Abstract:
The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of collaborative
teaching between inexperienced and experienced student teachers on their reflective
thinking and how different teaching experiences varied the ability to reflect. The
study was conducted in a natural context where the inexperienced student teachers
were paired with the experienced ones to co-teach as part of the requirement of a
practicum course. The participants were seven EFL student teachers who enrolled for
an MA program in one Thai university. Data were collected from pre- and postteaching
interviews, written journals, and classroom observations. Reflections prior to
and after teaching practices were compared to determine the extent to which
collaborative teaching led to changes in levels of thinking. Degrees or levels of
reflective thinking were categorized as recall (R1), rationalization (R2), and
reflectivity (R3) levels.
Data revealed that reflections of the student teachers at the end of teaching
practices were at higher levels than reflections prior to teaching practices. The
changes in reflections were depicted by four indicators which were 1) changes in
perspectives about effectiveness of teaching, 2) changes in perceptions of approaches
to solve problems, 3) changes in perceptions of self and others, and 4) changes in
perspectives to accept others feedback. In addition, teaching experience significantly
affected the participants ability to think reflectively. The inexperienced teachers were
found to reflect at R1 level prior to co-teaching, and then to have extended their
thinking to R2 level after co-teaching. The experienced teachers reflected at R2 level
before teaching period, and changed to R3 level after co-teaching. Data showed that
the inexperienced and experienced student teachers reflected and developed their
thinking differently depending on teaching topics.
The findings suggest that EFL teacher educators should incorporate
collaborative teaching into teacher training programs in order to enhance student
teachers self-evaluation, problem-solving skills, concerns for others, and openmindedness.