Rewriting Field-Based Literacy Practicum Experiences

High-quality, field-based practicum experiences provide learning opportunities foundational to future teachers' pedagogy that coursework alone cannot replicate. However, access to these field-based placements for preservice teachers can be limited at times, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter explores how one instructor of an intermediate literacy course, which carries a 20-hour field-based practicum requirement, rewrote a traditional field-based literacy experience to design a virtual practicum experience. Following a review of the literature, this chapter is divided into three key parts: (1) design elements of a virtual literacy practicum, (2) preservice teacher perceptions of a virtual literacy practicum, and (3) comparisons of preservice teachers' experiences in a traditional in-person literacy practicum to a virtual literacy practicum. Finally, suggestions for re-writing traditional field-based literary practicum experiences will be provided.

E-Portfolios and Exploring One’s Identity in Teacher Education

Academic faculty in a two-year post-baccalaureate teacher education program at a small research university in British Columbia explored the extended use of e-Portfolios into final practicum over a three-year period. The education technology course offered in Term Three asked teacher candidates to create and design an e-Portfolio as part of the coursework. In this program evaluation, the author investigated the continued use of e-Portfolios into Term Four during final practicum. Faculty in this teacher education program sought ways to improve the program, particularly the practicum experience for teacher candidates. Extending the use of e-Portfolios into Term Four was one of three initiatives that were adopted. The e-Portfolio served as a digital platform for teachercandidates to archive, reflect, and sense-make; italso functioned as a means to develop theirprofessional identities and understanding of theprofessional standards. The final practicumconcluded with a Celebration of Learning and thecapstone presentations referenced e-Portfolios.This paper focuses on how e-Portfolios wereintroduced and implemented with six cohorts, whatwas observed by the faculty member, and whatwas learned from the implementation to inform thefuture use of e-Portfolios in the program andprogram redesign. The extended use of e-Portfolios during the final practicum was found tobe a viable initiative and revealed professionalqualities of teacher candidates that may not havebeen visible otherwise.

International Counseling Students’ Practicum Experience in a Counseling Program in the United States

Limited attention has been given to international counseling students (ICSs) enrolled in U.S. counseling programs. This phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of six ICSs in a U.S. counseling program regarding factors that impacted their practicum experience. The study identified three themes: learning and growth process, positive impacting factors, and negative impacting factors. It also provided stakeholder recommendations

Nursing Practicum Equity for a Changing Nurse Student Demographic: a Qualitative Study

Background:The nursing practicum (clinical practice) is an essential but often highly stressful aspect of the nursing degree. A review of the published literature reveals a strong focus on the stressors that originate within the practicum environment, rather than the student’s life outside the university and practice setting. This article reports on an Australian study, completed before the COVID-19 pandemic, of the university experiences of undergraduate women nurse students with family responsibilities. The findings reveal the importance of factors outside the university on the women students’ practicum experience and their ability to engage and achieve.Methods:The study was qualitative, guided by Gadamer’s hermeneutic philosophy. Twenty-nine women students with family responsibilities (partners and children) were interviewed at two stages of their degree journey. Over 50 hours of data were thematically analysed.Findings:The themes ‘family pressure’ and ‘practicum poverty’ describe the impact of domestic work, family finances and practicum organisation on student stress, wellbeing, achievement, thoughts of attrition, and family tension. These findings are particularly pertinent to Australia and other developed nations where the nurse student demographic continues to age. An interpretation of these findings against the recent impact of COVID-19 on nurse education and women’s life choices reveals the likelihood that these difficulties have intensified for women students with family responsibilities since the pandemic began.Conclusions and Recommendations:Many developed nations, including Australia, are increasingly reliant on older women nurse students to maintain the future graduate nursing workforce. This change in nurse student demographic to the mature-age student requires a revision of the organisation of the nursing practicum. Recommendations to nurse education to improve practicum accessibility for women students who have family responsibilities include the application of a flexible and collaborative approach to practicum organisation and communication. Wider recommendations to Government include a revision of the way the nursing student is financially supported during the practicum. Further research that explores the practicum experience for women nurse students during and following the COVID-19 pandemic is also recommended.

The Impact of Practicum on Pre-Service EFL Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs: First Step into Professionalism

This study sought to investigate changes in pre-service EFL teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs before and after the practicum experience at school. The data were collected using the same 24-item teacher sense of efficacy (TSE) scale. Three null hypotheses were formulated based on the subcategories of self-efficacy in the study (i.e., self-efficacy in student engagement, self-efficacy in applying instructional strategies, and self-efficacy in classroom management). The Wilcoxonsigned rank test runs on the pre-practicum and post-practicum results suggested that the null hypothesis that practicum would not bring about any change in student engagement should be rejected. According to the second null hypothesis, there would be no significant difference between pre-service EFL teachers’ pre-practicum and post-practicum self-efficacy in applying instructional strategies. Results indicated that we should reject the second null hypothesis, too, implying that pre-service teachers’ scores in this construct have also been significantly different from each other in the pretest and the posttest. The last hypothesis of interest was if pre-service EFL teachers’ selfefficacy in classroom management changes due to practicum experience. The data gathered implies that we should reject this hypothesis, possibly in favor of the premise that our practicing pre-service EFL teachers have made positive gains in their classroom management ability. If we compare the obtained results based on the effect sizes that we have calculated for them, although all of them are strong effect sizes, we can say that the pre-service EFL teachers’ self-efficacy has improved first in classroom management (r = 0.77), second in applying instructional strategies (r = 0.71), and third in student engagement (r = 0.622). The findings of the study are discussed in the light of implications to the language teacher education programs and the development of practicum experience.

The Development and Use of Improvised Science-Teaching Models: A Case of Natural Science Pre-Service Teachers

The study aimed to describe how a team of final-year pre-service teachers followed the process of improvisation to develop and utilise improvised science-teaching models during a teaching practicum experience. Guided by a conceptual understanding of the process of improvisation, this purposeful qualitative case study sought to respond to a series of research questions. These research questions are: “What are the issues that necessitate the need to develop science-teaching models for a teaching practicum experience?”, “How could the process of improvisation enable Natural Science pre-service teachers to develop improvised science-teaching models for a teaching practicum experience?” and “To what extent do the Natural Science pre-service teachers utilise the improvised science-teaching models in their teaching practicum?” Data collection methods such as spontaneous free-response e-mail communications, a focus-group discussion, and the use of photo-voice methodology yielded rich empirical data. The findings revealed how the Natural Science pre-service teachers ultimately engaged with the improvisation principles to develop improvised science-teaching models from low-cost and recycled materials. The paper further describes how the improvised science-teaching models were introduced in the pre-service teachers’ Natural Science lesson delivery as part of a model-based teaching approach. Findings from the study suggest that initial teacher education programs render environmental and contextual consciousness in shaping pre-service teachers for the diverse schooling contexts. The study further suggests that initial teacher education programs be intentional towards structuring module course material to make the skill of improvisation accessible to pre-service teachers as part of their teacher development.

Practicum in Early Childhood Education: Student Teachers’ Perspective

Practicum is a central component of initial teacher education programs. Most teacher education studies focus on practicum in primary and secondary school, while the practicum in kindergartens has received less attention in international literature. The goal of this study is to explore student teachers’ perceptions of practicum experience in kindergarten, within the context of an initial teacher education program. A total of 42 final year student teachers enrolled in the Pedagogy of Primary and Preschool Education program at a Romanian university participated in the study. They completed a questionnaire about their final practicum experience in kindergarten, concerning the benefits of the practicum, the difficulties encountered, and the ways of coping with them. The main benefits reported by the participants were: professional relationships, planning and practicing teaching, professional and personal skill development, and insights into the preschool education system. Difficulties included: implementing instruction, class management and self-concerns issues. The student teachers relied on internal resources, but also on external resources (the preschool mentor teachers, the student teacher supervisor and the colleagues) for overcoming the difficulties encountered during practicum. Based on their testimonies, we suggest possible improvements to the teacher education program.