Creating Meaningful Experiences for Pre-Service Teachers: Thoughts and Experiences on an Elective Course

Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness of an elective course titled, “Microteaching in Teacher Education” (MiTEc) which is offered to the 3rd and 4th year pre-service science teachers. This course aims to provide pre-service teachers with meaningful experiences and prepare them for real-classroom settings. During the study, qualitative methodology was employed and face-to-face semi structured interviews and focus group discussions were used as the means of data collection with the participation of 23 pre-service science teachers. All the data was transcribed and content was analyzed to identify emerging themes. MiTEc was found to have a positive influence for pre-service teachers in improving their teaching skills, observations skills, self-confidence and self-awareness, which then also had a positive impact on other courses. The ability to connect theory with practice was one of the major benefits of the course