Teaching Practice: Concept, Stages, Objectives & Suggestions

Introduction

Practice teaching occupies a key position in the programme of teacher education. It is a culminating experience in teacher preparation. It provides opportunity to beginning teachers to become socialized into the profession (Furlong et.al, 1988). Performance during practice teaching provides some basis for predicting the future success of the teacher. Outgoing popularity and centrality of practice teaching is an important contributing factor towards the quality of teacher education programme. During practice teaching working with students in schools provides a high degree of emotional involvement of a mostly positive nature. Student teachers feel themselves grow through experience and they begin to link to a culture of teaching. During practice teaching, they feel engaged, challenged and even empowered (Trowbridge and Bybee, 1994; sharafuddin, and Allison, 1969).

Definitions of Practice Teaching

A number of terms such as the practice teaching, student teaching, teaching practice, field studies, infield experience, school based experience or internship are used to refer to this activity (Taneja, 2000). The term practice teaching embraces all the learning experiences of student teachers in schools (Ashraf, 1999). The term practice teaching has three major connotations: the practicing of teaching skills and acquisition of the role of a teacher; the whole range of experiences that students go through in schools; and the practical aspects of the course as distinct from theoretical studies (Stones and morris, 1977).

Practice teaching is the name of the preparation of student teachers for teaching by practical training. It is the practical use of teaching methods, teaching strategies, teaching principles, teaching techniques and practical training and practice / exercise of different activities of daily school life.

Objectives of Practice Teaching

According to Akbar (2002) Following are the objectives of practice teaching:

1. To provide the prospective teachers with an opportunity of establishing an appropriate teacher pupil relationship.
2. To provide an opportunity for evaluating the student potential as a teacher and suitability for the teaching profession.
3. To develop personal relationship with others: administrators, teachers, parents and students.
4. To provide the future teacher with practical experience in school to overcome the problems of discipline and enable him / her to develop method of control.
5. To provide with an opportunity to put theories into practice and to develop a deeper understanding of educational principles and their implication for learning.
6. To enable the student teachers effectively to plan and prepare lessons.
7. To develop skill in the use of fundamental procedures, techniques and methods of teaching.
8. To develop desirable professional interests, attitudes and ideas relative to teaching profession.
9. To enable student teachers to acquire desirable characteristics / traits of a teacher and to display appropriate behaviour.
10. To provide student teachers with an opportunity to have teaching evaluated and to gain from the benefits of constructive criticism.
11. To provide an opportunity for self evaluation and to discover own strengths and weaknesses.
12. To develop skills in future teachers related to teaching like fluent speaking, meaningful reading, using blackboard and other teaching material.
13. To provide an opportunity to liaise with school environment, its functioning and with community and its resources.
14. To provide for the exchange of ideas and methods between practicing school and teacher training institution, by teacher training institutions’ staff and students, perceiving new ideas material and equipment in use in practicing schools and introducing new ideas, material and equipments into the school.

Stages in Practice teaching

Following are the stages in practice teaching

 Primary Stage

It is necessary to make a trip of student teachers to that particular school, where they are going for practice teaching. The main aim of this tour is to see the concerned head teacher, class teachers and school staff in order to acquire information about school and its environment. Student teachers must observe the teaching methods of school, methods of concerned class teacher, copies or notebooks of the students and their usual routine. On return from the tour student teachers must have the details about scheme of studies, age of the students, strength of the class, abilities and specific problems of the students, timing of the school, textbooks and teaching aids.

Preparation of Lesson

For the preparation of lesson student teachers must know the subject, the relevant books and audio visual aids. Which he / she is going to teach. Because already prepared lessons give confidence to the teacher. Student teachers and supervisor can reform the teaching learning process after its evaluation.

Qualities of a Good Lesson

A good lesson has the following qualities:

i)                    Lesson planning should be in complete detail.

ii)                   Lesson should be interesting.

iii)                 Effective and timely use of teaching methods and teaching aids.

iv)                 Student should be ready for learning.

v)                  Students should be involved practically in teaching learning process.

vi)                 Lesson should be taught in professional and friendly environment.

vii)               All students should be given same attention by keeping in view their individual differences.

Teaching in Classroom

            The stage of teaching in the classroom is known as  practice teaching. Student teachers while teaching   in the classroom passes through different steps of his / her teaching (Introduction, presentation, recapitulation) and concerned teacher  / supervisor assesses / observes his / her lesson.

Evaluation of Teaching Practice

In order to evaluate the teaching practice supervisor observe the student teacher while teaching in the classroom. Supervisor evaluates / observes the punctuality, lesson planning, teaching methods, use of audio visual aids, adequacy of audio visual aids, pitch of voice, dress, start and end of lesson, interest of the students, discipline of class, use of black / white board, students’ notebooks and objectives of the lesson.

Participation in Other routine Works of School

Teaching in the classroom is not only the objective of teaching practice, but also to provide training in all activities / work which student teachers are going to perform in future during their job. For this purpose they have to spend whole day in school as teacher. They have to participate in all the activities of school e.g preparation of timetable, preparation and maintenance of different registers, evaluation of class work and home work, arrangement of tutorial groups, sports / games, morning assembly, co-curricular activities, duty during recess, duty as day master, duty before and after school timing, decoration of classroom, preparation and maintenance of attendance board, news board, information board, look after and arrangements of A V aids room, home economics room, science laboratories and library.

            How to deal with students’ parents, officers of the school, school employees and guests are also the part of teaching practice. Duties as invigilators, preparation of question papers for examinations, evaluation of answer scripts and compilation of results is also part of teaching practice.

Role of Supervisor in Teaching Practice

Supervisor has an important role in practice teaching as:

i)                    A resource person

ii)                   An adviser

iii)                 A general moral booster

iv)                 An interpreter of feedback

v)                  An assessor

            Supervisor’s duty is not only to evaluate the lessons of teaching practice, but by using his / her all the abilities to make this experience (All the stages of teaching practice) result oriented. He / she should has all the planning before hand. He / she should have meeting and conversion with teacher educators, experienced teachers of the institution, educationists, concerned school head teachers and other teachers.

Introductory lectures should be arranged before the departure of student teachers to the practicing schools in order to aware the student teachers about the preparation of lesson plans and other assigned activities. During teaching practice it is the duty of supervisors to supervise their lessons, other assigned activities, guidance and counseling as well as provide the student teachers with feed back and to enable them so that they can criticize and reform themselves. During the teaching practice student teachers should not be criticized in front of the practicing school staff and students. If there is a need then all the student teachers should be gathered and should be scolded and warned without nominating and asking the name. Supervisors’ role is to prepare teachers for future, therefore he / she should act as a facilitator.

Teaching Practice in Pakistan

            Different teacher training programmes are being offered in Pakistan. In all the programmes teaching practice is compulsory component except M.Ed (Master of Education). In true spirit we can produce good teachers through this activity, but the procedure adopted in Pakistan is just to pass / kill the time. Teaching practice duration is very short, it is about 4 to 8 weeks or teaching of 60 to 75 lessons. During teaching practice student teachers are bound to the classrooms for teaching. They are not trained for the other activities performed in schools. Therefore, effective learning could not take place. Student teachers are bound to use easy principles and methods of teaching. They are just being taught how to start the lesson, how to control the class, how to keep an eye over the students while writing on the black / white board.

            Teaching practice is doing nothing to teaching other than adhoc basis. The schools where teaching practice is conducted are doing nothing but only bearing it and not taking active part in the preparation of teachers of future. The administration and teachers of practicing schools are not aware with the information and evaluation techniques, which are used during teaching practice. They are not fully aware about the importance of teaching practice for student teachers and future generations.

            It is a fact that student teachers are not perfect teachers, practicing schoolteachers can’t give them full authorities but they can trust on them. Practically two ways are being seen here in Pakistan. Firstly these uninvited guests are consider inferiors teachers and criticized without any justification. Secondly some teachers transfer their all burden to them.

            In some teacher training institutions selection of lessons is kept up to the choice of student teachers and they select such lessons which are very easy and in which minimum audio visual aids are used.

Suggestions to Improve Teaching Practice in Pakistan

Here are some suggestions to improve the teaching practice in Pakistan.

a)      In teacher training institutions teaching methods were not only teach but also practically demonstrated by the teacher educators.

b)      The duration of teaching practice should be increased up to 12 weeks at least, so that practical training should be given for a quarter of the year.

c)      Teaching practice should not be consisted of classroom teaching only. Other aspects like attendance of students, collection of fee, calculation of fee, preparation of registers, conduct of morning assembly, conduct of co-curricular activities, preparation of question papers, marking of answer scripts, compilation of results, solution of students’ problems and meetings with students’ parents should be included.

d)      Microteaching should be adopted in teacher training institutions and model lessons should be given before student teachers by experts as well as by video films.

e)      Student teachers are not given marks only for model lessons and all the aspects of teaching practice should be included in evaluation.

f)        In order to make the evaluation of teaching practice more effective, appropriateness of lesson, teaching methods, teaching aids, practical organization of lesson, interest of students and teachers and students’ answers should be included in evaluation.

g)      It should be encouraged that student teachers make audio visual aids by them selves and student teachers should be given  / provided guidance after every lesson.

h)      In order to make teaching practice more effective, it is also proposed that student teachers should watch the lessons of experienced teachers for one week and write evaluation report about them and supervisors should provide guidelines to student teachers in the light of this evaluation report.

i)        It should be ensured that student teachers keep the sequence of lessons in such a way, so that they can teach all types of lessons and use different teaching methods.

j)        Prior to teaching practice student teachers should practice in their fellows in order to build more confidence in them.

k)      During teaching practice student teachers should be given projects, which cover all the aspects of teaching practice i.e. (preparation of teaching kit, planning for decoration of classrooms, betterment of environment and provision of facilities).

l)        During practice teaching prospective teachers should be made habitual of preparing daily lesson plan.

m)    Practice teaching should be more realistic and suited to the actual class room situations.

Conclusion

Teaching practice is an activity, which can play an important role in the preparation of teachers. Its effectiveness is necessary for the nation. It is a milestone for professional adolescence.  It is a combination of personality, professional skills, knowledge and training, which is fuel for an endless journey. Now it is the duty / responsibility of teacher educators and teachers of practicing schools to make this fuel / expenditure endless.

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Aijaz Ahmed Gujjar
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