for pedagogical practice in early years educational settings. The aim of the study was to describe teacher educators’ understandings and meanings of giftedness because their perspectives can reflect the extent to which initial teacher education (ITE) programmes value giftedness. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, during which ITE programme leaders and teacher educators discussed their understandings of giftedness, and how to identify and respond to it. The educators explained that supporting the special learning needs of gifted children requires a focus, not only on the individual child, but also on building relationships with the children and their families. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ITE programmes likewise emphasise relationships, which is a core principle of Te Whāriki, Aotearoa New Zealand’s early childhood education curriculum. The implications from several findings of the study include the need for ITE programmes to provide student teachers with greater awareness of individual giftedness, and the need to develop relationships with gifted children, their parents, and whānau (families) as a strategy to respond to individual needs.


Author(s):  
Darshana Sharma

Teaching Practice is widely recognised as the sine-qua-non of any teacher education programme. It is a component in the teacher preparation programme where prospective teachers are provided with an opportunity to put their theoretical studies into practice, get feedback, reflect on practice and consequently further improve their teaching skills. As teaching practice is an important component of a teacher education programme, considerable attention must be given to make it more effective and fruitful. This paper is based on a research study conducted to know pre-service teachers' experiences of the quality of teaching practice and the common concerns they have during teaching practice. On the basis of focussed group discussion a total of five themes were identified, these are (1) usefulness of teaching practice (2) experiences/concerns with pupils' behaviour (3) experiences/concerns with own behaviour (4) experiences/concerns with supervisors' behaviour (5) experiences/concerns with institutional and personal adjustments. The outcome of the focussed group discussion was used to prepare a structured questionnaire. Among other things, the study recommended rigorous practical training in lesson planning, demonstration lessons by teacher educators, simulated teaching before the commencement of practice teaching, school orientation programmes, a separate internship of two weeks and writing a journal by student teachers during teaching practice.


2021 ◽  
pp. e20200014
Author(s):  
Elise St. John ◽  
Dan Goldhaber ◽  
John Krieg ◽  
Roddy Theobald

Emerging research finds connections between teacher candidates’ student teaching placements and their future career paths and effectiveness. Yet relatively little is known about the factors that influence these placements and how teacher education programs (TEPs) and K-12 school systems match teacher candidates to mentor teachers. In our study of this process in Washington state, we find that TEPs and K-12 systems share overarching goals related to successful student teacher placements and developing a highly effective teacher workforce. However, distinct accountabilities and day-to-day demands also sometimes lead them to prioritize other objectives. In addition, we identified informational asymmetries, which left TEPs questioning how mentor teachers were selected, and districts and schools with limited information with which to make intentional matches between teacher candidates and mentor teachers. The findings from this study inform both practice and research in teacher education and human resources. First, they illuminate practices that appear to contribute to informational gaps and institutional disadvantages in the placement of student teachers. Additionally, they raise questions about what constitutes an effective mentor teacher and provide researchers and policymakers with better insight into the professional realities of teacher educators and K-12 educators, as well as those of district human resource (HR) coordinators, which is important given their differing accountabilities and distinctive positionings in the education of teacher candidates.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Vasiliki Brinia ◽  
Reni Giannimara ◽  
Paraskevi Psoni ◽  
George Stamatakis

The present paper aims at presenting an innovative approach to educating teacher-candidates through the art. More specifically, it aims at exploring the benefits of this approach for student-teachers and for their future teaching of social science subjects. It is an experiential approach, based on a multi-level methodology, developed and implemented through the collaboration of the Teacher Education Program of Athens University of Economics and Business with the Aalto University and the Athens School of Fine Arts. After the completion of the implementation of the specific teaching method, the student-teachers have been interviewed, in order to detect their views on the effectiveness of this method, which has been introduced for the first time in the Teacher Education field in Greece. The results are positive with the interviewees reporting having achieved an in-depth and multi-perspective understanding of the matter in discussion as well as enhanced collaborative skills among other benefits.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Nafiye Cigdem Aktekin ◽  
Hatice Celebi

In this study, we direct our focus to identity construction in an English language teaching (ELT) teacher education program. We explore the teacher roles in which student teachers are struggling to position themselves comfortably and the teacher expertise domains (subject matter, didactics, and pedagogy) that they are dedicating themselves to improving. To address our research focus, we have collected reflections and survey responses from 18 student teachers in an ELT education department. Our findings indicate that ELT student teachers find it difficult to position themselves as experts in and about the English language and that they feel a need to be equipped with expertise first and foremost in the subject matter, and then in didactics, followed by pedagogy. These results imply that in ELT teacher education, certain language ideologies are still prevalent and need to be dealt with by teacher educators for transformative outcomes in education.


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