engleski

The Use of Peer Observation in Pre-Service Foreign Language Teacher Education

This study attempts to gain an insight into the role of peer observation in pre-service foreign language teacher education. It addresses the following questions: 1. What are the attitudes of the student teachers towards peer observation practice in pre- service teacher education? ; 2. What are the benefits of pre- service peer observation to the participants in this activity? ; 3. What are the difficulties that student teachers experience while participating in a peer observation activity? The participants in this study were 21 student teachers of English language and literature at a Croatian university. The study was made during the course Practicum and Teaching Practice. Two instruments were used in this study: a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The questionnaire consisted of eighteen items accompanied by a five-point Likert scale. The aim of the questionnaire was to find about student teachers' experiences in a peer observation activity and their beliefs and attitudes towards peer observation in pre- service teacher education. The semi-structured interview consisted of three open-ended questions referring to the benefits of this activity to both the observer and the observed and the difficulties the student teachers had when participating in this activity.The results of the questionnaire show that student teachers have a very positive attitude towards peer observation in teacher preparation. The highest percentage of the student teachers report that peer observation promotes a constructive dialogue between peers in teacher preparation. They state that peer observation was equally beneficial to their self-reflection when they were the observers and when they were the observed. The most frequent benefit from observing a peer was reported to be the opportunity to get new ideas for own teaching and to identify good and bad teaching strategies whereas the most important benefit from being observed was claimed to be the possibility to learn more about one's own behaviour in the classroom and to reflect on it. The student teachers reported that collecting data during classroom observation and providing feedback to a peer in a post- observation session might present difficulties in the peer observation activity.

pre-service foreign language teaching ; peer observation activity ; student teachers' attitudes ; benefits and difficulties

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