Exploring Prospective Teachers’ Reflections in the Context of Conducting Clinical Interviews

Year 2018, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 349 - 358, 15.04.2018

Rukiye Didem Taylan

https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.7.2.349

Abstract

This study investigated prospective mathematics
teachers’ reflections on the experience of designing and conducting one-to-one
clinical interviews with middle school students in the context of an elective
course on use of video in teacher learning. Prospective teachers were asked to
write about weaknesses and strengths in student understanding as well as their
own performance as an interviewer in terms of asking questions and responding
to student thinking in their reflections on conducting clinical interviews.
Furthermore, prospective teachers were also asked to reflect on what they would
do differently in order to conduct better clinical interviews.  Nature of prospective teachers’ reflections
were analyzed by using existing frameworks (through constructs of
reflection-on-action and reflection-for-action) and by using thematic analysis.
Results of data analyses revealed that prospective teachers had more
difficulties in providing meaningful reflection-for-action which was related to
alternative decisions and planning for future similar interviews. Thematic
analysis results revealed prospective teachers’ learning were grouped under
three categories: conducting clinical interviews as part of being a teacher,
complexity of conducting clinical interviews, and personal theories about
middle school students. There are implications for both teacher learning and
research.

Keywords

Prospective mathematics teachers, reflection skills, clinical interview

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