Impact of Teaching Practices on the Productivity of Quality Teachers
Chapter One
Purpose of the Study
This study has the sole objective to appraise the impacts of teaching practices on the productivity of quality teachers. Specifically, the objectives are streamlined as follows:
- To determine the perception of students towards teaching practice.
- To determine the objectives of teaching practice.
- To appraise the impact of teaching practice on the students
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED AND RELEVANT LITERATURES
Introduction
Good teaching practice is a key influence on student learning – a desired outcome and primary goal of higher educational institutions. Teachers strive to meet the principles of good practice in an effort to provide the best learning experience for their students – Flinders University. Student Teaching is the most important experience in teacher education programme and is generally based on a country’s National Education policy. Teaching practice is a compulsory course for all aspiring student teachers registered in a teacher preparation programme in Nigeria. It is one-semester in duration; usually lasting from the beginning to the end of the First Semester of the final year of students’ training. During this period, most programmers focus on:
- Instructional planning
- Instructional technology
- Micro-teaching mentoring (Model Teaching, Assessment, Feedback Reports etc.)
- Studies in teaching methods
- Posting of students to schools where they can practice their major courses of study.
The Student Teaching Program at any higher institution is a well-structured programme designed to provide an opportunity to develop and evaluate aspiring teachers’ competence in an actual classroom within school settings. In a paper on Global exposure presented at the Research Seminar Series, Aglazor(2011) noted that field-based experiences such as study abroad and student teaching are intended to bridge theory and practice. The teaching practice exercise is the culminating point where the relationship among the three major players: university supervisor, host teacher, and aspiring teacher interface to determine the quality of experience the aspiring teaching will take away. It becomes the bedrock on which the aspiring teacher once certified and employed builds their professional identity. It is therefore, necessary that aspiring teachers are paired with competent, knowledgeable and concerned university supervisors to help them assume the full range of duties of a teacher during this hands-on training period. Host teachers have equally vital influence in aspiring teachers’ professional growth and development. A College of Education or University Faculty of Education Teacher Education Programme is informed by its institution’s unique vision and mission. For validity, education programmers’ must be guided by their institution’s vision and philosophical theories. This underscores the reason why programmers must make sure their student teachers understand both the institution and programme’s educational philosophy.
Conceptual Framework
Mkpandiok (2006) observed that, for the past 15 years, scholars have embarked on extensive research in other to adopt teaching techniques to tackle the issues of the differences among individual learners with regard to the social and institutional contexts of teaching in higher education. According to Sipek (1988), and in recent time the theories and methods of research on teaching in terms of understanding and how academics experience teaching. In the light of this, the work of Okorie (1986) has been an improvement on earlier studies as well as noting the lack of research on the associated intention or motives of teachers. The authors have investigated the extent to which university teachers conceptualized teaching in different ways (Koko, 2002). Practice teaching occupies a key position in the programmed of teacher education, it is a culminating experience in teacher preparation (Nnamdi, 2000). Adagba (2005) stressed that, this exercise provides opportunity to beginning teachers to become socialized into the profession. Ajoku (2003) asserted that, performance during practice teaching provide 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 programmed. Edem (2003) confirmed that, during practice teaching, working with students in schools provide a high degree of emotional involvement of a mostly positive nature. Students teachers feel themselves grow through experience and they begin to link to a culture of teaching. Murray (2007) asserted that, during practice teaching, they feel engage, challenged and even empowered.
Amaewhule (1993) reaffirmed that, practical teaching experience is under taken by students in faculty of education in Universities and Colleges. Imart (2003) reaffirmed that, it is an essential aspect of teacher education because it prepares teachers for their future teaching roles and assignment. The main agents who implement educational policies has to be properly organized and teaching practice also helps in this function (Hyon, 1999). Osuala (2004) concluded that, teaching practice expose the trainee teacher to the realities of effective teaching and help those to try out methods of teaching and gain practical classroom experience under expect supervision. Wellington (2006) explained that, during the teaching practice, the trainee teachers are sent out from the University and College to primary, secondary, commercial, comprehensive and technical schools to teach for a period of time as a part of their training. According to Andabai (2011), during this practice a student is supervised and evaluated not only by a supervisor allotted to him but also by a group of other lectures who supervises him as a team as well as a staff of the school in which he is teaching. Akpomi (2001) argued that, the need for this different evaluation is to make sure that he is properly corrected and graded.
Itejere (1998) stressed that, teaching practice is the most vital part of trainee teacher’s career training, this is because it is during this practice that the trainee teachers applies the methods, even the philosophy of education which he was taught theoretically in the classroom. He now realizes this professional responsibility as a teacher and starts to learn how to manage the younger ones who will be left under his control and care. Edem (2003) also stressed that, teaching practice is a period in teachers in the teacher training institutions and universities are made to undergo a period of internship or apprenticeship within the school system. Just like they would be engineers going for industrial training to gain practical experience of what the job is all about, the trainee medical doctor goes through clinical studies and horsemanship. (Ihekwoaba, 2005). According to Haddad (1994), the teachers are exposing to a period of supervised teaching; this is in line with educational theories which associate learning with doing. For a real teacher to emerge, he must acquire the necessary skill from a master craftsman who is usually an educational.
Several studies have been conducted on student-teachers’ performance and their attitudes in teaching practice internationally, and a few research on how professional primary school teachers teach and assess the Creative and Performing Arts disciplines in Nigeria. The results indicate that teachers have difficulties in teaching and assessing these disciplines and hence the study was taken to investigate the extent to which teachers were prepared during their training, with special focus on teaching practice aspect. The review of the literature indicates that there are no studies that have been conducted regarding the effectiveness of teaching practice in preparing student-teachers to implement Creative and Performing Arts curriculum in Nigeria therefore, literature is been limited to the general experiences in teaching practice. First, we need to understand what teaching practice involves and its purpose in the teacher training process. Marais and Meier (2004, p. 221) note that “the term teaching practice represents the range of experiences to which student teachers are exposed when they work in classrooms and schools.” It is an integral component of teacher training and refers to students’ placements to schools to practice lesson planning, classroom organization and most importantly classroom teaching. It is an essential part of effective professional training. Kiggundu and Nayimuli (2009) view it as “… a form of work-integrated learning that is described as a period of time when students are working in the relevant industry to receive specific in-service training in order to apply theory in practice” (p. 347). Thus, it is time spent by student-teachers in schools to gain practical teaching experience.
The Tlokweng College of Education teaching practice handbook (2011) defines teaching practice as “the practicum, field experience or internship” (p. 5). Different authors have shared their experiences on the rationale of teaching practice. According to www.btc.uob.edu.bh/Academic (Retrieved 6, February, 2013) the purpose of teaching practice is to prepare student-teachers for their careers as teachers by incorporating them completely into the school atmosphere so that they feel as if they are part of the school to think and meditate on the practical reality of teaching. It also pushes to encourage student-teachers to be creative and to develop their abilities as a professional teacher. Sharing the same sentiment, Ngidi and Sibaya (2003) and Marais and Meier (2004) explain that teaching practice grants student-teachers experience in the actual teaching and learning environment therefore, it is an important component of becoming a teacher. In addition, the University of Nigeria which is the Colleges of Education affiliate, has the Faculty of Education Teaching Practice for Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) students annually and its handbook stipulates the rationale for teaching practice which tally with those of the colleges of Education. These include: enhancing student-teachers’ career potentials and breadth of experiences, clarifying and inter-relating important areas of knowledge in the practical context of developing and nurturing work-related skills, fostering collaboration of all stakeholders in a way that contributes towards the quality teacher preparation, bringing together different supervisors and their varied skills to facilitate the provision of high quality supervision and mentoring and enabling student teachers to critically examine both educational theory and practice within the appropriate contemporary educational framework of Nigeria and equipping student-teachers with sufficient knowledge and skills so as to enable them to meaningfully extend their professional role to education and human resource development in Nigeria (University of Nigeria Faculty of Education handbook, 2011). Perry (2004, p. 4) shares his experience on TP that, “although student-teachers gain specialized knowledge from class lectures, teaching practice adds value to this knowledge when students come into contact with the real classroom situation. He believes that it is during teaching practice that knowledge is affirmed. Of the same view, the University of Nigeria Faculty of Education handbook (2011) contends that teaching practice forms an essential component of all the teacher education programs offered in the faculty. Thus, teachers’ preparation in Colleges of Education needs to be of quality in all the subjects they are trained for, in order for them to provide quality Education to learners.
It is during teaching practice that student-teachers should practice what they learnt in classrooms to prepare for their teaching profession. As aforementioned, student-teachers also perceive teaching as their preparation for the teaching profession and “as a result, teaching practice creates a mixture of anticipation, anxiety, excitement and apprehension in the student teachers as they commence their teaching practice” (Manion, Keith, Morrison and Cohen, 2003 and Perry, 2004, cited in Kiggundu and Nayimuli, 2009, p. 345). However, it can frustrate students if they are not well prepared to handle subjects they are expected to teach. These challenges, if not addressed, may affect student-teachers’ performance during teaching practice and may in the long run affect their perception of the teaching profession (Quick & Sieborger, 2005).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to appraise the impact of teaching practice on the productivity of quality teachers.
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
- Primary source and
- Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, or things. The researcher is interested in getting information which will aid to appraise the impact of teaching practice on the productivity of quality teachers. Two hundred (200) respondents were randomly selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
In this chapter, the focus will be on presenting the data we have collected and collated through the question. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to recapitulate that the objective of this study was to appraise the impact of teaching practice on the productivity of quality teachers. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in appraising the impact of teaching practice on the productivity of quality teachers.
Summary
This study was undertaken to appraise the impact of teaching practice on the productivity of quality teachers. The study opened with chapter one where the statement of the problem was clearly defined. The study objectives and research hypotheses were defined and formulated respectively. The study reviewed related and relevant literatures. The chapter two gave the conceptual framework, empirical and theoretical studies. The third chapter described the methodology employed by the researcher in collecting both the primary and the secondary data. The research method employed here is the descriptive survey method. The study analyzed and presented the data collected in tables and tested the hypotheses using the chi-square statistical tool. While the fifth chapter gives the study summary and conclusion.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Teaching practice has been found to be very beneficial in the course of this research work because, it provides an opportunity for the trainee teachers to teach and increase their professional competence. The result showed that trainee teachers benefited greatly in participating in teaching practice because they were able to build proper confidence and competence in lesson preparation and developed skills and attitude of a teacher during the exercise. It was also revealed that teaching practice helps trainee teachers to learn how to keep records of assignment and also participating in school activities. Therefore we recommended that the government should provide finance inform of stipend for trainee teachers and teachers engaged in teaching practice programme. A proper orientation for trainee teachers should be carried out using efficient means of communication like; seminars, workshops, conferences and discussion. Faculties of education and colleges should organize the exercise very will so as to give the best professional practice to the trainee teachers. Institutional resource centers of the various institutions should be adequately equipped and expanded enable every trainee teacher participates at least once or twice in micro-teaching exercise as a way of exposing them to practice teaching. The university should appeal to non-governmental organizations like the private sector, individuals and industries to assist in supplementing educational materials and learning resource that would prepare the students.
REFERENCES
- Aglazor, G., 2011. Global exposure: Preservice teachers’ perspective on the role of study abroad. Paper presented at Research Seminar Series by Career and Technical Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, Purdue University, March 25th, 2011
- Aglazor, G. N and Obi, F. B., 2016. Teaching practice handbook for programmers, students and supervisors. University of Calabar Press, Calabar, Nigeria. Dewey, J., 1938. Experience and Education. New York: Collier.
- Durosaro, D. O., 2015. Code of ethics in the teaching profession, http://distantlibraryn g.blogspot.com.ng/2015/02/nigerian- union-of-teachers-code-of.html Good Teaching Practice – Flinders University.https://www.flinders.edu.au › … › Teaching evaluation gateway.
- Kasanda, C. D., 1995. Teaching practice at the University of Namibia: Views from student teachers. Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research, 7:57-68.
- Lave, J and Wenger, E., 1991. Situated learning. New York: Cambridge University.
- Marais, P and Meier, C., 2004. Hear our voices: student teacher’s experience during practical teaching. Africa Education Review, 1:220-233. Menter, I., 1989. Teaching Stasis: Racism, sexism and school experience in initial teacher education. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 10:459-473.
