COLLABORATIVE LEARNING THROUGH LESSON STUDY IN PMRI TRAINING FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL PRE-SERVICE TEACHER: THE SIMULATION OF POLYGON MATTER

Collaborative learning through lesson study has become one of the promising methods for improving the quality of education and improving teachers' quality, likewise with the PMRI approach. The combination of the two in the training for primary school pre-service teachers, specifically in the second simulation session, was observed and reported. This article aims to describe the collaboration process in the second session of the simulations about polygon learning at PMRI training for primary school pre-service teachers. A design research method of the development type was used in this study, only at the preliminary and development or prototyping phase. The research subjects are students of Primary School Pre-service Teachers of Sriwijaya University that consisted of eight students for the small group and 32 students for the field test. Data was collected through documentation, observation, and field notes. The result showed that there were good collaboration occurs between researcher-lecturer, lecturer-student, and between students at the plan-do-see-redesign stage of the lesson study.

Online Literature Circles in Learning Hamlet among Pre-service Teachers

Literature instruction may serve multiple functions. This case study aimed at investigating the perceptions on the use of online literature circles among 62 first year Teaching English as a Second Language pre-service teachers in a literature course at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The participants were assigned to read and participate in online literature circles about the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Based on cooperative learning, the participants rotated in playing the roles of the Discussion Director, Device Detective, Imaginative Illustrator, Creative Connector, and Passage Picker in each group. Data from a survey were analyzed in descriptive statistics, while data from the role sheets based on the five roles and the online video of 3 literature circle discussions were analyzed thematically. The findings are significant for teacher training institutions and in-service teachers. This study was able to show that online literature circles were perceived as interesting, engaging, challenging, and fun. The participants engaged in different learning processes involving cognitive, affective, and language skills. Though this study identified some challenges, online literature circles have many benefits and are recommended for literature instruction for pre-service teacher training.

Teachers of TikTok: Glimpses and gestures in the performance of professional identity

During a tumultuous period marked by a global pandemic, forced lockdowns, and educational institutions going ‘digital by default’, TikTok has emerged as a key platform for teachers to connect and share their experiences. These digital practices have been widely celebrated for providing teachers with an outlet during a challenging time, though little is known about the particulars of TikTok's appeal among teachers and their followers. This article focuses on a teacher from South Australia, ‘Mr Luke’, whose upbeat TikTok videos capturing ‘#teacherlife’ have seen him grow a significant following. Drawing on interviews with Mr Luke and an Australian pre-service teacher who follows him, we consider their thoughts on TikTok and its relationship to professional practice. We identify key factors that have enabled TikTok's popularity among educators, with implications for both teacher education and social media scholarship.

Changes in pre-service teacher self-efficacy for teaching in relation to professional experience placements

This article aims to contribute new, longitudinal evidence on teacher self-efficacy (TSE) by investigating changes in TSE over the last 2 years of an Australian initial teacher education program. Two hundred and one pre-service teachers were surveyed at three timepoints: (1) after the first professional experience placement, (2) before and (3) after the final placement, using the Scale for Teacher Self-Efficacy. Data were analysed using multilevel modelling. TSE for the domains of classroom management and student engagement decreased significantly between the first and before the commencement of the last professional experience placements. All three dimensions of TSE – instructional strategies, student engagement and classroom management – increased significantly during the final placement.

Pre-Service Teacher Preparation to Integrate Computational Thinking

United States education has experienced a big push for students to learn coding as part of computer science and more explicitly address computational thinking (CT). However, CT remains a challenging subject for many students, including pre-service teachers. CT, which overlaps mathematics and computer science, tends to be offered as an elective course, at best, in P-16 education. Pre-service teaching profession students usually do not have foundational knowledge to guide them in integrating computational thinking into the curriculum that they will eventually teach as instructors themselves. This chapter explains computational thinking in light of K-8 education, discusses issues and needs in integrating CT into K-8 curriculum, identifies relevant theories and models for teaching CT, describes current practice for integrating computational thinking into K-8 curriculum, and discusses pre-service teachers' preparation that can lead to their successful incorporation of CT into the curriculum.

Math Anxiety in Math Methods Courses

Many elements contribute to pre-service teachers' experiences in learning to teach mathematics. The transition to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has forced educators to challenge traditional math instruction. This chapter presents three major contributing elements in pre-service teacher preparation to foster creativity as a central component and an inevitable outcome of learning to teach mathematics with particular applications to online learning settings. The first section discusses learning to teach math as a creative activity. Some concrete instructional strategies are offered that promote dialogue-rich learning environments. The second section reviews current trends in learning to teach math. The author posits pre-service teachers who have suffered traumatic experiences in learning mathematics must first acquire tools for clearing math anxiety and fear. The third section is a call to action to encourage teachers to participate in and construct learning communities to teach mathematics including the use of instructional technology to support online instruction.

Investigating K-12 Pre-Service Teacher TPACK in Instructional Technology Learning

This study investigated the change in pre-service teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) self-efficacy beliefs in a technology integration course in a teacher education program. It assessed knowledge components that predicted TPACK self-efficacy beliefs. Pre and post-surveys were administered using Schmidt et al. (2009) instrument at the beginning and end of the course. The study revealed statistically significant change in all dimensions of TPACK self-efficacy beliefs. Cohen’s effect size revealed medium effect size on TPACK self-efficacy beliefs during the pre-service teacher education technology integration course. PCK and TPK were the significant predictors of TPACK in both pre and post-survey report. Content Knowledge (CK) was a significant predictor of TPACK in the post-survey. The result implies that instructional technology courses should pay attention to the factors affecting TPACK during curriculum design and course delivery. In the current research context CK, PCK and TPK predicted TPACK. TK and PK can be mediated by TPK and PCK respectively.