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The impact of preparing student teachers to observe classroom practices
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21458673 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lee Rusznyak (0000-0002-6835-8215, University of the Witwatersrand, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 597-612 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Continuing Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0158-037X • E-ISSN: 1470-126X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0158037x.2025.2463326 |
| OpenAlex | W4408238799 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 32 |
This article explores the assumption that student teachers are well-placed to observe teaching practices after spending years in the classroom. It reports on an in-depth analysis of the lesson observations written by three South African student teachers from different schooling backgrounds. At the beginning and middle of their first year of study, the participants watched a recorded lesson and were asked to suggest reasons for the teacher's actions. Initially, their observations centred mainly on learner participation in activities, revealing a fragmented understanding of teaching practices. Using the Semantics dimension of Legitimation Code Theory (LCT), the study demonstrates that after completing coursework on teaching as a specialised practice, the complexity of their observations increased significantly. The coursework guided them in analysing knowledge-building during lessons. In later observations, the students drew on their coursework to focus on the teacher's management of content knowledge and the design of learning opportunities. Regardless of their diverse schooling backgrounds, they became better at identifying teaching patterns and interpreting the teacher's pedagogic intentions. The findings suggest that explicitly preparing students to observe and analyse teaching practices can enhance the quality of their learning in practical settings
Mathematics education · Medical education · Pedagogy · Sociology · Educational Theory and Curriculum Studies · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Medicine · Psychology · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
The Irregular School
Schoolteacher
Researching Your Own Practice
The role of lesson analysis in pre-service teacher education
Teaching Practice
Pedagogical reasoning
Reframing the policy discourse
Making semantic waves
Knowledge and Knowers
Designing a rubric for reflection in nursing
Affordances and limitations of a special school practicum as a means to prepare pre-service teachers for inclusive education
Pre-service teachers' pedagogical learning during practicum placements in special schools
Part I
Knowledge and Teaching
The Work of Teaching and the Challenge for Teacher Education
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |