Page 14 - Innovative Professional Development Methods and Strategies for STEM Education



Chapter 13
TheImpactofPre-serviceTeachers’ReflectionontheirInstructionalPractices............................... 209
Yesim Kesli Dollar, Bahcesehir University, Turkey
Enisa Mede, Bahcesehir University, Turkey

Thischapteraimstoinvestigatetheimpactofreflectiononfreshmenpre-serviceEnglishteachers’
classroompractices.Specifically,itexploreshowtheparticipatingstudentteachers’perceptionsinfluenced
theirinstructionalpracticesasaresultofparticipationinreflectionactivities.Theparticipantsofthe
studyweretenfreshmenstudentteachersenrolledintheEnglishLanguageTeachingundergraduate
programatafoundation(non-profitprivate)universityinTurkey.Datacamefromthereflectionsofthe
participatingstudentteachersabouttheirrecently-completed15-hourfield-basedexperienceatthepre-
schoollevel.Asapartofthisclassreflectionactivity,theparticipantswerepromptedtokeepadiary
inoneoftheirundergraduatecoursesandrespondtoaseriesofstatementsorquestionsrelatedtotheir
classroomobservationtasks.Theywerealsoengagedinclassdiscussionsandwererequiredtowrite
theiroverallfeedbackbasedontheirfield-basedexperience.Thefindingsofthestudyrevealedthat
reflectiveactivitieshelpedtheprospectivestudentteachersidentifytheirstrengthsandweaknessesrelated
toclassroomactivities,useofmaterials(useoftechnologyandvisuals)andclassroommanagement,
leadingtoself-awarenessabouttheirunderstandingandapplicationofteachingskillsandstrategies.

Chapter 14
ExploringProspectiveEFLTeachers’BeliefsaboutTeachersandTeachingthroughMetaphor
Analysis............................................................................................................................................... 220
Anil Rakicioglu-Soylemez, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey
Ayse Selmin Soylemez, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey
Amanda Yesilbursa, Uludag University, Turkey

ThisstudyaimedtoexploreprospectiveEFLteachers’metaphorsof“teachers,teaching”and“beinga
prospectiveEFLteacher”atthebeginningandendofaten-weekpracticumcourse.Atotalof110Turkish
prospectiveEFLteachersvoluntarilyparticipatedinthestudy.Datawerecollectedbymeansofsemi-
structuredinterviewsandmetaphor-elicitationforms.Resultsleadtothreemajorconclusions.First,the
participants’priorbeliefsabouttheroleofanEFLteacherandteachingwereaffectedbytheirprevious
experiencesaslanguagelearners.Second,althoughthecontentanalysisofthemetaphorsrevealeda
limitedchangethroughoutthepracticumexperience,theanalysisoftheinterviewsshowedthedynamic
natureofbeliefsheldbytheprospectiveteachers.Finally,dataanalysisoftheinterviewsshowedthat
thevariationinbeliefsandpracticesmainlyderivedfromindividualexperienceswiththementoring
practicesofthecooperatingteachersandthesocio-professionalcontextofthepracticumschool.

Related References............................................................................................................................ 238

Compilation of References............................................................................................................... 279

About the Contributors.................................................................................................................... 305

Index................................................................................................................................................... 310