Adapt or die: The views of Unisa student teachers on teaching practice at schools.

This study focuses on the views of Unisa distance education (DE) students enrolled for the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) who had completed their teaching practice. The research questions were: What are student teachers' experiences of the way in which Unisa prepared them for teaching...

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Published in:Africa Education Review Vol. 7; no. 2; pp. 323 - 342
Main Authors: Du Plessis, ElizeC., Marais, Petro, Van Schalkwyk, Alena, Weeks, Fransa
Format: Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Oct2010
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      jtl: Africa Education Review
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      dt: Oct2010
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      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
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        10.1080/18146627.2010.515401
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        atl: Adapt or die: The views of Unisa student teachers on teaching practice at schools.
      aug:
        au:
          Du Plessis, ElizeC.
          Marais, Petro
          Van Schalkwyk, Alena
          Weeks, Fransa
        affil: College of Human Sciences, University of South Africa
      su:
        Mentoring
        Distance education
        Student teachers
        Situated learning theory
        Assessment of education
        Sampling (Process)
        Teaching methods
      sug:
        subj:
          Mentoring
          Distance education
          Student teachers
          Situated learning theory
          Assessment of education
          Sampling (Process)
          Teaching methods
      keyword:
        Assessment
        distance education
        mentorship
        school context
        situated learning
        socio-constructivism
        student teachers
        teaching practice
        Unisa preparation
      ab: This study focuses on the views of Unisa distance education (DE) students enrolled for the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) who had completed their teaching practice. The research questions were: What are student teachers' experiences of the way in which Unisa prepared them for teaching practice, the school context in which they practised teaching, the mentoring they received or did not receive and the way they were assessed? Socio-constructivist learning and situated learning theory were used as the theoretical framework. A maximum variation sampling technique was used to select 16 participants who had completed 10 weeks of teaching practice to participate in the study. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that, in preparing students for teaching practice, all role players need greater clarity on what is expected of students with regard to learning outcomes, assessment criteria and lesson plans. Students need to be placed at schools that will provide constructive learning environments, mentoring teachers should receive training and there should be greater clarity on the who, what and how of the assessment of students during teaching practice.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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