VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES -------------------- NGUYỄN THỊ NGỌC STUDENT TEACHERS’ SELF-REPORTED CHALLENGES DURING THE PRACTICUM A QUALITATIVE STUDY Nghiên cứu định tính về những khó khăn của giáo sinh trong thời gian thực tập sư phạm M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.10 HANOI - 2010 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES -------------------- NGUYỄN THỊ NGỌC STUDENT TEACHERS’ SELF-REPORTED CHALLENGES DURING THE PRACTICUM A QUALITATIVE STUDY Nghiên cứu định tính về những khó khăn của giáo sinh trong thời gian thực tập sư phạm M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.10 Supervisor: Lê Văn Canh, M.A HANOI - 2010 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com iv Table of contentS Page Acknowledgements. ii Part A: INTRODUCTION. Scope, aims, research design and significance of the study .1 Aims of the study .3 Scope of the study.4 Significance of the study. Structure of the Thesis.
4 Chapter 1: literature review .2 The Challenges of the Practicum.3 The Roles of Cooperating Teachers (Mentors) in the Practicum .4 The Practicum Supervisor. 15 Chapter 2: The study.1 The Context of the Study. Data Collection Procedures. 21 Chapter 3: Data analysis and discussion .1 Challenges in students' behaviour.2 Challenges in lesson planning.
24 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.3 Challenges in using the blacboard .4 Challenges in classroom teaching.5 Challenges in the relationship with mentors .6 The need of a college supervisor in the practicum .7 The benefits of the practicum. Suggestions for the Teacher Education Programme. Limitations of the Study. Suggestions for Futher Research .39-44 Appendix 1: Guidance on writing diary during the practicum.
I TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.study) 1 Part A: introduction 1. Rationale In recent years, the Ministry of Education and Training has paid much attention to raising the standard of learning and teaching English as a compulsory subject from the primary to the tertiary level of education. Educational quality depends on the teacher quality, which is dependent on the training quality. Therefore emphasis should be on all three training components of learning: subject matter (content) knowledge, pedagogical knowledge (pedagogy), and professional experience (the practicum).
For the subject matter knowledge, student teachers are supplied with basic foundation knowledge of the subject they will teach. Regarding the pedagogical knowledge, they are provided with theories of language, theories of language learning, and classroom management strategies as well as how to interact with the students in the classroom. These two first components of teacher education programmes are carried out in the university or college. And then in the practicum, which takes place in schools, they apply what they have learned to the actual classrooms with real students.
The practicum is, thus, to help the student teachers gain the professional experience needed for their learning to teach. The 6-week practicum is the last stage in a teacher education course. This is the time for pre-service teacher to transfer the theory into practice. During this time they can feel stressful because they may be faced with the unpredictable challenges of carrying out two important tasks at the same time: teaching, and learning to teach.
They are expected to do tasks like: planning lessons, preparing visual aids, teaching in the classroom, interacting with students…In addition, they try to build good relationship with their cooperating teachers (mentors). All of these give them tensions and challenges because what they believe about effective teaching and learning may conflict with the reality of teaching in the school context. While there have been studies investigating the different aspects of student teachers‟ learning to teach, however, little has been documented concerning how pre-service EFL teachers prepare for their learning to teach (Gomez,1990; Kelley, 2005), especially in Vietnamese contexts. I believe that insights into student teachers‟ challenges during the TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.study) 2 practicum can inform changes which are to prepare the student teachers better by narrowing the gap between the teacher education programme and the real teaching in the school.
This study sets out to explore the challenges and tensions of the 5 student teachers through their diaries written during the practicum. Scope, Aims, Research Design and Significance of the Study 2.1 Aims of the study The study aims at: - Exploring the challenges of the 5 student teachers through their diaries - Identifying the gaps between the existing teacher education programme and the reality in the school context. - Giving some suggestions for the improvement of the existing teacher education programme.2 Research Design Given the aims of the study, which are to explore the challenges encountered by the student teachers during the practicum, a qualitative design was employed. Data were collected from the student teachers‟ diaries and follow-up interviews, and then analysed qualitatively in order to find common challenges encountered by the student teachers participating in this study.
In addition to the common patterns of challenges, particulars were also attended to.3 Scope of the study The study limits itself to the investigation of the challenges of the student teachers during their practicum. Information was collected from a small group of 5 student teachers‟ diaries and the follow-up interviews. The study is not intended to look into student teachers‟ classroom teaching practices. Nor is it intended to explore the benefits gained by the student teachers in the practicum.
Significance of the Study As stated in the Rationale, this study will contribute to the understanding of the relevance of the existing teacher education programme at Nghe An Teachers‟ College to the TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.study) 3 real teaching at the lower secondary school, where student teachers are assigned to teach upon their graduation. Specifically, findings of the study will identify the space for improvement of the existing teacher education programme in a bid to prepare the student teachers better. Structure of the Thesis The thesis is composed of three parts with each part consisting of different chapters. Part A is the introduction, which consists of the rational, scope, aims, research design, significance, and structure of the study.
Part B is the development of the thesis which comprises 3 chapters Chapter 1 reviews the literature relevant to the topic of the research and summarizes some selected studies on challenges of student teachers in the practicum, which serves as a theoretical and methodological foundation of the study. Chapter 2 presents the research methodology of the study. It provides information about the participants, the resources, the data collection procedure and data analysis. Chapter 3 is the main part of the study which reports and discusses the main findings according to research matter.
Part C is the conclusion that presents the author‟s reflection and limitations of the study and finally gives the implication of the study and some suggestions for further research. Part B:development TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.study) 4 Chapter I: Literature review This chapter reviews the literature on the practicum. It first discusses the role of the practicum in the teacher education programme. Next, it reviews the challenges of the student teachers during the practicum such as their relationship with the mentors or cooperating teachers, and other challenges.
Then the roles of mentors or cooperating teachers are mentioned. Finally, the role of the supervisor in the practicum is reviewed. The Practicum If education plays a crucial role in developing the human capital required for the economic and social growth of societies (Anamuah-Mensah, 2002), teachers play a decisive role in this undertaking. Teacher quality constitutes a critical factor on which the quality of the human capital depends.
It is said that “if they [teachers] acquire the professional competence and attitudes that enable them to effectively perform their multiple tasks in the classroom, in the school and in the community, teachers become the single most important contributing factor in ensuring quality educational provision” (Dave & Rajput, 2000). Teachers‟ professional competence is developed first of all in the teacher education programmes of which the practicum is an inseparable part. According to Hawes & Hawes (1982), the practicum is considered as a course or student exercise involving practical experience as well as theoretical study. It is a “supervised experience in counselling as part of professional pre-service education of counselors” (p.
For other scholars, the practicum is one of the most important aspects of a student teacher‟s education (e. Clarke & Collins, 2007; Farrell, 2008). In fact, the importance of the practicum is specified by scholars. For example, Collinson, Kozina, Lin, Ling, Matheson, Newcobe, & Zogla (2009) view the practicum as an important induction into the profession “both to improve teachers‟ skills and to extend the body of knowledge on effective teaching practices”.
For Purdy and Gibson (2008), teaching practice plans a role in education similar to internship or field attachment in other professions such as medicine, law, and engineering by offering exposure to practical classroom experiences in the context of a mainstream school. From the perspective of learning to teach, Johnson (1996) has noted that “For most student teachers, the practicum is TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.study) 5 considered to be one of the most important learning experiences in learning to teach” through reasoning about their practices, supported by their educators (p. Extended teaching practice could give the student teachers considerable “exposure to practices of experienced teachers” (Zeichner, 2006:333). Especially, the practicum may provide feedback to the teacher education institution regarding the progress to their students and provide a basis as to whether they should be qualified to teach or not.
It also enables the teacher education institution to identify aspects of their programme to improve (Derrick & Dicks, 2005). Johnson (1996) concludes her study that A better understanding of pre-service teachers‟ perceptions of the practicum may enable the field of second language teacher education to better understand how second language teachers learn to teach and how teacher preparation programmes can effectively enhance this development process (p. 47) This is also the aim of the present study, which is to find out the space for improvement in the existing teacher education programme at Nghe An Teachers‟ College. It is evident that the practicum provides a useful opportunity for student teachers to learn to teach, to try applying the theories they have acquired from the teacher education programmes into the real classroom.
It also provides an opportunity for student teacher to learn the practical teaching skills from the experienced teachers in the role of mentoring or cooperating teachers. As discussed above, not only do the student teachers benefit the practicum, but also the teacher education provider, i., the teacher education institution, can also improve the quality of the programme through the feedback and the progress of the student teachers during the practicum. 121) has pointed out that the practicum is aimed at: Strengthening the development of specific teaching competencies; Providing opportunities for self reflection; Providing opportunities for sharing experiences with a mentor, supervisor and peers; TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.study) 6 Promoting problem solving capacity and team skill in student teachers and an appreciation of the life of the whole school as distinct from teaching in individual classroom; Encourage formation of learning communities and promotion of team work; Developing collaborative capacities in student teachers as a basis for successful participation in teaching teams and partnership arrangements at school; Providing opportunity for student teachers to establish themselves as generative and innovative teaching professionals through authentic participation in school and community activities; Meeting real pupils/learners and real situations enables student teachers to develop a repertoire of skills in dealing with different learning situations; and Developing competencies as teacher-researcher through action research projects. However, the benefits of the practicum are not autonomous, or come from the vacuum.