Learning while teaching: Student teachers’ reflections on their teaching practicum

Yıl 2019, Cilt: 15 Sayı: 3, 895 - 913, 01.10.2019

Dinçay Köksal

https://doi.org/10.17263/jlls.631531

Öz

Please fill up the following information accurately. (Please use Times New Roman, 12 pt.
Learning while teaching: Student teachers’ reflections on their teaching practicum
Teaching practicum of English language teachers has been the heart of many studies in the recent years. However, most of those studies focused on the graduates of teacher training programs. In Turkey, graduates of English Language and Literature (ELL) departments are also qualified to be an English teacher as long as they have a teaching certificate given by the universities after an intensive program called as pedagogical formation. This study focused on the teacher candidates, who are graduates of ELL programs. More specifically, it aimed to investigate what those teacher candidates think they have learned through their intensive and short teaching practicum experience and the challenges they have met. For this purpose, the study adopted qualitative research methodology and 8 participants took part in the study. The data were collected via reflective journals and semi-structured questionnaires and were analyzed through thematic content analysis. Results indicated that student teachers’ learning outcomes could be grouped under three themes such as pedagogical strategies, developing professional identity and developing positive feelings whereas the challenges could be grouped under four themes such as classroom management, time management, mixed ability classes and difficulties in using technology. Based on the findings, some recommendations were yielded.
Information about Author(s)*
Author 1
Author (Last name, First name)	Köksal, Dinçay
Affiliated institution (University)
Country
Email address	[e-mail]
Department & Rank
Corresponding author (Yes/No) Write only one corresponding author.
Author 2
Author (Last name, First name)	Genç, Gülten
Affiliated institution (University)
Country
Email address	[e-mail]
Department & Rank
Corresponding author (Yes/No)
Author 3
Author (Last name, First name)
Affiliated institution (University)
Country
Email address
Department & Rank
Corresponding author (Yes/No)
Author 4
Author (Last name, First name)
Affiliated institution (University)
Country
Email address
Department & Rank
Corresponding author (Yes/No)

Anahtar Kelimeler

Pre-service teacher education; pedagogical formation; teaching practicum; teaching English as a foreign language; teacher training

Kaynakça

• Agudo, J.M.Z. (2016). What Type of Feedback do Student Teachers Expect from their School Mentors during Practicum Experience? The Case of Spanish EFL Student Teachers, Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 41 (5), 36-51. Atkinson, R. L., Atkinson, R. C., Smith, E. E., Hilgard, E. R. (1987). Introduction to psychology (9th ed.). San Diego, New York: Harcourt Brace Javanovich Publishers. Aydın, Ö. (2016) An Exploration on mentoring process in ELT practicum: Perspectives of student teachers, cooperating teachers, and supervisors. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. METU, Ankara, Turkey Beck, C., Kosnik, C. (2002). Components of a Good Practicum Placement: Pre-Service Teacher Perceptions. Teacher Education Quarterly, 29, 81-98. Brink, H.I.L. (l993) Validity and relability in qualitative research. Paper delivered at SA Society of Nurse Researchers’ Workshop-RAU 16(2) May M.H. Cheng, Annie Y.N. Cheng, Sylvia Y.F. Tang (2010) Closing the gap between the theory and practice of teaching: implications for teacher education programmes in Hong Kong, Journal of Education for Teaching, 36(1), 91-104 Castle, S., Fox, R. K., Souder, K. (2006). Do professional development schools (PDSs) make a difference? A comparative study of PDS and non-PDS teacher candidates. Journal of Teacher Education, 57 (1), 65–80 Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches (4th ed.). London: Sage Publications Ltd. Coşkun, A. (2013). Stress in English language teaching practicum: the views of all stakeholders. Hacettepe University Journal of Education, 28(3), 97-110. Dillabough, JA (1999). Gender Politics and Conceptions of the modern teacher: Women, identity and professionalism. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 20 (3), 373-394. Durmaz, M., Yiğitoğlu, N. (2017). Factors in the professional identity development of alternatively certified English languages teachers (ACELTs). International Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET), 4(4), 398-416. Ekiz, D. (2006). Mentoring primary school student teachers in Turkey: Seeing it from the perspectives of student teachers and mentors. International Education Journal, 7(7), 924-934. Gan, Z., Lee, F.K.J. (2015). Understanding ESL student teachers' learning of classroom practices in the practicum: a case study in Hong Kong. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher. 25 (2), 251-266. Gebhard, J.G.(2009). The Practicum. In Burns A. & J.C.Richards (eds.) The Cambridge Guide to Second Language Teacher Education. Cambridge: CUP. Goodnough, K., Osmond, P.,Dibbon, D., Glassman, M., Stevens, K. (2009). Exploring a triad model of student teaching: Pre-service teacher and cooperating teacher perceptions, Teaching and Teacher Education, 25 (2) 285-296. Gürsoy, E. (2013) Improving practicum for a better teacher training. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 93, 420-425. Hascher, T., Cocard, Y., Moser, P. (2004). Forget about theory-practice is all? Student teachers’ learning in practicum. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 10, 623-637. Haigh, M., Ell, F., Mackisack, V. (2013). Judging teacher candidates’ readiness to teach. Teaching and Teacher Education, 34, 1–11. Higher Education Council. (2007). Teacher preparation and faculty of education (1998-2007). Ankara, Turkey: www.yok.gov.tr/component/option,com_doc/ Huizen, P. V., Oers, B.V., Wubbels, T. (2005) A Vygotskian perspective on teacher education. Curriculum Studies, 37 (3) 267-290 İnal, K. (2011). Pedagojik sertifikasyon programı. Akademik Bülten, 9(1), 17-24. Retrieved from: http://gaziuniversiteli.org. Retrieved on: 06.02.2019 Koç, E. M. (2012). Idiographic roles of cooperating teachers as mentors in pre-service distance teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 28(6), 818-826. Kramer M. (1974) Reality Shock: Why Nurses Leave Nursing. C.V. Mosby Company, St Louis Larsen – Freeman, D. Marti Anderson. (2011). Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Matthews, B. and Ross, L. (2010) Research Methods. Pearson Longman, London. Miles, M, B., Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded Sourcebook. (2nd ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Mirici, İ. H., Ölmez-Çağlar, F. (2017). Reflections on practicum experiences of non-ELT student teachers in Turkey, ELT Research Journal, 6(3), 276-292 Mutlu, G. (2014). Challenges in practicum: pre-service and cooperating teachers’ voices. Journal of Education and Practice. 36(5), 1-7. Nunan, D., J. C. Richards (eds.) (2015). Language learning beyond the classroom. London: Routledge. Nguyen, H. T. M, Baldauf Jr. R. B. (2010) Effective Peer Mentoring for EFL Pre-service Teachers’ Instructional Practicum Practice ,The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly, 12(13); 40-61 Orland-Barak, L. Yinon, H. (2007) When theory meets practice: What student teachers learn from guided reflection on their own classroom discourse. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23, 957–969 Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Paker, T. (2011). Student teacher anxiety related to the teaching practicum, Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 42, 207-224. Payant, C., Murphy, J. (2012). Cooperating teachers’ roles and responsibilities in an MATESOL practicum. TESL Canada Journal, 29(2), 1-23 Rakicioglu-Soylemez, A., Eroz-Tuga, B. (2014) Mentoring expectations and experiences of prospective and cooperating teachers during practice teaching. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39, (10), 146-168. Ralph, E., Walker, K., Wimmer, R. (2007b). The practicum in professional education: Pre-service students’ experiences. Transformative Dialogues, 1(2), 1-17. Richards, L. and Morse, J.M. (2007) Readme First for a User’s Guide to Qualitative Methods. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks. Richards, J.C , Nunan, D (1990). Second language teacher education. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Sarıçoban, A. (2010). Problems encountered by student-teachers during their practicum studies. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 707-711. Schön, D. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Seferoğlu, G. (2006). Teacher candidates’ reflections on some components of pre-service English teacher education programme in Turkey. Journal of Education for Teaching, 32(4), 369–378. Stevick, E.W. (1980). Teaching languages: A way and ways. Rowley, Mass: Newbury House. Tok, H., Yılmaz, M. (2011). Student teachers’ perceptions about mentor teachers: a case study in Turkey. Journal of Social Sciences, 4(2), 101-108. Tomlinson, P. (1995) Understanding mentoring: reflective strategies for schoolbased teacher preparation. Buckingham & Philadelphia: Open University Press. Ur, P. (1992). Teacher learning. ELT Journal 46 (1): 56–61. Vygotsky, L.S. 1978. Mind in society; The development of higher mental processes. Translated and edited by (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, and Souberman. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. Psychological Review, 20(2), 158-177. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0074428 Wright, T. (1990). Understanding classroom role relationships. In J. C. Richards, & D. Nunan (eds.), Second language teacher education (pp.82-97). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Yangın Ekşi, G., Yılmaz-Yakışık, B. (2016). To be anxious or not: Student teachers in the practicum. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 4(6), 1332-1339. Yavuz, A. (2011). The problematic context of mentoring: evidence from an English language teaching department at a Turkish university. European Journal of Teacher Education, 34(1), 43-59