Source: Teaching and Teacher Education, Vol 27, Issue 1, Pages 95-106 , (January 2011).
(Reviewed by the Portal Team)
This study explores pre-service teachers’ reflections with regards to the incorporation of their video recordings of classroom memoirs into the CM course. Furthermore, the study examines the potential consequences of this project on their learning and preparation for the profession.
Participants
The sample included 97 juniors who took the CM course during the spring semester of 2008. They were pre-service teachers attending to the College of Technical Education in a major state university in the West of Turkey.
Data collection
A total of 97 reflection papers written by the participants were used as the primary data source for the study. Furthermore, 28 video clips and 28 case analysis reports were used to triangulate the findings that emerged from the written reflections. Journal writing was employed to collect participants’ reflections.
Five major themes emerged:
(1) Motivational outcomes - Making a film or role playing was a new experience for most of the participants. They consistently identified the primary value of the activity as the stimulation of their interest.
(2) Cognitive consequences - Another frequently recognized consequence of the video project was the potential to increase the level of understanding of the course content and facilitate pre-service teachers’ learning process. They reported that video cases engaged them in an authentic and meaningful learning experience, and as a result, led to a better understanding of the concepts.
(3) Construction of a teacher identity - Participants mentioned promoting consequences of video activities on assisting them in developing a teacher professional identity.
(4) Recognition of students and their characteristics - Participants commented on better recognition of students and their characteristics and focused mostly on empathetic benefits.
(5) Technological constraints - Some participants expressed concerns about a few technological constraints that need to be taken into consideration for future implementations. Poor quality of speakers, slow and old computer systems, incompatibility of software, and the absent of acoustic wall treatments were just some of the problems that were mentioned in the written reflections.
The results suggest that this activity can improve motivation, understanding of the content, empathy, and the construction of professional identity.
Moreover, the current study shows that digital video production can be an alternative way to support the development of empathy in pre-service teachers.
The video-case project utilized in this study can increase pre-service teachers’ exposure to pedagogical uses of technology.