Exploring EFL Pre-Service Teachers’ Critical Incidents in Microteaching Practicum

Ista Maharsi

doi:10.21580/vjv12i217108

Exploring EFL Pre-Service Teachers’ Critical Incidents in Microteaching Practicum

* - (Scopus ID 57200499129) Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia

(*) Corresponding Author

DOI: 10.21580/vjv12i217108

Abstract
References
Licensing
How to cite

This paper analyzes pre-service teachers’ critical incidents as reflected in their e-portfolios during their teaching simulation in the microteaching course. Three cycles of teaching practice were scheduled for each student-teacher. Thirty-six student-teacher critical incidents and e-portfolios were analyzed. Data were collected mainly from their e-portfolios containing their critical incidents. In addition, observations and focus group discussions were conducted to triangulate and confirm the students’ critical incidents. Results showed that of the total 130 critical incidents, 60 occurred in their first, 38 in their second, and 34 in their third teaching cycle. It indicates that the pre-service teachers struggle more at the beginning of their teaching practicum, go through the learning process, and develop their understanding of teaching. In addition, the student-teachers are empowered by obtaining the ability to sense the theoretical and practical gaps in teaching, indicate teaching problems and complexity, become aware of the challenging classroom management issues, and future professional development. This study highlights the importance of reflective practices such as critical incident analyses to be induced in teacher training programs. Through critical incident identification, pre-service teachers are trained to develop their reflection-on-action skills, pedagogical awareness, and choices and sharpen their sense of teaching problems, particularly when encountering theory-practice gaps.

Keywords: critical incidents; microteaching practicum; pre-service teachers

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-35913-1
Bruster, B. G., & Peterson, B. R. (2013). Using critical incidents in teaching to promote reflective practice. Reflective Practice, 14(2), 179–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2012.732945
Chien, C. N. (2014). Analysis of efl teaching methods for taiwan university students. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 5(5), 985–993. https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.5.5.985-993
Collin, S., Karsenti, T., & Komis, V. (2013). Reflective practice in initial teacher training: critiques and perspectives. Reflective Practice: International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 14(1), 104–117.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
De Ville, P. A. (2010). Mentoring reflective practice in pre-service teachers: A reconstruction through the voices of Australian science teachers. Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 7, 1.
Dewey, J. (1910). How We Think. D.C. Heath & Co., Publishers.
Doyle, W. (2006). Ecological Approaches to Classroom Management. In C. M. Evertson & C. S. Weinstein (Eds.), Handbook of classroom management: Research, practice, and contemporary issues (pp. 97–125). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Farrell, T. S. C. (2008). Critical incidents in ELT initial teacher training. ELT Journal, 62(January), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccm072
Farrell, T. S. C. (2009). The Novice Teacher Experience. In A. Burns & J. C. Richards (Eds.), Second Language Teacher Education (pp. 182–189).
Finch, A. (2010). Critical incidents and language learning: Sensitivity to initial conditions. System, 38(3), 422–431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2010.05.004
Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N., & Hyun, H. H. (2023). How to design and evaluate research in education (11th ed.). McGraw Hill Education.
Geyer, N. (2008). Reflective practices in foreign language teacher education: A view through micro and macro windows. Foreign Language Annals, 41(4), 627–638. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2008.tb03321.x
Hall, J. M., & Townsend, S. D. C. (2017). Using critical incidents and e-portfolios to understand the emergent practice of Japanese student-teachers of English. Teaching and Teacher Education, 62, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.10.017
Harrison, J. K., & Lee, R. (2011). Exploring the use of critical incident analysis and the professional learning conversation in an initial teacher education programme. Journal of Education for Teaching, 37(2), 199–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2011.558285
Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and Time. Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
Karimi, M. N., & Nazari, M. (2021). Examining L2 teachers’ critical incidents: a complexity theoretic perspective. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 15(1), 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2019.1676755
Kılıç, M., & Cinkara, E. (2020). Critical incidents in pre-service EFL teachers’ identity construction process. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 40(2), 182–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2019.1705759
Korucu-Kış, S. (2021). Preparing student teachers for real classrooms through virtual vicarious experiences of critical incidents during remote practicum: A meaningful-experiential learning perspective. In Education and Information Technologies (Vol. 26, Issue 6, pp. 6949–6971). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10555-7
Kourieos, S. (2016). Video-mediated microteaching-A stimulus for reflection and teacher growth. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 41(1), 65–80. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2016v41n1.4
Lister, P. G., & Crisp, B. R. (2007). Critical incident analyses: A practice learning tool for students and practitioners. Practice, 19(1), 47–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/09503150701220507
Loughran, J. (2013). Pedagogy: Making Sense of the Complex Relationship Between Teaching and Learning. Curriculum Inquiry, 43(1), 118–141. https://doi.org/10.1111/curi.12003
Megawati, F., Mukminatien, N., Anugerahwati, M., Indrayani, N., & Unsiah, F. (2020). Critical incidents: Exploring EFL prospective teachers’ teaching experiences. European Journal of Educational Research, 9(3), 943–954. https://doi.org/10.12973/EU-JER.9.3.943
Nazari, M., Boustani, A., & Sheikhi, M. (2022). A case study of the impact of a teacher education course on two Iranian EFL teachers’ beliefs and practices about grammar teaching. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-022-00142-9
Pajares, M. F. (1992). Teachers’ Beliefs and Educational Research: Cleaning Up a Messy Construct. Review of Educational Research, 62(3), 307–332. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543062003307
Peacock, M. (2001). Pre-service ESL teachers’ beliefs about second language learning: A longitudinal study. System, 29, 177–195. www.elsevier.com/locate/system
Permatasari, A. W. (2018). Critical incidents from student-teachers’ action research teaching journals in pre-service teacher education program. Foreign Language Teaching & Learning, 3(1), 52–74.
Qiu, Q., Xie, Z., Xiong, Y., & Zhou, F. (2021). Belief Change Before and After the Teaching Practicum Among Chinese Pre-Service ELT Teachers. SAGE Open, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211004934
Richards, J. C., & Farrell, T. S. C. (2005). Professional Development for Language Teachers. Cambridge Language Education.
Rodgers, C. (2002). Defining reflection: Another look at John Dewey and reflective thinking. Teachers College Record, 104(4), 842–866. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9620.00181
Russell, T. (2017). A teacher educator’s lessons learned from reflective practice. European Journal of Teacher Education, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2017.1395852
Sansom, D. W. (2020). Investigating processes of change in beliefs and practice following professional development: multiple change models among in-service teachers in China. Professional Development in Education, 46(3), 467–481. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2019.1634625
Shapira-Lishchinsky, O. (2011). Teachers’ critical incidents: Ethical dilemmas in teaching practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(3), 648–656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2010.11.003
Tarman, B. (2012). Prospective teachers’ beliefs and perceptions about teaching as a profession. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 12(3).
Thompson, N., & Pascal, J. (2012). Developing critically reflective practice. Reflective Practice: International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 13(2), 311–325.
Torres-Goens, L., & Farley, L. (2017). The impact of reflective practice in a university language class. Reflective Practice, May, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2017.1307724
Tripp, D. (2006). Teachers’ lives, critical incidents, and professional practice. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 7(1), 65–76.
Urmston, A. (2003). Learning to teach english in Hong Kong: The opinions of teachers in training. Language and Education, 17(2), 112–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500780308666843
Wijaya, A. R. T., & Kuswandono, P. (2018). Reflecting critical incident as a form of english teachers’ professional development: an indonesian narrative inquiry research. Indonesian Journal of English Education, 5(2), 101–118. https://doi.org/10.15408/ijee.v5i2.10923
Williams, J., & Grierson, A. (2016). Facilitating professional development during International Practicum: Understanding our work as teacher educators through Critical Incidents. Studying Teacher Education, 12(1), 55–69. https://doi.org/10.1080/17425964.2016.1143812
Wubbels, T. (1992). Taking account of student teachers’ preconceptions. Teaching & Teacher Education, 8(2), 137–149.
Yu, W. M. (2018). Critical incidents as a reflective tool for professional development: An experience with in- service teachers. Reflective Practice, 19(6), 763–776. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2018.1539652