Reframing the practicum: Constructing performative space in initial teacher education

Providing Effective Feedback to EFL Student Teachers

“…The main purpose of the practicum is to enable the pre-service teacher to put into practice the theoretical components of their course and engage in experiential learning and school-based research (VIT 2007, 13 cited in Moody, 2009, p. 157). The school-based practicum creates space for reflection which is not so possible in other situations and it provides opportunities for student teachers to become aware of their own pre-conceived notions of teaching and it plays a major role in forming the future generation of teachers (Smith, 2010& Wilson & I'Anson, 2006.Additionally, teaching practicum is considered as one of the most critical components of teacher preparation with the greatest impact on teacher quality (Zeichner, 2010, Graham, 2006, Tang, 2003cited in Mtika, 2011. Thus, ''well designed practicum is needed to ensure that teacher training institutions produce high quality teachers '' (Zeichner 2010, Sobar, 2004, cited in Mtika, 2011.…”

Promoting collaborative practice and reciprocity in initial teacher education: realising a ‘dialogic space’ through video capture analysis

“…These contexts tend to exacerbate rather than ameliorate the dislocation of student teachers' learning. This is particularly true of the practicum element of the course which to maximise student teachers' learning should be an experience that 'stands in an intermediate space between the practice world, the 'lay' world of ordinary life, and the esoteric world of the academy' (Schön, 1987, p. 37 in Wilson andI'Anson 2006). The intensification of teachers' work in response to national policy agendas can militate against the creation of 'intermediate spaces' where student teachers are encouraged to experiment and reflect on the role of a teacher.…”

“…Although this activity takes place within the university space it can provide a 'transition space' which offers student teachers opportunities to reflect through engagement with multiple perspectives (Wilson and I'Anson, 2006). Micro-teaching also offers a space where student teachers can begin to work collaboratively in a managed environment to develop their skills in reflection, critique and debate (Maclean andWhite 2007, Hennessy andDeaney 2009).…”

“…Contingent teaching is a learning theory where pupils are given differentiated support at an appropriate level and the support is progressively withdrawn as the pupil begins to achieve independence (Wood 1987). In later writing, the 'learning conversation' can be seen to afford Anna the opportunity to explore theory in and through practice leading her to focus closely on learners' involvement and how she responds to their needs (Wilson andI'Anson, 2007, Hennessy andDeaney 2009): I then thought back to the conversation from my videoed lesson which I had earlier identified as not being contingent and attempted to draft out how the levels of control could have been applied to the situation…I found it very difficult to come up with this structure, and it took a lot of thinking about and adjusting to get to a final version.…”

Being a Teacher Educator: Exploring Issues of Authenticity and Safety Through Self-Study

“…When we introduced peer teaching we recognised that it could create a learning context embedded in the practice of teaching in which students could experience and reflect on the relational complexities and dilemmas of teaching, the situational nature of professional knowledge and the role of discernment and decision making in the act of teaching (Garbett & Ovens, 2010;Macintyre Latta & Field, 2005;Wilson & I'Anson, 2006). Peer-teaching changed how and what learning took place from the students' perspective.…”