The Use of Vlogs and Collaborative Reflection in Teacher Education

Abstract

The primary purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of student teachers’ reflections initiated and supported by certain reflection prompts such as SAT (Self-Assessment Tool) and vlogs shared on a Google classroom. Within the context of practicum, ten teacher candidates were randomly recruited for the study. Quantitative data were analyzed through SPSS with the purpose of generating a summary of descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were employed in depth-analysis for the interpretation of emerged patterns and themes. In order to understand how collaborative reflections emerged and developed between the student teachers, discussion transcripts were analyzed and coded with discourse analysis. The results indicated that regular and collaborative reflections had important contributions to the participants’ teaching practice. Through finding the opportunities of having real classroom teaching experiences, sharing these practices, and getting new perspectives, student teachers have become more cognizant of their beliefs, teaching behaviors, and their teaching settings. On the way of being strong decision-makers of their future teaching, it can be highlighted that through the reflective practices enhanced with peer collaboration, teacher candidates have become more willing in reflecting and sharing their experiences and professional knowledge and more determined in practicing theory to deal with the problems in their classrooms.