The Influence Of Peer Assistance On The Development Of Pre-service English Teachers’ Ability Of Teaching Reflection

Teaching reflection has become a basic factor of excellent teachers’ professional development by far.The question of how to improve teachers’ reflective ability has aroused extensive discussion among educational experts at home and abroad.Many studies on in-service teachers’ reflective ability have been done by Researchers,however,as for the pre-service English teachers’ reflective ability,few domestic studies related on it.Educational practicum plays a crucial role in promoting the development of pre-service English teachers’ reflective ability since it is the first step for pre-service English teachers applying educational theories to teaching practice.During the practicum,per-service English teachers are assigned to different practice schools in groups and peers accompany with them day and night.Therefore,peers have an intimate relationship with pre-service English teachers no matter in study or life.Based on this phenomenon,the questions about whether peers have an impact on the professional development of pre-service English teachers,or whether peers have an impact on pre-service English teachers’ reflective ability attract many scholars’ attention.Domestic research on the pre-service English teachers’ reflective ability mainly focus on the influence of educational practicum and school based mentors,and most of the research methods are quantitative research or qualitative research.Until now,there are still some controversies on whether educational practicum can promote pre-service English teachers reflective ability.In view of this,it is necessary to deepen the investigation of the status quo of pre-service English teachers’ teaching reflective level and to research the influence of peer assistance on pre-service English teachers’ teaching reflective ability.Based on previous studies,the purposes of this study are to explore the influence of peer assistance on the development of pre-service English teachers’ reflective ability during the practicum,and what forms will be adopted by peers to help pre-service English teachers improve their reflective ability.The following two research questions are raised:(1)Does the reflective competence of pre-service English teachers change after the practicum? At which levels are the changes more obvious?(2)How does peer assistance affect pre-service English teachers’ reflective competence?This research takes 42 pre-service English teachers who study at Y university and J University as the research subjects,and uses a questionnaire survey to explore the changes of 42 student teachers’ reflective ability,and then the author selects 12 research subjects to collect the interview and reflective journal data.The Mean value of questionnaire data shows that pre-service English teachers’ reflective ability is generally at the medium level before the practicum.The Mean value of pre-service English teachers’ reflective ability is higher in meta-cognitive and practical level,and lower in cognitive,affective and critical level.After the educational practicum,The Mean value of pre-service English teachers’ reflective ability has improved in practice,cognitive,meta-cognitive and affective level,while at the critical level,pre-service English teachers’ reflective ability has not improved.Comparing the questions related to peer assistance in the questionnaire,the author found that the Mean value of 2-5questions increased.Combining reflection journals and interview data with questionnaire results,the author found that peer assistance has a positive impact on pre-service English teachers’ practical level,affective level and meta-cognitive level,and three ways are adopted by peers to develop the pre-service English reflective ability which are formal cooperative learning,informal cooperative learning and online cooperative learning.Formal and informal cooperative learning have a significant influence on developing pre-service English teachers’ reflective ability,while online cooperative learning has a little influence on pre-service English teachers.Through analyzing the qualitative data,the author found that pre-service English teachers mainly use online cooperative learning to share teaching courseware,documents and other teaching materials,and seldom to communicate teaching problems through internet.Finally,according to the research results,the author provides suggestions on how to improve the reflective ability of pre-service English teachers.First of all,schools had better set up teaching reflection courses to cultivate pre-service English teachers’ reflective awareness and build a solid reflective theoretical foundations for them to make sure they are ready to enter the teaching careers.Secondly,pre-service English teacher ought to develop a positive relationship with peers in order to make a common progress in professional development.Finally,in order to promote their teaching competence,pre-service English teachers could read relevant theoretical books,reflect their teaching beliefs and behaviors,nurture good reflective habits,and deepen their understanding on English teaching in different ways.