Abstract:

The article examines the impact of reflective teaching approach on teaching skills of primary science student teachers. Twenty-five science student teachers were trained for a whole semester on using reflective teaching approach. They were divided into five cooperative learning groups, each of which consists of five students. Each group was asked to prepare a science lesson. In each class, a representative of each group presents the lesson (15 minutes). After the presentation, the presenter was evaluated by the researcher and his colleague students according to an evaluation checklist. At the end of the training course, they were asked to respond to a questionnaire consisting of 26 open-ended questions that asked for their opinions and ideas on the reflective approach. Data analysis revealed that this approach was effective on developing the overall teaching skills of elementary education student science teachers. It is also effective on the following teaching skills: lesson-planning, introduction, use of new materials, classroom management, and evaluating their teaching and learning process. Furthermore, students involved indicated that the approach helps them in identifying strengths and weaknesses in teaching. They also indicated that it assists them in discovering means of correcting and improving their teaching. In addition, reflective teaching approach enables teachers to analyze, discuss, evaluate and change their own practice as well as to adopt a systematic analytical approach towards teaching. Consequently, it is highly recommended that students teachers should be encouraged to use written reflections during teaching practice in the post-practicum seminars conducted after the teaching practice.

Keywords: