Trends in Teacher Education/ Teaching Practicum Models

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ROLES OF UNIVERSITIES/HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN THE PRACTICUM

It is critical for teaching practitioners to possess an appreciable body of theoretical knowledge that empowers them to understand, explain, justify and, when need arises, modify pedagogical elements. It is traditionally the university’s responsibility to arrange student placements, select cooperating teachers, assign university supervisors, schedule lecturer-student conferences, deal with students’ special cases, and carry out assessments (Tannehill & Goc-Karp, 1992). This process of supervision helped student teachers to progress from their current skill levels to suitably higher levels that would enable them to efficiently function as professional teachers (Metzler, 1990).

COLLABORATING TEACHERS’ ROLES DURING THE PRACTICUM

In the whole process of the practicum, the roles of the collaborating teachers are pivotal as they guide the student teachers, inducting them into the art of teaching. The fundamental expectations are that collaborating teachers should provide emotional and professional support, promote peer interactions among student teachers and encourage flexibility in teaching methodologies and content, as well as provide them with essential feedback (Beck, 2002). To be able to provide this support, the CTs themselves also need extensive orientation, sensitization, and training. Such orientation and training are crucial, as the role of the CT is central to the success of the practicum (Korthagen, Loughran, & Russell, 2006; Zeichner, 1996). In an analysis of student teacher perceptions of cooperating teachers’ effectiveness, Brunelle, Tousignant & Pieron (1981) concluded that some student teachers are greatly discouraged and dissatisfied by not receiving adequate 52 feedback or for receiving feedback that is too negative, too general, too delayed, or for not receiving any advice. Student teachers appreciate receiving abundant, immediate and specific feedback.

The Teaching Practicum Portfolio

Although teaching portfolios were initially designed for the purpose of professional accountability as a requirement for promotion or in job applications, they have now assumed a phenomenally wider use across the world as a valuable tool for teacher education. This is largely because they promote professional development and reflection as well as provide more reliable evidence for evaluation (Stone, 1998). Portfolios are a compilation of students’ work which demonstrates their knowledge and skills in teaching (Wolfe, 1995). They serve as evidence of the student teacher’s professional development and achievements over a specific time. Portfolios can contain a large variety of materials and artefacts such as subjects taught, individual’s goal statements and teaching philosophy, pictures, audio/videotapes of lessons taught, letters of recommendation, lesson plans, writing samples, individual case studies, student evaluations, student papers with teacher comments, successes stories and any engagement in professional development activities.

Cognitive Apprenticeship

Constructivist theorists have developed a cognitive apprenticeship learning theory which is defined as a process through which a more experienced person ( an expert) assists a less experienced one (a novice or trainee) by way of demonstration, support, and examples. Proponents of this theory hold that experts of a trade or skill often fail to openly engage in the vital implicit processes involved when they perform complex operations when teaching trainees. In order to overcome these deficiencies, cognitive apprenticeship brings these complex operations tacitly into the open to allow the novice to observe, enact and practice these skills, with the help of the expert (Collins, Brown, & Newman, 1987). Bandura (1997) posits that for this model to be effective, the student needs to have the motivation to learn and be attentive. Equally importantly, the student should be able to proficiently reproduce the acquired skill.

Vygotsky’s social development theory

Vygotsky used this term to clarify variations of task accomplishments between a student and an expert. The shared understanding of ZPD shows the difference between what students can accomplish independently and what they can only accomplish with the assistance of experts in a given assignment. Vygotsky labelled this gap as ‘Zone’ which he claimed to be crucial since it requires masters or experts to intervene in order to enhance the cognitive development of a beginner by uplifting them to a higher level of proficiency.

TABLE OF CONTENTS :

• CONTENTS
• DECLARATION
• DEDICATION
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
• LIST OF FIGURES
• ABSTRACT
• CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND ORIENTATION TO THE STUDY
  • 1.1 Background
  • 1.2 Problem Statement
  • 1.3 Research Aim and Objectives
  • 1.4 Research Questions
  • 1.5 Significance/Justification of the Study
  • 1.6 Rationale and Motivation
  • 1.7 Research Design and Methodology
    • 1.7.1 Research Paradigm
    • 1.7.2 Research Approach
    • 1.7.3 Selection of participants
    • 1.7.4 Data Collection Methods
      • 1.7.4.1 Interviews
      • 1.7.4.2 Observations
      • 1.7.4.3 Documents
• 1.8 Reliability, Validity and Trustworthiness of the Research
  • 1.8.1 Reliability
  • 1.8.2 Validity
  • 1.8.3 Limitations
  • 1.8.4 Ethical Considerations
• 1.9 Definition of Terms
• CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
  • 2.1 Introduction
  • 2.2 Purpose of the Teaching Practicum
  • 2.3 Trends in Teacher Education/ Teaching Practicum Models
    • 2.3.1 Singaporean Practicum Model
    • 2.3.2 A Norwegian Practicum Model
    • 2.3.3 A Bahraini Practicum model
    • 2.3.4 An English Practicum model
    • 2.3.5 An American Practicum model
    • 2.3.6 Teaching practicum [A South African model]
    • 2.3.7 The Namibian Practicum model
  • 2.4 Roles of Universities/HIE’s In the Practicum
  • 2.5 Collaborating Teachers’ Roles during the Practicum
  • 2.6 Student Teachers’ Self-Assessment and Reflection during the Practicum
    • 2.6.1 The Teaching Practicum Portfolio
  • 2.7 Some Issues Within the Practicum Partnership Triad
  • 2.8 Synthesis
• CHAPTER THREE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
  • 3.1 Introduction
  • 3.2 Cognitive Apprenticeship
  • 3.3 Vygotsky’s Theory of Zone of Proximal Development
  • 3.4 Situated Learning and Community of Practice
  • 3.5 Social Cognitive Theory
  • 3.6 Synthesis
• CHAPTER FOUR RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
  • 4.1 Introduction
  • 4.2 The Research Design
    • 4.2.1 Qualitative Research
    • 4.2.2 Qualitative Research Approach
    • 4.2.3 Choice of Qualitative Methodology
  • 4.3 Data Collection Methods
    • 4.3.1 Interviews
    • 4.3.2 Focus Group Interviews
    • 4.3.3 Observations
    • 4.3.4 Document Analysis
  • 4.4 Sampling Procedure
    • 4.4.1 Research Participants and the Sampling Procedure
  • 4.5 Data Analysis
    • 4.5.1 Analysis of the collected Data
    • 4.5.2 Trustworthiness of the Research findings
      • 4.5.2.1 Reliability and Validity
      • 4.5.2.2 Ethical Considerations
• 4.6 SYNTHESIS
• CHAPTER FIVE DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
• CHAPTER SIX SUMMARY, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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ROLE PARAMETERS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE PRACTICUM TRIAD: TEACHER TRAINING PERSPECTIVES FROM NAMIBIA’S ZAMBEZI REGION