scholarly journals Preservice Mathematics Teachers’ Knowledge about the Potential of Tasks to Promote Students’ Mathematical Reasoning

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1300-1319
Author(s):  
Hélia Oliveira ◽  
Ana Henriques
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Mathematical Reasoning ◽  
Initial Teacher Education ◽  
8Th Grade ◽  
Preservice Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Grade Classroom ◽  
Huge Challenge

The use of tasks to promote mathematical reasoning (MR) in teaching practice is essential to meet curricular goals. However, that practice is often a huge challenge for teachers, and particularly for prospective teachers and thus it is essential to highlight it as a goal for initial teacher education. This study focuses on preservice mathematics teachers’ (PTs) knowledge about the potential of mathematical tasks to promote students’ MR, in a teacher education course. Results show that PTs were able to justify their option for a mathematical task with potential to promote students’ MR, and through its implementation in one 8th grade classroom they have deepen their knowledge and gave greater meaning to task design principles and acknowledging their students’ knowledge. Thus, the activity of selecting and adapting a task, although less demanding than the design of a new task, can still provide PT with important reflection and knowledge about its potential to promote students’ MR. The study stresses the relevance for initial teacher education of considering four domains associated with the recognition of the potential of tasks to promote MR.

scholarly journals Newly Qualified Female Teachers’ Perception of Teaching Practicum as a Component of Initial Teacher Education in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-69
Author(s):  
Charmaine Helena Iwu
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Novice Teachers ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Teaching Profession ◽  
Initial Teacher Education ◽  
Pass Rates ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teaching Practicum ◽  
Female Teachers

This study was undertaken with the aim of understanding how newly qualified female teachers perceive teaching practicum in the South African context. Teaching Practicum is a vital component of the initial teacher education (ITE) programme because it enriches future teachers’ knowledge, skills and abilities towards a lifelong career in the teaching profession. Teachers make valuable contributions to the growth of any nation as they help produce future leaders. It is therefore necessary to have a competent teaching workforce to improve pass rates as well as reduce dropout rates among learners. The study took the qualitative deductive premise making use of semi-structured interviews to collect data from more than 30 novice teachers. Key words, which helped in the identification of themes, were distilled from the responses. A core overall finding of the study point to a mix of experiences - benefits and shortcomings - which not only affect the development of prospective teachers but also have profound implications for both policy enhancement and implementation. Regarding policy enhancement and implementation, it is suggested that universities and schools where novice teachers are posted for teaching practice should have good relations for support advancements. In this case, it is advised that the novice teachers should be exposed to critical mentoring opportunities to allow for clearer understanding of the real classroom scope. This study believes that for this to be fruitful, schools should among others be well-equipped. Suggestions for further research are also flagged. .   

scholarly journals Development of Prospective Teachers’ Noticing Skills Within Initial Teacher Education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reyhan Tekin-Sitrava ◽  
Gabriele Kaiser ◽  
Mine Işıksal-Bostan
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Mathematics Education ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Initial Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Education Courses

AbstractAlthough the effects of professional development programs on teachers’ noticing skills have attracted considerable interest among mathematics education researchers, little is known about the developmental process of prospective teachers’ noticing skills within initial teacher education. This paper examines the extent to which prospective teachers’ noticing skills are developed through the mathematics education courses taken within the mathematics teachers’ education program using exemplarily the topic division of fractions. The study is grounded on the framework of Professional Noticing of Children’s Mathematical Thinking which specifies three facets of noticing, that are attending, interpreting, and deciding how to respond. Twenty-two prospective mathematics teachers (PSTs), who were enrolled in the Middle School Mathematics Teacher Education Program at a Turkish university, participated in this study. The results revealed that most PSTs gained expertise in all three kinds of noticing skills during their teacher education. The highest progression could be identified in the interpretation skills and the lowest in attending skills. These results are important for initial teacher education programs, highlighting that general, non-specialized mathematics education courses within initial teacher education have the potential to provide an efficient professional development program to develop PST’s noticing skills. The study points out that further research is needed in order to provide additional details about how teacher education programs could be redesigned and implemented to ensure opportunities for PSTs to develop noticing skills within all three facets leading to robust or at least substantial evidence of all three noticing skills.

Mentors and student-teachers “lesson studying” in initial teacher education

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wasyl Cajkler ◽  
Phil Wood
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Student Teacher ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Initial Teacher Education ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study an adapted version of lesson used with mentors and student-teachers in a one-year initial teacher education (ITE) programme for prospective teachers of geography and modern languages. In partnership with eight secondary schools, the effectiveness of the lesson study cycle was evaluated as a vehicle for exploration of approaches to aid student-teacher learning during school placements. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 12 lesson study case studies were completed and analysed. Findings – Three principal findings emerged: first, most collaborating mentors and student-teachers reported that they engaged in a reflexive process, exploring the complexity of teaching, each learning more about the characteristics of teaching; second, in cases where collaboration allowed student-teachers a degree of autonomy, lesson study provided a collaborative scaffold for understanding the complexity of teaching, contributing to professional development along a continuum which the authors tentatively term “pedagogic literacy”; third and less positively, some mentors struggled to shed the shackles of traditional roles, dominating the discourse as advice-givers so that a traditional “parallel” approach to mentoring continued. Originality/value – The work expands the experiential base of lesson study efforts in ITE in the UK and elaborates a view of teacher learning that challenges reductive approaches to the preparation of new teachers. For the first time, it presents student-teacher and mentor perspectives on the use of lesson study in teaching practice in England.

Listening to the Experiences and Concerns of Pre-Service Teachers During Teaching Practice Programme

2021 ◽  
pp. 14-27
Author(s):  
Darshana Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Practical Training ◽  
Teacher Education Programme ◽  
Practice Teaching

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.

scholarly journals “This is why students feel lost when they go into teaching practice”: English Language Teachers’ Views on their Initial Teacher Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 371-387
Author(s):  
Sue Garton
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Initial Teacher Education ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Research

The last 20-25 years have seen a significant shift in the views about what teachers need to know to be able to teach. This shift has led to new developments in the theory of second language teacher education (SLTE) and a growth in research in this area. One area of research concerns the attitudes and expectations of those learning to become teachers. While most studies in this area focus on teacher education programmes in BANA countries, this article looks at data from student teachers studying in Russia and Uzbekistan. The study employed a quantitative and qualitative research design, using a researcher-designed on-line questionnaire. Through snowball sampling, data from 161 students and recent graduates in the two countries were collected, analysed, and compared to investigate the content of SLTE programmes. The study identified what the novice teachers felt were the strengths and weaknesses of their programme, and what changes they would like to see. Results showed that while the respondents were mainly satisfied with their methodology, and theoretical linguistics courses, they felt the need for more practice, both teaching and language practice. The data also revealed that, in Uzbekistan in particular, the idea of global English struggles to take hold as native-speaker models remain the norm. The implications of the study underline the need for SLTE to explicitly link theory to practice and to promote the idea of varieties of English, rather than focus on native-speaker norms.

scholarly journals Knowledge selection in initial teacher education programmes and its implications for curricular coherence

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Rusznyak
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Initial Teacher Education ◽  
Limited Time ◽  
Selection Decisions ◽  
Selection Principles ◽  
Internal Coherence ◽  
Rational Knowledge

There are a multitude of concepts and techniques that could be important for teachers tolearn during their initial teacher education (ITE), but indiscriminately including all of themwould result in an overcrowded and fragmented curriculum. Given the limited time for ITE,rational knowledge selection choices must be made if coherent programmes are to beoffered to prospective teachers. This paper explores the approaches taken to addressing thecritical challenges facing education in South Africa and the principles from knowledgeselection that arise from these approaches. Different conceptions about how best to addressthese challenges offer directed priorities to guide knowledge selection decisions for ITEcurricula. Examples of knowledge selection principles that variously promote conceptual orcontextual coherence are presented and analysed, and tradeoffs associated with each one areconsidered. Although some recontextualising principles are mutually incompatiable, othershave the potential to coexist. In a four-year qualification, where sequencing choices can bemade, there exists the possibility of introducing different principles at different timeswithout unduly compromising internal coherence. A challenge for those who design ITEcurricula is to design conceptually coherent and/or contextually responsive curricula fullyaware of the affordances and limitations offered by different recontextualising principles.

scholarly journals Unpacking the Potential of 360degree Video to Support Pre-Service Teacher Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-69
Author(s):  
Nicoletta Balzaretti ◽  
Andrea Ciani ◽  
Chelsea Cutting ◽  
Lisa O’Keeffe ◽  
Bruce White
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Initial Teacher Education ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Video Cameras ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Video Viewing ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

Abstract Video has become a useful tool in Initial Teacher Education for self-evaluation and reflection by pre-service teachers (PSTs). The availability of 360degree video cameras and web-based applications, to review and annotate 360degree videos, allows PSTs greater flexibility to view and review their practice from a variety of perspectives. This study explores PSTs’ use of 360degree video for reflection on their teaching practice. 360degree video provides PSTs with the capacity to pan ‘around’ the video, and in doing so has supported PSTs to detach and reflect on their own practice. The findings suggest that the PSTs valued the additional perspectives afforded by the 360degree nature of the video, which had a particular impact on their understanding of their presence, interactions and explanations. Peer video viewing was also found to be a useful tool in supporting PSTs to ‘notice’ additional areas for improvement in their own practice.

scholarly journals A Study of Evaluation Methods of Teaching Practice of Distance Teacher Education Institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 42-56
Author(s):  
Fouzia Younas
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Continuous System ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Evaluation Methods ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Evaluation Of Teaching ◽  
Teacher Education Institutions

This study was aimed to investigate evaluation methods of teaching practice of distance teacher education institutions in Pakistan. Major objectives of the study were: to examine the evaluation methods of teaching practice used in distance teacher education institutions; to analyze the effectiveness of teaching practice at distance teacher education institutions; and to find out the problems/weaknesses in evaluation of teaching practice in these institutions. The population was consisted of all the supervisors of distance teacher education institution offering teacher education programmes. Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad in Pakistan is example of distance education. Two questionnaires were developed on the basis of related literature for prospective teachers and supervisors to get the responses. The data were collected by administering the validated questionnaires. Randomly 200 respondents were selected. The data were analyzed and interpreted by using percentages and two-way chi-square square techniques. Inferred results were discussed and reported. The major conclusions of the study were that the prospective teachers of distance teacher education institutions are not very satisfied with the duration of teaching practice. Some of the recommendations are that there is a need to put in place a continuous system of monitoring and evaluation of teaching practice including observations of prospective teachers for distance teacher education institutions. The time period of teaching practice may be increased. Self-evaluation of prospective teachers may be included in the evaluation of teaching practice.

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