Student-teachers’ strategies in classroom interaction in the context of the teaching practicum

Abstract

Strategies student teachers employ in classroom interaction with pupils during teaching practice periods are surprisingly understudied, considering that the teaching practicum provides a central arena for student teachers learning to become teachers. This study investigates the primary strategies student teachers utilised in classroom interaction and the multiple qualities of these strategies. The data were collected from 31 student teachers during their teaching practicum through stimulated recall (STR) interviews focusing on challenging and empowering critical incidents that student teachers chose from their video recorded lessons. The results showed that in challenging classroom incidents, student teachers applied predominantly reactive behavioural strategies, whereas in the empowering situations, student teachers primarily employed proactive cognitive and behavioural strategies. Use of proactive cognitive strategies was typically associated with positive meaningful experiences; hence, they setting the stage for utilizing a more diverse set of proactive strategies in the classroom. Implications for teacher education programmes providing student teachers authentic learning opportunities that promote proactive strategies are discussed.

Online teaching placement during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile: challenges and opportunities

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The Importance of Teacher – Students Interaction in Communicative Language Teaching (Clt)

“…More recent studies about classroom interaction were implemented by Heikonen, Toom, Pyhalto, Pietarinen, and Soini (2017) and Farashaiyan & Muthusamy (2017). Heikonen et al (2017) investigated the primary strategies of classroom interaction utilized by student-teachers during their teaching practicum in Finland. According to the authors, the strategies that student-teachers employ in classroom interaction with students during teaching practice periods are surprisingly understudied.…”

Becoming Reflective Practitioners: A Case Study of Four Beginning Pre-service EFL Teachers in Turkey

“…Another interesting study was conducted by Heikonen et al (2017). They worked on strategies pre-service teachers employ in classroom interaction with pupils during teaching practice periods, which is a scarcely studied topic.…”