Running head: PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
1
TFL graduate students' perceptions on the use of their gained theoretical knowledge in their
actual teaching
Kalimbetova Aygul
Basharova Dana
Suleyman Demirel University
Department of Language Education
December, 2020
Thesis/Project Supervisor:
Torgyn Ayazbay
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
I.
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Introduction
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher
demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”
― William Arthur Ward
Background theory
The introductory chapter of this thesis aims to give a background explanation of the topic
ass well as providing the research purpose and the problem statement.
The demand of the quality in-service teacher training courses is raising in accordance with
the demand of high-quality teaching. In recent decades, some scholars in the field have paid great
attention to the process of applying theoretical knowledge in practice. According to Woodward
(1991), teacher preparation programs should include and engage both knowledge and skills.
However, then literature review in educational research revealed gaps between the latter two in
teaching practice.
This thesis work investigates the extent of theoretical knowledge application in
curriculum design in actual teaching practice, teaching methods and assessment skills the
graduate students of TFL (two foreign language) program at Suleiman Demirel University in
Kazakhstan. The study applies questionnaires and the in-depth analysis of the courses’ content
within the program. The results indicate the lack of correlation between the theoretical
knowledge the pre-service teaching course provides with the actual teaching practice.
Problem statement
The contract between student and university administration specifies that TEFL student teachers
must complete a four-year teacher training program to demonstrate pedagogical, professional, and
social competence in real-life teaching. Mainly, the essential requirement for TEFL graduates is
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
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to receive high-quality training and applying them in teaching practice. In the last two years of
study, students should study harder, mainly focus on the practical part of training since applying
theory into practice is important. Therefore, students have more field-oriented subjects which
focus on pedagogical practicum, demonstrative lessons and project works which provide a vast
amount of practical skills. However, previous research on this topic revealed that 85 % of
graduated students state that they acquired significant experiences and theoretical knowledge while
studying at SDU, but some of them could hardly ever rely on such knowledge in their teaching
practice (Kalimbetova, 2020) . Moreover, it was discovered through the survey conducted among
TFL senior students, 15% of respondents did not find any benefits from the gained knowledge and
practical courses of pre-service teaching program.
Research Objectives
The main objective of this study is to investigate the content for the quality of practical
subjects the TFL students receive at the university and validity of their theoretical knowledge in
teaching practice.
Research questions. Following the research objectives, this study aims at applying the
main research question and two sub-questions for in-depth analysis:
RQ: To what extent the pre-service teaching courses adequately prepare the TFL graduate
students to work in the actual teaching practice?
Sub question: 1. To what extent the courses incorporate and balance pedagogical and
linguistic competence?
Sub question 2. Do the TFL graduate students find the pre-service teaching courses relevant
to their needs in actual teaching practice?
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
I.
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Literature review
Generally speaking, the definition of theory has some meanings: a guess or speculation. According
to Tripodi, Fellin, and Meyer (19 69), the theory includes logically related hypotheses, that try to
expound the relationships between empirical generalizations. According to Tolson, Reid, &
Garvin (1994) state, "Theories are a set of concepts and constructs that describe and explain natural
phenomena". The idea of theory relates to the repertoires of skills, data, and behavior that teachers
need in order to produce teaching in their classrooms (Valli & Tom, 1988). The biggest problem
that exists in teacher education is having teachers who know the theory gained in lectures but do
not know anything about the practice (cited in Hartocollis,2005,). The conception of practice as a
"professional environment" with materials, and participants - where a profession and gained
knowledge are practiced. As stated earlier, the aim of this study is to measure future teachers '
understanding of perceiving the relation between theory and practice through guided
reflection.Student teachers often face a kind of " theory" in their practical schools (Zantin, 2001) .
Students-teachers apply theory and manage it in different ways (Dye,[ 999) To better understand
the relation of theory and practice, it is important to unpack what is meant by theory in an
educational context. Students-teachers "apply theory and manage with it in different ways (Dye, 1
999). Therefore Abend (2008, p. l 73 )argued that confusion about this concept led to " undesirable
consequences and misunderstandings among newcomers to this fielcl. Thiessen (2000) for the last
forty years in pedagogical education identifies three areas that have been underlined in the
relationship between practical and theoretical knowledge . There are 1.Impactful behaviors",
resulting in the training of prospective teachers in behaviors that are perceived to be effective in
process-product research. 2. "Reflective practices" focus on skills that help student-teachers
wonder through what they did, are doing or will do. 3. The last is the " development of professional
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
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knowledge orientation that he mentioned. He argues that this orientation is the most promising for
teacher education and that students-teachers should experience knowledge at each educational
stage. Besides, with respect to teacher education programmes, Day (1993) argues that there are
two forms of knowledge. These are the information that is required of the students, and one that is
provided to students.
Day (1993) distinguishes four classes of knowledge which contains the
basis of teacher education programs. These are content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge,
pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and support knowledge. However, Liu (2013) considered
that pedagogical-content knowledge (PCK) more essential for transferring subject-matter
knowledge to students’ understanding since it refers to the knowledge of how to represent content
knowledge correctly, what difficulties teachers will face in the classroom and how to eliminate
these difficulties.
1. Practice in Teacher Education
The conception of practice refers to a “professional environment” with materials, and
participants - where a profession and gained knowledge are practised (Southgate, Reynolds &
Howley, 2013). Practice teaching is considered as a significant part of teacher education (Wilson,
2006) and has a valuable impact in student teachers preparation (Beck & Kosnik, 2002). Dewey
(1904) introduces two models of practical experience: the apprentice model and the laboratory
model, which can be viewed as supplementary. In the first model, the instructor is a model to
emulate, and teaching becomes more like training. Hence, it is important to have excellent teachers
as mentors. In the second model, student teachers are directed to observation, perception and
classroom review aimed at fostering development and the capacity to improve personal
professional wisdom. Lack of cooperation between different kinds of understanding, practical
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
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teaching and University coursework are typical problems of Teachers' training (Sim, 2006; Wilson,
2006).One of the purposes of practicum is to adequately prepare students to constantly face
unique situations
2. Concept of the “TEFL Graduates”
The TEFL certificate (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) is a certificate given to a
teacher by an approved training center and guarantees that his qualifications are appropriate to
teach English to students who are not native English speakers and who do not live in an Englishspeaking country at the same time. According to Grace Hui-chin Lin & Paul Shih-chieh Chien
(2010, p. 1-3), many terms have been developed in English language teaching. Based on many
articles by linguists and researchers, terms have been developed for the purpose of searching for
the better pedagogical teaching methods. The words "learning English" are clarified from different
angles, these are different political situations as well as by different people with different
characteristics and ability. Based on these words, you can see that teaching English can be
described as: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), Teaching English as a
Second Language (TESL) and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). In this research,
more emphasis will be paid to the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Next will
be about the meaning of the term TEFL. “TEFL” is generally the study of English by teachers and
students of English with a different native language. The precise understanding of TEFL is that,
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
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instead of using it as an official language or mainly an educational language, they treat English as
a communication medium in the world of different countries (Grace Hai-chen Lin, Paul Shih-chieh
Chen).
TEFL certificate has been discussed in the literature for more than ten years (Rice, 2002;
Robinson & Darling-Hammond). And learning will be assimilated when a candidate for a teacher
is given several opportunities to apply the knowledge that they have acquired in theoretical
knowledge on actual learning (Gagne, 1985;Gardner, 1999; Perkins & Unger, 1999). According
to Sorin (2004), students who study to become a teacher often report a lack of connection between
the knowledge studied at the University with training in real life and also often report their lack of
feeling to the situations of "real life" that they encountered in the first days of teaching children
in the classroom. Also, in a new analysis published by the Education and Training Committee
(Victoria,2005) ,by the Committee on Education and Training (Victoria) in 2005, presented a result
that suggests that “many new graduates often lack the practical teaching skills in addition to the
theoretical foundations they need to be effective teacher ". Based on this, it can be expected that
achieving the right balance between theoretical and practical knowledge will be reconciled in their
further learning of knowledge. In the research literature, arguments that conventional teacher
training systems do not prepare beginning teachers sufficiently for teaching have long been
familiar, as are calls for reform (Lanier & Little, 1986).
3. Demonstration Classrooms (Demo lesson)
The demonstration class was studied by Grose and Strachan in 2009 in the Toronto District
School Board was pleased to start studying demonstration classes. The main goal of the
demonstration classes was to "support students' academic performance by improving learning
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
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effectiveness through the exchange of knowledge and practice" (pp. 24-25). As a result, more than
94% of participants felt that the demonstration of class experience significantly affected their
teaching practice. A demonstration lesson is a course planned only for a group of students. It will
be beneficial to keep track of how the candidate teaches the students, not the members of the
selection group. The demonstration lesson should provide an opportunity to assess the candidate's
knowledge, skills and abilities for work, as well as to determine whether the candidate is suitable
for school as a future teacher.
The relationship of theory and practice in the teaching field
From the last decades, everyone states that you will gain general theory during the lectures and
then apply it in practice. As Branger (1973) & Cooney (2001) et.al cited " as yet poorly known
about how students-teachers design theoretical knowledge and how this process of gaining
knowledge is affected by their experience and believes" .So these two variables that make up the
EFL student teachers ' professional knowledge have been termed in various ways by different
researchers as theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge (Lawes, 2003), declarative
knowledge and procedural knowledge (Woods,
1996),
received knowledge and experiential
knowledge (Wallace, 199 1) . During these thirty years in the professionalization of teaching one
of the main and sustained difficulties of pre-service teacher education programs has been to strike
a balance between theory and practice(Bates, 2002; Cochran-Smith, 2001; Cochran-Smith &
Lytle, 1993 ; Korthagen). Scho"n, (2003) argued that dividing theory from practice creates a
false dichotomy and that teaching is a profession in which theory is integrated into and integral
from practice ." Student teachers often specify that theory gained in lectures did not enable them
to handle the ambiguity, the complexity and the instability of actual practice situations (Coonen,
1987; Corporaal, 1988; Zeichner & Gore, 1990; Harris & Eggen, 1993; Oosterheert, 2001) . So that
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
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is why the biggest problem that exists in teacher education is having teachers who know the theory
but do not know anything about the practice (cited in Hartocollis, 2005,). Over the last years, some
researcher brought up the problem of the connection theory and practice (e.g., Freudentha l, 1987
; Bengtsson, 1993· Beattie, 1997;
So, in conclusion , authors could state that the training philosophy slogan 'Learning theory at the
academy and applying theory in practice is obsolete for the modem teaching process.
5. Teaching Practice Triad
Genevieve Aglazor (2017), Doctor of Philosophy at the Faculty of Education, University
of Calabara in Nigeria, noted in her work that successful pedagogical practice depends on a
cooperating teacher, university supervisor and student teacher. Each of these has an important role
to play in guiding the novice teacher towards a successful completion of teaching practice.
-
Collaborating teachers are expected to supervise student teachers in areas such as
curriculum development, classroom management, planning, assessment and the broader
concept of 'teacher'. Different educational institutions may have criteria that cooperating
teachers need to meet in order to host their student teachers. For example, Genevieve
Aglazor, PhD (2017) added: "In addition to these responsibilities, cooperating teachers
should have at least three years of teaching experience in their current school. This will
give them enough knowledge about the school and the system to help student teachers.
Cooperating teachers must have completed a course on working with student teachers and
also have some form of teaching licence”. University supervizer should accompany the
student teacher from the beginning to the end of the internship in the school.
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
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The supervisor's duty is not only to appreciate the lessons of teaching practice, but also to
apply his or her full potential. In the standard mode, the student teacher sends the plans
and other materials to the supervisor after the lesson is completed. But Endeley, M.
N. (2014) opposes this and suggests that the student teacher should send all the
materials to the university supervisor and collaborating teacher before they are
taught in class. In order to assess the quality of the materials to be given to the
students in the school .
-
The main role of the student teacher is to be a responsible, active participant in the
educational practice. In addition, good relationships with cooperating teachers and
university supervisors will have a good impact on students' learning experiences, as
reported by Roberts (2005) and Roberts and Dyer (2004)
5. Prior Research on Teacher Practices
According to the study, most researchers concluded that the problem that hinders practical
learning, according to Ogonor and Badmus (2006), is the lack of preparation for modern
pedagogical and interactive skills that have been learned theoretically. That is, it is difficult for
student teachers to use their theoretical knowledge in practical teaching. The authors also added
that school partners do not assist student teachers to improve their skills and learning strategies.
At the university we attend, the internship programme lasts 6 weeks compared to Nigeria 2 times
less however researcher Nakpodia (2011) noted
"that the twelve week period is too short because it does not give the student-teacher
enough opportunity to effectively acquire the experience that the exercise is designed to
stimulate."
The author also drew attention to the supervisor's lack of time to assess the student teacher
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
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weaknesses and strengths because the supervisor is often in a hurry to move on to the next school.
In a study by Bhargava (2009) there have been complaints from student teachers that the teachers
sit at the back of the class and observe from the side, thus making the student nervous and
forgetful. Subsequently, students' comfort level is underestimated and they find themselves in an
artificial situation where their main consideration remains how to get good marks in their record
files.
II.
Methodology
1. Overview
This part of research is about research methods which would be used for taking the research
further. It includes the basics for the entire approach used, materials and methods used during the
data collection process, instruments, procedure, results, and discussion part.
2. Methods for Data Collection
In conducting this study, attaining the objectives mentioned above of this study, and
gaining the results from different perspectives, the researcher used a mixed approach that includes
both qualitative and quantitative approaches to gather all necessary data. According to Tashakkori
& Teddlie (1998) the design of mixed method research is described as a combination of one
quantitative and one qualitative data .
Greene (2007), states that mixed methods allow researchers to understand many viewpoints and
perspectives at the same time. The researchers for Secondary data chose only official and updated
data that includes a wide range of existing literature as books, research papers and reports, and
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
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projects that focused on the same issue. For primary data researchers used interview (Appendix
A) and questionnaire (Appendix B). The purpose of the mixed approach is to define applicability
of the practical knowledge gained of TFL graduate students for actual teaching, using individual
interviews.
Qualitative research is exploratory in nature and is a set of techniques where the data gained
by using the tools as in-depth interviews, uninterrupted observation, ethnographic participation or
observation, etc. There are several reasons that affected the researcher to choose Qualitative
method to collect data. Firstly, ensure detail and depth in analyzing and counts by recording
participants' attitudes, experience, behaviors and feelings. Secondly, create openness. Participants'
opinions could create new ideas that were not initially considered.
Quantitative research means a systematic investigation that gathers measurable data and
executes statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques.
Quantitative research accentuates on the statistical, or numerical analysis of data collected
by using polls, questionnaires, and surveys. One of the main advantages of using this approach is
that the researcher has an opportunity to study a large number of people for any hypothesis, then
combining all responses into an accurate generalized conclusion.
3. Design
This research study was made as a descriptive-exploratory based research. It has two
variables: independent and dependent. The independent variable is university practical knowledge,
and the dependent variables are challenges, perception,and applicability of practical knowledge
and experiences that gained at University and pedagogical practicum at Primary schools.
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
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4. Participants
The researcher used the Likert scale to measure to what extent provided practical
knowledge and pedagogical practicum experiences were or are still applicable to their professional
development and actual teaching field.
The study included a descriptive survey that sought to find out the effectiveness of the
educational practice model in the Faculty of Education, SRU University. The participants, who
were randomly selected, consisted of 90 students who participated in teaching internships twice
during their 4 years of study. They were all studying at the Faculty of Education and Humanities
in the academic year 2017/2021.
To achieve the main goals of this study were two groups of people: TFL graduated students
(in the years 2019-2020) and TFL senior students (2021) , totally, 100 student-teachers
participated. Participants’ characteristics such as age, sex, marital status, skill level and socioeconomic status have not been provided as variables in this analysis. Initial contact with the
participants was made via g-mail. The participants were asked to respond in the questionnaire
(Appendix B) that focuses on identifying the perceptions on the use of their gained practical
knowledge and pedagogical practicum experineces to actual teaching. For people who want to
provide further information about their personal aim and experiences were invited to the Interview.
(Appendix C)
5. Instrumentation
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
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Questionnaire: The researcher chose a questionnaire as one of the main tools for data
collection. The questionnaire is composed of 21 questions written in English and is conducted
through Google Forms; 7 of them were Likert scale options (strongly disagree; agree;slightly
agree; neutral; slightly agree; agree; strongly agree) that focused on evaluating the subjects that
were thought in TFL, then 6 multiple choice questions and 8 open-ended questions that aimed to
gain more specific opinions. The questionnaire lasted 10- 15 minutes.
Interview: Interviews were conducted with 20 participants who had different experiences.
They were selected according to their answer with agreement to provide further information about
this topic. The interview questions are composed of 8 questions and are structured and written by
the researcher because the researcher knows all aspects of her topic. The interview was conducted
via whatsapp application in oral and in written forms. The interview extends 15-20 minutes.
6. Procedure
The first step in data collection was creating the questions for both questionnaire and
interview. In order to provide appropriate results, all questions are based on research questions and
the purpose of this study .Then they are shown and discussed with peers and finally approved by
the scientific supervisor. The second stage in this process was to share with the questionnaire link
via whatsapp and to monitor their responses. And those who left the agreement for the interview
were sent an invitation and have arranged an online meeting via online platforms such as “Zoom”
and “ Webex Online Meeting”. Also researchers get the participants’ responses in written form
that lasted 20 minutes.
Conclusion
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
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The study covers the applicability of practical knowledge and pedagogical experiences,
and finds out the most common concerns that student teachers face in their studying time and
professional teaching time. The paper considers the practical knowledge, significance of
pedagogical experience and actual teaching from different authors’ perspectives that allow the
researcher to have a clear understanding of purpose and history of study. The study mentioned
the main challenges in the beginning of the paper and was given detailed information in the
Literature part. In order to get a general viewpoint and specific details researchers read and analyse
approximately 40 articles and reports within this field. This study also provides a guide for senior
students in order to become acquainted with student-teachers’ probable teaching-related issues
and approved advice for actual teaching. Nevertheless, there are some nuances that can be taken
into account for the future in the TEFL preparation programs. At the time of writing the problem
statement of this study, the researchers used their results based on last year's responses of
questionnaires on the same topic.
Further plans in this study till March, 2021:
❖ Firstly, work on the given feedback and errors from our Professor Mrs. Gafu and
supervisor Miss Torgyn and immediately make correction;
❖ Then,make up relevant and comprehensible questions both for questionnaire and
interview;
❖ Collect participants among graduates in the year of 2019 and 2020 and 2021 senior
students;
❖ Analysis and report participants’ responses that will gain from questionnaire and
interview in different charts;
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
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❖ Culminate received data and will approve it with the supervisor.
❖ RECOMMEND
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1. Work with the cooperating teacher in planning the student teacher’s schedule
2. Check the student teacher’s lesson plans for presentations
3. Guide the student teacher in lesson planning, observation and classroom management
4. Demonstrate for the student teacher different methods of procedures for teaching
5. Observe the student teacher for at least two full lessons during the semester
6. Give written and oral feedback to the student teachers about their teaching
performance
7. Help the student teacher put theory into practice
8. Hold weekly conferences with the student teachers to discuss their experience at
the cooperating school
9. Serve as a resource consultant for the student teachers
10. Share with the student teacher ideas, discoveries and innovations in education
11. Fill an observation evaluation form for each lesson presentation of the student
teacher
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACTUAL TEACHING
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12. Decide on the final grade of the student teacher in collaboration with the cooperating
teacher.
REFERENCE сайтка