Engaging pre-service teachers in virtual field experience during COVID-19: Designing a framework to inform the practice

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, universities have moved rapidly to transition of various courses and programs from face-to-face to online delivery mode. Involving pre-service teachers in the virtual field experience remained almost impossible. In the United Arab Emirates, however, a small cohort of four pre-service teachers have completed their teaching practicum online for the first time. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the effectiveness of virtual practicum placement and its impact on developing preservice teachers\u27 teaching practices, classroom management skills, and the use of online resources. A qualitative approach was employed for data collection including open-ended interviews, journal entries, and written reflections under guided reflective categories to uncover participants\u27 perceptions about their virtual teaching experience. Findings revealed the significant role of the mentor and suggested a framework for effective virtual field experience

Innovative Practices Implemented by Preservice Teachers During Their Field Experience: Lesson Learnt from Face-to-Face and Online Field Placement

Field experienceField experience otherwise known as practice teaching or practicum became the foundation of teacher preparation programsTeacher preparation programs bridging the gap between theory and practice. The practical/field experience is viewed as a significant learning curve for preservice teachersPreservice teachers as it provides them with the opportunity to build their pedagogical proficiencies in preparation to joining the workforce. To that end, teacher preparation programsTeacher preparation programs should be well structured and maintain strong collaborations with partner schools in which preservice teachers are placed during their field experience. It is as equally important to specify the role of mentors and ensure direct communication between them and preservice teachers. In the United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates (UAE), the challenges for preservice teachers in their field experienceField experience have been explored. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and owing to the subsequent and sudden shift to online learning, preservice teachers became involved, for the first time, in virtual field placement. Hence, the purpose of this chapter is to provide (1) an understanding of preservice teachersPreservice teachers attitudes toward online field placementOnline field placement and (2) a summary about their challenges in both face-to-face and online field placementOnline field placement. Furthermore, this chapter highlights the innovative practices that were implemented during their teaching experience to help them adapt to the unprecedented changes and overcome the challenges they faced. This chapter will start with a description of field experienceField experience and its benefits to preservice teachersPreservice teachers. This will be followed by a presentation of the structure of field experience in the UAEUnited Arab Emirates and a highlight of the main challenges that preservice teachers faced during their face-to-face and virtual field experienceField experience during the pandemic. The last section will discuss the innovative practices that were adopted to allow preservice teachersPreservice teachers to acclimatize to the sudden transition to virtual learning and will provide main key points and takeaways

The Triple Flip: Using Technology for Peer and Self-Editing of Writing

Many teachers consider themselves digital immigrants who struggle to keep up with student digital natives. Whether or not this dichotomy still holds true, in a 21st Century context of teaching and learning, is debatable not least of all because of the exponential development of apps and mobile learning technology. Nevertheless, it is sometimes difficult for educators to know where to begin and for students to know how best to use it to advance their studies and improve their writing. Focusing on university students at a pre-university English as Second Language (ESL) program in Dubai, this paper discusses how mobile learning and the use of a range of apps can foster peer and self-editing, aid noticing and enhance ownership of the writing process. It is argued that flipping corrective feedback helps students to notice their errors and spend more time developing their writing

Effectiveness of Using Digital Feedback on EFL Student Writing Skills

This research study investigated the effects of digital feedback on EFL students’ writings in ubiquitous learning. Feedback on students’ writings, especially at university level, must be constructive to enhance their overall academic writing skills and requires purposeful planning. . In this study, teachers created digital screen-recorded feedback to deliver individualized oral feedback to the students. Findings of this study explore the impact of digital feedback on improving the quality of academic writing for EFL undergraduate female learners. Data collected showed that using digital feedback created a positive and active learning environment and promoted learner autonomy. This digital platform also allowed learning to be continuous and ubiquitous. The results present several practical pedagogical implications and suggestions for future research

Student perceptions on peer feedback training using a blended method: A UAE case

© 2018, Western Australian Institute for Educational Research Inc. All rights reserved. The impact of peer reviewing for writers has been investigated extensively for the past three decades. Results have showed that peer reviewing improves writers’ texts, helps in identifying their writing strategies, and develops their motivation and confidence. Less researched, however, are the ways that could improve the quality of peer-review feedback in an EFL context, compared with English dominant settings. To address this issue, the current study examined the effect of peer reviewing training on the motivation and engagement levels towards self and peer reviewing of undergraduate students who are Arabic native speakers at a foundation intermediate English class. Students received training on how to review essays and provide effective feedback on formal (related to English language structure) and global errors (related to the content and organisation of writing). Combinations of face to face training and self-paced training through mobile technology learning apps were provided to students for 10 weeks. Investigating students’ perceptions and attitudes, this study found that combining peer editing training, face to face and mobile learning tools impacted positively upon EFL students’ revisions and overall writing. Students were able to generate specific feedback on global as well as formal issues. This study concludes by presenting several practical implications and suggestions for future research

Emirati female students pursing technical and vocational education and training (TVET): perceptions from the UAE

One way the United Arab Emirates uses to increase the employability skills of its nationals is by promoting and encouraging students to pursue technical and vocational education and training (TVET). This goal includes both female and male Emirati youth. However, studies show that females are still under-represented in TVET. Therefore, this study aims at exploring Emirati female students’ perceptions of their educational experiences in TVET, the challenges they faced, and their future expectations. The study followed a mixed methods design with data collected through an online survey. Findings revealed that participants have an overall positive educational experience despite the academic and cultural challenges they experience. They believe their vocational education enables them to have a better future be it a career or in continuing their education. Despite these positive influences, additional efforts are needed to improve vocational training and alter the mindset and perception of vocational education

Preservice teachers’ experiences with classroom management in the virtual class: a case study approach

The present study explores the experiences of Emirati female preservice teachers who are completing their internship teaching practice virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study focuses on virtual classroom management. Participants were preservice teachers (n = 18) completing their undergraduate degrees in Early Childhood Education at a federal university in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Data collected from interviews resulted in four themes related to classroom management: challenges, opportunities, performance factors, and suggestions for improvement. The findings revealed that the preservice teachers considered virtual learning an opportunity. However, the main challenge was that the preservice teachers had no prior training in online classroom management and had to create their own strategies. Training on the technology used for virtual learning is important for both teachers and students to achieve satisfactory learning experiences

Using reflective journals for analysing pre-service, early childhood teachers\u27 perceptions of practicum experiences

This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative study conducted to explore the effects of reflective journal keeping by 30 female pre-service teachers studying at a university in the United Arab Emirates. At the onset of the study, the participants were trained on the principles of reflective journal writing and were asked to write in their journals during and after the completion of their weekly field experience over a period of ten weeks. Through content analysis, the qualitative data collected were analysed and four salient themes emerged from the data, i.e., “teaching using technology”, “constructive learning”, “experiential learning and play”, and “class management”. The data indicate that the teacher-trainees benefited greatly from writing reflectively as an important exercise that can help them develop professionally and ethically in their careers and aid their students to develop a good understanding of the subject(s) taught. The researchers believe reflective journal writing provides both the pre-service and in-service teachers with unique opportunities to examine and improve their teaching and their students\u27 learning experiences. The researchers likewise believe in order to achieve optimal professional and practical results, teachers should be effectively trained by experienced and skilled educators on to how to write in their journals

Faculty Perceptions of Virtual Field Experience Placement in a Teacher Preparation Program in the UAE

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine faculty perceptions of virtual field placement of preservice teachers at a university in the United Arab Emirates and to explore the factors that promote or hinder the success of this experience. Vygotsky’s concept of scaffolding was used as the theoretical framework of this study and to explain the faculty’s engagement with the field placement experience. Background: The global pandemic of COVID-19 has affected the provision of teacher education programs around the world. It forced many universities to implement emergency remote teaching strategies including virtual field experiences. Methodology: Considering the novelty of this phenomenon, an exploratory qualitative research design was followed to arrive at an in-depth description of the faculty’s perceptions. A convenience sampling, which is characterized by the deliberate targeting of information-rich participants, was used to select five faculty members who supervised 40 Emirati preservice teachers during their virtual field experience. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. Contribution: The framework put forth in this study could serve as a guideline for teacher education programs, especially field experience preparation. Findings: It was found that faculty had different perceptions of virtual field experiences. Although preservice teachers were faced with unprecedented virtual field experiences, collaboration with different stakeholders helped them achieve the learning outcomes. A main drawback of the virtual field experience, however, impacted preservice Emirati teachers’ motivation about online teaching. Recommendations for Practitioners: Preservice teachers’ technological skills should be reinforced and built to enable purposeful and practical technological integration in the teaching and learning process. Therefore, a holistic inclusion of all stakeholders’ approach is needed to upskill and develop the competencies of all parties involved in the process taking into consideration a more enriching collaborative manner. Such a redesign should be examined to assess its validity and efficiency on a wider and more diverse sample to ensure its reliability and success. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers are recommended to explore the impact of virtual field experience on young children learning and engagement by including all stakeholders involved in the teaching and learning process, especially young students’ parents since findings showed that children under the age of eight are at a disadvantage in online learning. Impact on Society: Implications of the findings of this study show that sustainable virtual field experiences can be attained through a collaborative approach. Collaboration is essential as it enables preservice teachers to succeed in implementing inclusive pedagogical approaches. Future Research: Further studies can enrich the findings of this paper by expanding the collected data to provide deeper and more generalizable results. For example, virtual student teachers’ and school students’ scores should be collected and compared to face-to-face scores in order to assess and evaluate the learning itself

Stressors and stress coping strategies of UAE school leaders

Through exploratory quantitative research, 120 school leaders in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were found to have a moderate level of stress. School leaders have regularly sought social support and focused on the problem as strategies to cope with stress. There was no difference in the means of stress related to the leaders\u27 gender, marital status, age, years of experience, or school size and level. However, interpersonal relations and administrative responsibilities made the largest contribution to the prediction of coping strategies. Considering the quick changes aimed at by the national educational reform, leaders found themselves unaware of their new job descriptions and expectations. Leaders struggled with a combination of little autonomy, limited resources, bureaucracy and intensification, and increased responsibilities. Self-efficacy and self-motivation indicated perseverance in managing stress. School leaders, especially during a reform, face the burden of role expectations and administrative constraints due to changing requirements from authorities