A Case Study On A Comparison Of Teacher’s Practical Knowledge Between Student English Teachers And Experienced English Teachers

The continuous education reform and the wave of teacher professionalization have put forward higher and higher requirements for teachers’ knowledge.As the core of teacher knowledge,teachers’ practical knowledge has gradually become a research focus that has attracted the attention of experts and scholars.Teachers’ practical knowledge is teachers’ knowledge of education and teaching that is formed and refined from teachers’reflection and teaching experiences,and is enacted through their actions.Teachers’practical knowledge is the main knowledge basis of teacher professional development,and it plays an indispensable role in teaching.By reviewing the existing research,the author finds that although there have been a lot of researches on teachers’ practical knowledge at home and abroad,the empirical research is less than theoretical research.Besides,the empirical research in combination with specific disciplines and specific groups is even more scarce,such as the research for student English teachers.In addition,more and more scholars have begun to conduct comparative studies on different teacher groups to explore the development of teachers’practical knowledge.Therefore,the author uses a case study method to conduct a comparative study on the practical knowledge of a student English teacher and an experienced English teacher.The research questions are as follows:(1)What are the teachers’practical knowledge of student English teachers and experienced English teachers?What are the differences?(2)What teachers’ practical knowledge do student English teachers and experienced English teachers lack respectively?(3)How do student English teachers develop their practical knowledge?The author selected two teachers as research subjects and collected the research data in three months through interviews,classroom observations,and object gathering.After sorting out and analyzing the data,the author came to the following conclusions:1.The two teachers’ TPK mainly consists of four aspects:knowledge of self;knowledge of subject;knowledge of students and knowledge of situation.Moreover,there are significant differences between student English teachers and experienced English teachers in these four dimensions.2.The TPK that student English teacher lacks mainly includes knowledge of self,knowledge of subject,knowledge of students,and knowledge of situation;while the TPK that experienced English teachers lacks are knowledge of self and knowledge of subject.3.The methods for student English teachers to develop practical knowledge mainly contain accumulate teaching experience,conduct reflection,and participate in community of practice.This study is of great significance for exploring the development of student teachers’practical knowledge.First of all,by comparing the differences between student English teachers and experienced English teachers,student English teachers can well realize the gap between the practical knowledge of themselves and the experienced English teachers,and strive to develop their practical knowledge.Secondly,for experienced English teachers,the comparison of the two can provide them with the inspiration of developing teachers’ practical knowledge,thereby promoting their professionalization.Last but not least,the results of this research can also help teacher educators reflect on the problems in teacher education and make corresponding improvements.