Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-133). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-133). Also available on the Internet.

D.Phil. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Tertiary Didactics) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This thesis reports on the perceptions held by second year preservice primary teachers and their tutors/supervisors of a 1990 microteaching program at a regional university in Queensland. Perceptions were ascertained on (a) the skills addressed, (b) peer and tutor feedback, (c) the self evaluation techniques used, (d) the content level taught, (e) the videotaping of the sessions, and (f) the effectiveness of the program in the continuing development of teaching skills for preservice teachers. Perceptions were collected using a questionnaire designed for the purpose. The questionnaire incorporates fixed response options, for which percentages of those agreeing with each response are presented in tabular form. It also invites open ended responses which are coded according to the areas designated of interest for the study. A Likert type rating scale is used to ascertain opinions on the effectiveness of the program for developing particular classroom teaching skills. Results of the study indicate that for the participants, microteaching is appropriate and effective in helping to provide prospective teachers with experiences that complement practice teaching in schools, but that the actual structure and components of any such program requires some discussion. Analysis indicates a need to vary microteaching programs from those of many traditional approaches based on the early Stanford model. The writer suggests the concept of a teaching-learning laboratory based on a macro teaching skill approach with peers as more appropriate for current preservice teacher education.

Based on an interpretive paradigm, this study aimed at probing into the perceptions of Egyptian EFL pre-service teachers and their lecturers of the new microteaching course. It investigated a) pre-service teachers and lecturers' perceptions about the course focuses; b) pre-service teachers' and lecturers’ perceptions of the difficulties encountered during course application, and finally c) pre-service teachers' perceptions about the helpfulness of the microteaching course in enhancing their teaching performance during practicum. Moreover, the study aimed at utilising this investigation for developing a framework for microteaching curricula planning and design. Data collection was based on a sequential mixed methods approach, thus in the first phase of the study, the researcher administered a questionnaire to 10 lecturers and 125 EFL pre-service teachers in the third year English department at the Faculty of Education of Menoufia University in Egypt. In Phase Two the researcher conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 7 lecturers and 15 pre-service teachers, who also completed a reflective journal. Data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings of the current study indicated that that there are nineteen focuses of the microteaching course at Shebin Elkom Faculty of Education. These focuses have been classified into three main themes: lesson planning skills, lesson implementation skills, and lesson evaluation skills. As revealed by data analysis, lecturers devoted less time to practising lesson evaluation skills. Findings also revealed that EFL pre-service teachers and their lecturers encountered the following difficulties during peer group work: modelling the skills, planning a micro-lesson, teaching a micro-lesson, and when giving and receiving feedback. Furthermore, it was found that the course was helpful in enhancing pre-service teachers’ teaching performance at practicum concerning their professional skills rather than their personal qualities. Psychological, socio-cultural, and socio-political factors that affect the implementation of the microteaching course are discussed. Implications and suggestions for further research are provided.

This study is a detailed examination of reflection in pre-service teacher education. It focuses on the process of the promotion of reflective teacher education. Within this process, it considers pre-service teachers&#039 / perceptions on becoming reflective and their focus of attention throughout their practicum. In relation to these, it analyzes pre-service teachers&#039 / improvement in reflection by focusing on various methods of promotion for reflectivity.

The problem of this study was to determine the effects which the practicing of self-selected teaching skills by elementary education majors had on measures of personality and of teaching behavior. Personality measures were limited to self-confidence; attitudes toward self, children, and others; identification with the teaching role; and identification with the teaching profession. The teaching behavior measures were coded interaction episodes between a teacher trainee and four pupils in a microteaching setting. It was concluded that training experiences of short duration (e.g., eight weeks or less) (1) can be expected to positively affect specific, narrowly defined personality traits such as identification with the teaching role and identification with the teaching profession, (2) cannot be expected to affect broadly defined, global personality traits such as self-confidence or attitudes toward self, children, and others, and (3) cannot be expected to affect the classroom interaction of teachers and pupils.

This study aimed to investigate the potentials of two cognitive tools for instructional planning (Instructional Planning Self-reflective Tool, IPSRT, and Constructivist Planning Self-reflective Tool, CPSRT) and microteaching in gaining instructional planning and teaching skills for preservice teachers. The participants were 51 fourth year students in Computer Education and Instructional Technology program. The study is an action research with three main foci. The first focus of this study aimed at investigating contributions and challenges involved in the use of the cognitive tools for instructional planning with tutoring from the instructor. More specifically, to what extent the preservice teachers followed these tools during this process, the effects of these tools on preservice teachers&rsquo / self-efficacy, the perceived instrumentality regarding instructional planning, and the perceived contributions and challenges presented by these tools were focused. Both tools were introduced to the two sections, in different orders within four weeks. The data for this focus were collected by means of questionnaires, interviews and documents (lesson plans). This focus revealed that / expect for writing objectives, the participants could make instructional plans according to the IPSRT. They could also follow the CPSRT to design the instructional goal, required characteristics of learning activities and the assessment. Both tools were found to significantly increase their initial self-efficacy beliefs. They found CPSRT more flexible, while IPSRT easier and more helpful. This focus indicated that IPSRT and CPSRT can be used as supportive tools in preservice teachers&rsquo / gaining instructional planning skills. If both tools were used, it would be better to introduce IPSRT at first and then CPSRT. The second focus of this study was to explore the contributions and challenges of microteaching activities regarding preservice teachers&rsquo / instructional planning and teaching skills. The microteaching activities took eight weeks. Throughout this phase, each student planned a 20-minute microteaching with tutoring from the instructor and performed it in the classroom. The performers were formatively evaluated through a microteaching assessment form by the instructor, the teaching assistants and some preservice teachers. Then the performers made a self-reflection assignment about their microteaching performance, considering those evaluations. In the following semester, 15 participants&rsquo / perceptions about the contributions and challenges posed by microteaching activities for their instructional planning and teaching skills were obtained through interviews. More specifically, their perceptions about the microteaching planning process with tutoring, performing microteaching, formatively assessing peers&rsquo / microteaching performances, being assessed by peers, and doing self-reflection assignment were analyzed. This focus revealed that although preservice teachers perceive microteaching activities as valuable experiences, microteaching would be more beneficial if the pupils were real ones, not their class-mates. The third focus was to investigate the effects of the cognitive tools and microteaching activities on preservice teachers&rsquo / lesson planning and teaching skills in their field teaching. For this aim, 12 participants&rsquo / field teaching lesson plans and their performance assessments were analyzed. It was found that many of them preferred using the Microteaching Planning Guide and they had no difficulty in their lesson planning. As to field teaching performance, the analyses of the assessment forms showed that a majority of them performed successfully. Besides, most of them were observed not to have anxiety during field teaching. This focus showed that these cognitive tools and microteaching activities could improve preservice teachers&rsquo / self-confidence in lesson planning and teaching skills in real class environment. Considering to meeting the need for better qualified teachers, this study promised that applying these cognitive tools and microteaching model in schools of teacher education is likely to contribute to the instructional planning and teaching skills of preservice computer teachers. This study also offers suggestive implications for how to improve teaching methods courses with the two cognitive tools and microteaching, as well.

The educational community is increasingly concerned about the limitations of traditional teacher education programs to support teachers&rsquo / professional development. Beside the theoretical knowledge, the importance of the experience cannot be debated. The main problem of the teacher education institutions is that they fail to close the gap between the theoretical principles taught in the faculties of education and the experiences of teachers in the classrooms. Microteaching is the most popular method to prepare the PSTs for real-world teaching profession. However, literature showed that there are some barriers that PSTs face during the microteaching process, including limited and unreflective peer-feedback (Huang, 2001). In order to facilitate PSTs&rsquo / peer-interaction and reflective thinking during their microteaching process, a web-based video analysis environment was designed. In addition, in teacher education observation has a critical place. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of question prompts embedded within this environment on PSTs&rsquo / reflective thinking and self-efficacy levels. For this purpose, a true experimental study was designed and applied. 55 pre-service teachers were enrolled in this study. First finding of this study is that the use of question prompts embedded in a web-based video analysis system have a positive significant effect on pre-service teachers&#039 / reflective thinking level. Second finding of this study is that the use of question prompts embedded in a web-based video analysis system did not have a significant effect on pre-service teachers&#039 / self-efficacy. However, there was a significant linear trend indication for all types of self-efficacy factors for both control and experimental group over the time. For both groups this linear trend showed that self-efficacy scores of instructional strategies, classroom management, and student engagement developed over the time.